The world famous Michelin Guide recognized 157 restaurants in Mexico during its initial 2024 selection, announced last May. This promotion proved very beneficial for the restaurants that earned stars. It has also proved a boon for travelers, since Michelin not only explains its quality criteria but divides selections into several handy categories, including its coveted stars, which signifies the restaurant is not only one of the best in the region but in the world; Bib Gourmand, which denotes high quality at value pricing; the Green Stars given to restaurants boasting great food with sustainable practices; and Recommended, meaning Michelin vouches for its a quality dining spot.
Of the 157 restaurants in Mexico honored by Michelin in Mexico, 13 are located in Los Cabos. However, these aren’t exactly spread out evenly around the municipality.
Cabo San Lucas
The Land’s End city has a terrific taco scene and a few great restaurants. But it’s no coincidence most of the Los Cabos restaurants that received Michelin Guide recognition are found in the Tourist Corridor — (home to many luxury resorts and their signature eateries —) and San José del Cabo, the showplace for the region’s superb farm-to-table dining.
Los Tres Gallos
Michel Zermeño and Fabiola Sánchez founded this downtown gem in 2010. It’s named after a trio of movie stars from Mexico’s Golden Age of Cinema: (Pedro Infante, Jorge Negrete, and Javier Solís, collectively Los Tres Gallos). It’s the premier local stop for traditional Mexican cuisine. A second restaurant has since opened in the Gallery District of San José del Cabo.
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Michelin Status: Recommended
Leona Vicario esquina 20 de Noviembre
San José del Cabo
Rodrigo Esponda, director general of the Los Cabos Tourism Board, recently noted via Travel Pulse Canada: “We are the number one region in Mexico that produces organic vegetables and fruit. Everything is for local consumption; we don’t export. We have sustainable fishing and farming, so the combination and innovation of the chefs really make our culinary scene unparalleled.”
Nowhere is that fact more evident than in San José del Cabo. The region’s acclaimed farm-to-table dining style was pioneered at restaurants just outside the city, like Flora’s Field Kitchen and Acre in Ánimas Bajas. It continues to be spotlighted in the popular downtown Gallery District, home to great art galleries and many of the area’s best restaurants.
Acre
A farm-to-table gem that’s as remarkable as the treehouse accommodations set on the property. The cuisine, contemporary Mexican with some global influences, is crafted from ingredients grown sustainably on the farm or bought from local fishermen or other local farmers.
Michelin Status: Green Star, Recommended
Ánimas Bajas
Flora’s Field Kitchen
With an outdoor dining area overlooking the 25-acre farm from which so many ingredients are sourced (meat comes from a nearby ranch), Flora’s Field Kitchen is the most iconic of the region’s farm-to-table restaurants and perennially the most popular. This place is always packed and with good reason.
Michelin Status: Green Star, Bib Gourmand
Ánimas Bajas
Lumbre
Chef César Pita’s Lumbre is one of several contemporary restaurants in San José del Cabo’s downtown Gallery District where the region’s incredible diversity of fresh seafood and organic produce is displayed. “It’s a Mexican and live fire concept,” notes the Michelin Guide, “with global influences where creativity and originality reign supreme.”
Michelin Status: Recommended
Calle José María Morelos 162
Omakai
The history of Japanese cuisine made from Mexican ingredients in Los Cabos dates back to 1994 when Nick-san invented it. However, per the Michelin Guide, Omakai is now the foremost proponent of this style, thanks to its flawless execution and superb fresh local seafood.
Michelin Status: Recommended
Ignacio Zaragoza 1311
Ruba’s Bakery & Bistro
Ruba’s backs up its pastries with more substantial bistro fare like the chef’s creative tasting menu prepared during the Gallery District’s weekly Art Walk.
Michelin Status: Recommended
José María Morelos 8
Tourist Corridor
It shouldn’t be surprising that many of Los Cabos’ best restaurants are found on the premises of in luxury resorts. That’s where all the celebrated chefs come from. The first big names like Larbi Dahrouch and Charlie Trotter were brought in 20 years ago by One&Only Palmilla.
More recently, it has been superstar chefs like Enrique Olvera and Sidney Schutte, two chefs with Michelin Guide credentials, who that have helped elevate the overall quality of Los Cabos cuisine at resorts like The Cape, A Thompson Hotel, and Grand Velas, respectively.
Árbol
Las Ventanas al Paraíso was the first of the modern luxury resorts in Los Cabos and it remains a benchmark for elegance and exceptional food and drink. Árbol doesn’t stint on the elegance, with Beluga caviar and Maine lobster among many luxury items on the menu. But it’s also one of the area’s most cosmopolitan eateries, thanks to Indian curries and other Asian culinary specialties.
Michelin Status: Recommended
Las Ventanas al Paraíso, Carretera Transpeninsular Km 19.5
Carbón Cabrón
The name itself is reason enough to visit. A grill aficionado’s idea of heaven, with wood-fired specialties from chef Poncho Cadena. These include the expected meat and seafood cuts, plus exquisitely grilled vegetables.
Michelin Status: Recommended
El Merkado, Carretera Transpeninsular Km. 24.5
Cocina de Autor
Eight to 10-course tasting menus highlight the experience at Cocina de Autor, Dutch master chef Sidney Schutte’s signature restaurant at Grand Velas, and the only restaurant in Los Cabos granted a coveted Michelin star.
Naturally, it’s hard to interpret giving the only star to a European chef as anything but a backhanded compliment to the region’s cuisine.
Michelin Status: One Star
Grand Velas, Carretera Transpeninsular Km. 17
Comal
Stylish decor, Sea of Cortezés views, and first-class cuisine courtesy of chef Yvan Mucharraz — formerly of Capella Pedregal — headline the attractions at this picturesque seaside restaurant at the luxurious Chileno Bay Resort & Residences.
Michelin Status: Recommended
Chileno Bay Resort & Residences, Caretera Transpeninsular Km. 15
Manta
Enrique Olvera, whose Pujol in Mexico City was one of only two restaurants in Mexico to receive two stars, opened this signature eatery at The Cape, A Thompson Hotel in 2015. The focus is on local ingredients, but with a pan-Pacific outlook.
As the chef told me when the restaurant had its grand opening: “Baja has a Pacific influence, so that’s why we’re playing around with Peruvian and Japanese flavors; because a sashimi, a tiradito, and a Mexican ceviche have a common language.”
Michelin Status: Recommended
The Cape, A Thompson Hotel, Carretera Transpeninsular Km. 5.5
Metate
A Bib Gourmand selection due to its combination of quality and value, Metate is “welcoming and attractive,” per Michelin, serving up Mexican specialties in a charming outdoor setting just outside Cabo San Lucas.
Michelin Status: Bib Gourmand
Avenida Crispin Ceseña S/N, El Tezal
Nao
Alex Branch is one of the most talented and well-traveled chefs in Los Cabos having worked with Enrique Olvera at Manta and helmed Acre — two other Michelin-recognized restaurants — before opening the Mediterranean-style Nao.
Michelin Status: Recommended
El Merkado, Carretera Transpeninsular Km. 24.5
Chris Sands is the Cabo San Lucas local expert for the USA Today travel website 10 Best, writer of Fodor’s Los Cabos travel guidebook and a contributor to numerous websites and publications, including Tasting Table, Marriott Bonvoy Traveler, Forbes Travel Guide, Porthole Cruise, Cabo Living and Mexico News Daily. His specialty is travel-related content and lifestyle features focused on food, wine and golf.
