On this trip to Mexico, we had some pretty amazing food and some not so amazing. We actually never ate at a traditional Mexican restaurant though and had to resort to Senor Tequila's on the night we got home. We didn't feel that funny about it, while we were dining another couple from the plane showed up to eat there, too.
One place that we had really good food was Mark's Bar and Grill in Bucerias. The restaurant is a nice open place with a little shop attached to it. The place was totally packed, but we had reservations so we got right in. Unfortunately, they were way understaffed and the service suffered greatly. I'll never understand why restaurants continue to seat people when they don't have the staff to back them up. We were seated at 8 PM and did not receive our salads until 9!! The owner, Jan Marie Benton, showed up and ran around like a chicken with her head cut off. Not a good look, really.
Our waiter, Fernando, arrived and took our drink orders. The wine showed up promptly along with a basket of rolls and good, crispy flat bread. He took our food orders, well he forgot Dan B., and went on his way to try and help the rest of his tables. He was a good server and did his best to take care of us, but he was really in the weeds.
I ordered this amazing Roasted Beet and Apple Salad ($75 pesos), which is in the picture above. The nice thick slices of roasted beets were layered with apples and accompanied with arugula and pistachio encrusted goat cheese. A beet and berry sauce and lime oil dressed the plate. The flavor combination of the earthy beets, tart apples, peppery arugula and mild goat cheese were perfect together. Dan had the Mixed Greens ($75 pesos) and enjoyed them. Dan ordered the Margherita Pizza ($165 pesos) which was covered in a nice tomato sauce with basil, fresh mozzarella and halved cherry tomatoes. I had the Salame Pizza ($155 pesos) and it was loaded with salami, home made sausage and mushrooms. The pizzas are big and are cooked in brick ovens.
I don't have a complete record of what everyone else had. Frank ordered a seafood pasta, Helga started with calamari and Lisa started with tempura shrimp. Lisa and Larry both ordered a wine braised beef pasta and Dan B. and Helga had the special which was Fettuccine Alfredo with really big shrimp. Every one enjoyed their food, we just wished that the experience were better. The food and presentation were great, the service was very weak. I would still recommend this place, just for the beet salad alone.
They are located at Lazaro Cardenas 56 Bucerias, Nayarit Mexico 63732. Reservations are advised 329-298-0303. www.marksbucerias.com
4 comments:
Today for lunch in Evanston I ate at the newest Italian restaurant, and had the wood fired margherita pizza, the price was $10, which is the lunch and dinner price. I cannot believe prices are less expensive in Chicago then they are in Bucerias. Seems like Italian food was a bit more expensive down there.
Brian
The food here was on the pricey side for Mexico, but it was a very nice restaurant.
We never ate at Mark's, as we heard it was pricey and not very good service. Actually, it was said the food wasn't good enough to constitute their prices.
Our house was about 1.5 blocks from Mark's! What a beautiful town. I'm still jealous...
Yeah, Marks Bar & Grill was great! I had Thai styled Red Snapper and it was amazing. My wife had the seafood pasta and enjoyed it also.
Across the street is a new place (I think since early 2008) that does Mediterranean food. It's called Adriatico and it also is a great place to check out. It's great that we are getting some cool restaurants in Bucerias with lots of variety!
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