Traveling to Sayulita, Mexico soon? Here are some of the best restaurants in Sayulita.
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Although Sayulita is considered a small town with only about 5,000 full-time residents, there are over 100 restaurants in town. With that number and the amazing street food, it may feel overwhelming deciding where to go.
This post isn’t going to solve that completely. And I highly encourage you to get out and try other restaurants and foods. Being in Sayulita for seven days, there was only one meal I was unhappy with the entire time. It was a very late night meal (11pm) from Maria Bonita as room service. So that should be reassuring as you go explore the many tastes of Sayulita.
Headed to Sayulita for the first time? Be sure to check out our Complete Guide to Sayulita, Mexico.
I broke the restaurants in Sayulita down by mealtime to try and help you figure out where to head first. But please note, some of these establishments cater to all meals, and you should consider them openly.
Enjoy your food journey in Sayulita!
¡Diviértete!
The Best Restaurants in Sayulita
Breakfast
La Rustíca
This was our first official breakfast in Sayulita, and it was my favorite. They offer a wide variety of coffees, ‘cure’ cocktails, traditional Mexican breakfast choices, and some more American style breakfast options.
The red chilaquiles with eggs are to die for, here. For kids, they have a traditional breakfast with pancakes, eggs, and bacon.
While we only had breakfast here, this restaurant primarily caters to lunch and dinner with Italian style dishes and pizza. You can read my review and others on TripAdvisor.
The setting here is beautiful and wide open. It has a rustic (obviously) but still modern feel. The staff was incredibly pleasant, and they also take credit cards. Many of the restaurants in town accept only cash.
Prices here are very on par with most places in town. They are very fair. For a family of four, with drinks, our total was around $25USD.
Yah-Yah Sayulita
Want a modern, chic atmosphere, healthy breakfast options, or even vegan options, check out Yah-Yah Sayulita. We had breakfast here on our fourth day in Sayulita. We tried to get in the day before, but the seating isn’t abundant so it was already full.
Yah-Yah Sayulita serves breakfast and early lunch. They have a variety of delicious and fresh options including fresh bagels, french toast, waffles, avocado toast, and more. And to top it off, their coffee is delicious AND beautiful.
The prices here are a bit steeper than some places in town, but not outrageous. I think it’s definitely worth the treat and the small hike off the main road for this breakfast gem.
Café El Espresso
If you are a big fan of iced coffee like I am, Café El Espresso right across from the city center makes the best. Chris and I both had an iced caramel latte on our first morning in town.
They were both delicious and inexpensive. We looked over the menu while we were there as well and they have a lot of great breakfast/brunch options. And judging by the number of people sitting at tables and at the street front bar seating, I’d guess the food is rather tasty.
The prices here are very fair and generally on par with other restaurants serving breakfast around the city center.
Lunch
Ruben
Ruben is a perfect lunch spot. It’s on a popular street that leads right down to the ocean. In fact, you can see the waves crashing the beach from the street seating. To top it off, the street decor and atmosphere are fun and entertaining. Waiting for your food will fly by with all the people, street decorations to look at, etc.
Ruben offers a variety of Americanized foods, perfect for kids or for when you are just craving a burger and some fries while in Mexico. They serve water, soft drinks, and a few different beers.
If you want Mexican cuisine, order the chicken burrito. It’s a large portion, filling has lots of layers, textures, and spices. Chris and I both loved it.
The prices at this Sayulita restaurant are very decent. Most food items are around 100-150 pesos.
Alas Blancas
The perfect setting for beach lunch, complete with delicious seafood and amazing drink options. This restaurant literally sits right on the beachfront with perfect views of the ocean and the entire beach.
They have some of the best seafood in Sayulita including octopus, shrimp, red snapper, tuna, marlin, and ceviche. On top of the amazing seafood selection, they also offer steak, hamburgers, burritos, salads, and dessert.
Most of their dishes are around 150 pesos, however their specials come in closer to 190 pesos. These include beans, rice, and tortilla chips. Their prices are extremely reasonable for the amount you get and the flavor of the food.
Fruit Cup Vendors
I know this isn’t a standard restaurant, but if you can find one of the few fruit cup vendors in Sayulita, do not pass it up. It makes a perfect afternoon snack or a light lunch if you aren’t feeling a full-cooked meal.
The fruit is some of the freshest I have ever tasted and with the added chili pepper and sea salt, it was more like dessert than a mid-afternoon snack. I saw other people walking around with cups of mango, pineapple, and watermelon. I only got watermelon.
And the total price for my oversized cup of watermelon was only 40 pesos.
Dinner
Emiliano’s
According to TripAdvisor, they won the Certificate of Excellence in 2018. And in my opinion, early 2020 was amazing as well.
This restaurant, which sits down the street from the city center on Av Revolución, is simple, beachy, and has really good food. I had the coconut shrimp and it was the best coconut shrimp I have ever had. It came served with steamed veggies and an amazing, yet unknown, dipping sauce.
We also ordered the guacamole and chips as a starter. First of all, there is seemingly no average guac in Sayulita. It is all fantastic. But, I noted that the chips at this restaurant were among some of my favorites throughout the trip. Definitely, get the guac.
If you are looking for seafood, Emiliano’s has a fish of the day as well as some of the traditional fish you will find throughout Sayulita. They have red snapper, ahi tuna, marlin, and more.
They also have a wide variety of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks available, including margaritas, mojitos, cheladas, and more.
Sayulita Café Casa del Chile Relleno
On our 4th night in Sayulita, we went to dinner at Sayulita Café Casa del Chile Relleno. The menu was filled with an abundance of fresh seafood, steak options, and fajitas.
For an appetizer, we had the shrimp ceviche. I’ve never had ceviche before, but earlier that day, a woman I talked with called it “nature’s candy”, so I had to give it a try. The shrimp ceviche was very good. There was a lot of lime flavor, but it was a nice light appetizer before the main course.
I ordered the diablo shrimp. Since arriving in Mexico, I had yet to find a really spicy dish, which I am always chasing. And the diablo shrimp delivered. They were definitely a level 4 out of 5 on the heat scale, and the flavor and variety of spices were incredible. The dish was served with rice and sauteed vegetables including squash, broccoli, carrots, and peppers.
Chris ordered the fajitas. I was astonished at the size of the dish when it came. It was a large bowl filled with meat, vegetables, herbs, and a very flavorful sauce. The entire dish was served with warm tortillas.
If you are really hungry, this place has dishes that will satisfy. Their prices were very fair for the amount of food you get. Possibly a little higher than other places, but the portions were large enough to have leftovers if desired.
Yeikame
Yet another Certificate of Excellence winner from 2016-2019, Yeikame has delicious food and amazingly kind staff.
Chris and I both ordered a sope on blue tortilla. I had chorizo. The dish was very large and had so many layers, textures, and flavors.
For the kids, we ordered quesadillas and while my oldest wasn’t feeling very well, my youngest devoured hers.
On top of the amazing main dishes, we also got guacamole and chips here. Again, never skip guacamole and chips. It’s a necessity.
And our meal came with a variety of four different salsas. Who I assume was the owner was kind enough to explain what each of them was and their heat level. There was one made with serrano pepper, one with habanero, one with chipotle, and then a standard pico de gallo.
Literally, the best hot sauce I had in all of Sayulita. If you like it spicy, this place serves up the heat.
To top it off, the prices here are rather low. I think we left and our ticket was around $425 pesos for four people and guacamole as an appetizer. This was less than we paid for dinner on many other nights.
Don’t Miss Dessert
Last but not least, be sure to hit up some of the Ice Cream and Gelato spots around town. We really enjoyed Buonissimo, which is right on the corner of Delfines and Manuel N. Navarrete, between the beach and downtown.
They offer a huge variety of flavors and then a nice variety of cups, cones, and even chocolate-dipped cones. You can get up to three scoops, but I felt like the girls were very generous with the single scoop option.
The girls loved the ice cream most, of course. We tried a blue confetti cake flavor, chocolate, cappuccino, mango chili, and strawberry.
The prices here were fair in my opinion, although I can’t judge them against other ice cream shops as we only visited this one.
Go out, explore, and taste the world of Sayulita. Let me know what I missed on the list of best restaurants in Sayulita in the comments below.
