Café de Olla

This place is authentic! I had the octopus plate, which is literally the best! My boyfriend had the steak fajitas, he is not much of a Mexican food eater but absolutely loved this. He even said
«If we have so many Mexican restaurants back in the states, why do so many fail to make delicious food like this»
You need to go, and bring cash because they do not accept cards.

Amazing lobster plate. The steak has something left to be desired. But 3 half lobsters for $ 45+ with great sides is worth it. Maybe ask for something other than the meat. If the steak was as perfect as the lobster, I’d give it 5 stars.

We enjoyed our dinner her during our recent trip to PV. The inside is nothing fancy. It’s partially open to the street. The kitchen is also open. Our server was quick and attentive. The food portions were huge! Of course we ordered the guacamole and it was delicious. I also highly recommend getting the mushrooms… they were the best thing we ordered. I had chile rellenos and they were good. They also bring out some very tasty garlic bread that we devoured. I’m sure it’ll be a place that we go to again once we go back.

Amazing food and atmosphere with great prices to boot. I’d definitely come again for the chili relleno.

One of my favorite restaurants in PV… I love the steak and sea food plater for 2…

Loved this place! There were long lines here the first few nights we were in town. However, one night we got lucky and arrived before a big group did, so the two of us were able to get a seat. They had an open kitchen to the side, which I liked. Any place that is willing to show their kitchen makes me feel more comfortable. The food everyone got looked delicious. We decided to get their special lobster and seafood platter, AS as a fajita. It was an insane amount of food, but worth it (see photos). It definitely wasn’t the cheapest food in PV, but we loved our meal.
1. The platter: We had two lobsters, which were steamed and sliced in half. It had a sauce on it that was delicious. In addition, there was shrimp, fish, and many other items. It was really just fun to eat when on vacation. Made for some great photos!
2. The fajita was also really delicious, but I was so stuffed from the seafood platter, it was hard to finish this. We, of course, did.
3. Don’t forget to order the guacamole with your chips. It’s delicious in PV.
4. Flan: SO GOOD. I like flan of all type. In Asia, the flan has a very silky, smooth consistency. The ones in Mexico have a more granular, denser texture. This was absolutely delicious. The density was superb!

I would not suggest this restaurant. We went in November, and of the three if us, two contracted eColi. My partner had renal failure and came close to death before we realized how bad it was; spent a week in the hospital here and another week in Milwaukee. Our guest made it back to Milwaukee, and was hospitalized for weeks.

Our last dinner in PV was here. We actually canceled reservations at another establishment to dine here.
ATMOSPHERE:
The open air interior décor is nothing memorable. Seating inside is a bit cramped, with a few seats out on the sidewalk.
MENU:
Mexican and American apps & entrees.
FOOD:
Chips & Salsa — I’ve never seen a fresher salsa than this. They used fresh tomatoes, onions, and cilantro, all diced up nearly with hardly any sauce
Mushrooms With Garlic — Whole mushrooms done in a butter, garlic, and possibly wine sauce. Very tasty.
Garlic Bread — The soft slices were buttered and sprinkled with fresh, chopped garlic. Great taste.
Melted Cheese — A small cast iron pan was half filled with some kind of gooey, white cheese and loaded with crumbled chorizo sausage. Total yum!
Empanadas — Horribly tasteless. 3 pieces covered in shredded lettuce. We opted for stuffings of chicken, mushrooms, and beef. Such a disappointment.
Shrimp — The tastiest entrée of the night. 8 butterflied pieces of perfectly grilled shrimp done with garlic. The sautéed veggies were severely overcooked.
Chocolate Cake — The slice had some layers of white cream frosting and overall was super moist, borderline mushy. Better than dry!
Flan — I love custard, but their version was a bit grainy and not smooth. The flavor was okay but not spot on. Pass.
SERVICE:
Our male server was quick but unpolished, and portrayed a very sloppy image by leaning on the walls, checking his phone and counting their tips in front of guests while sitting at neighboring tables. The only time he returned to our table was when it came time for dessert.
A female cook was eating out of a bowl right at the prep station in plain view of everyone. They take their customers for granted.
OVERALL:
Good apps, bland empanadas, unprofessional service.

This is a favorite place for my husband, friends and me. It remains consistent over the years, efficient friendly service, generous margaritas at a very reasonable price. I have taken a liking to the mango margaritas. We all stick with the ribs now, although friends have liked the Mexican dishes too. Skip the steak and you are likely to enjoy other places more for seafood. There may be a line outside depending on the time of day.

First restaurant in first visit to PV. Service is good. The length of time is not so great when you have a hungry fussy kid but awesome if you are drinking and socializing with friends.
Our table ordered
Fish tacos — it had grilled green bell peppers and onion with side of guacamole. The meat was a hardy white fish– snapper-​ish
Chicken tacos — shredded white meat dipped in slightly spicy red sauce with shredded lettuce and sliced tomatoes with a side of boiled beans
Chicken empanadas — a fried version of the tacos with cheese
Octopus (garlic) — the crown of the table. Tender, well flavored. Came with a bit of rice and boiled veggies
Carne asada — beef very well marinated and grilled. Definitely a must try if you like meat.
Beef quesadilla
Guacamole — standard guacamole with tomatoes
Melted quesos — served with oiled? Flour tortillas. Hit with 2 year old.
Margarita mango and coconut — mango was so so
Lemonade — good. Not fresh kind.
Assessment: avoid the tacos, quesadillas, empanadas since they are not what you’d expect from back home.
Go for the seafood platter and crane asada. Enjoyable from the looks of other table.

This place is no joke.
The carne asada won’t return my phone calls. I’m like, «can I see you again? I just want to see you again. Call me.»
If you are in PV, say hi to the carne asada at Café de Olla for me. I am in love with it.

OK! I run hot and cold on CdO — last night was definitely cold. Just wanted some breaded fried shrimp and one of their baked potatoes. Started with just a small margarita which was good but only a couple of ice cubes and it took an act of congress to get some more ice. I give them credit for replacing the ridiculous plastic salsa containers that they had adopted in the Fall with traditional Mexican crockery — big improvement. The shrimp were hideous though. Over fried and sitting in little pools of rancid fryer oil. I asked for the check. They’re in a time out.

Very authentic food and this place is always packed. We got the enchiladas and sample platter with 2 alcoholic drinks, our total was under $ 20 USD. Service was quick and the food was delicious. We’ll definitely back!

This place has really nice ambiance and the music that they played during the breakfast was fantastic. I ordered pancakes with apple slices and pecans, chili con carne, chilaquiles, Café De olla, and machaca. The portions were generous enough to fill the hungriest of appetites. The only downside was the very poor Service from the Tom Selleck, receding hairline wannabe that acted like he was doing us a favor by waiting on us. my tip for him reflected his poor attitude and terrible service. Will we return? Probably not. Bad service even when there’s good food will get you a low rating in my book.

We went there for brunch. No too shabby. I liked my machaca and my bfs omelet was pretty good. Love the café leche. Fruit plate was fresh.
From the outside looks like a little hole in the wall but the restaurant goes beyond with a cute little garden-​like seating in the back. Friendly staff. Great house-​made tortilla chips.

Went there my first morning in town. Great way to start my trip!
Excellent fruit plate! Loved the beans, i liked the eggs (and i can go either way on eggs). Hand made corn tortillas! Need i say more?
Im not big on breakfast, but this is my first choice for breakfast in the Zona Romantica in PV.

Great variations of favorites right in Old Town. We really enjoyed our meal at this sorta touristy spot. They do good eats. Dishes not to be missed:
— tortilla soup (so much cheese)!
— empanadas (preferably beef)
— carne asada
Great little joint with good service.

Café de Olla is a popular breakfast place in PV which is in the Basilio Badillo area. We scored since it was a short walk from our condo. They also have dinner, but we never made it back here for dinner.
For breakfast, the chilaquilas is what to order. It comes with a side of refried beans and rice. For those of you who do not know or never had chilaquilas, they’re tortilla chips (here at Café’ de Olla, they are thin strips) which are tossed in a red sauce topped with cheese and typically an egg (any style you prefer), or here you can also top in with chicken. I went with 2 fried eggs over medium. The plate also came with a small slice of watermelon. The chilaquilas was delicious. Cooked perfectly and very hearty and satisfying to prepare my day at the beach and sightseeing.

Good enough food for a tourist trap restaurant. But everything in this neighborhood is an overpriced tourist trap. SF Unilocalers, this area is the equivalent of pier 39.
I had garlic octopus with vegetables lunch plate. Bambie had the fish burger. We drank 2 cokes & 2 penafiel fizzy waters. Bill = 400 pesos with tip. A bargain it was not.
Portion size is adequate even for a big eater, which I am. I did wipe my plate clean. And went next door to Lix ice cream for dessert.
Verdict? In other non-​touristy sections of PV I’ve had way more delicious food for 60% less money. Advice? Learn to speak Spanish and ask an honest cab driver where he eats a good comida corrida. Leave the credit cards in your hotel room safe. Bring pesos.

My husband and I have been coming to this restaurant for years, and each time we are in Vallarta, we eat here multiple times. The employees are friendly, the restaurant is super cute, and the food is consistently delicious.
We always order the chilaquiles. If you’re not familiar, this is a traditional Mexican breakfast dish. We’ve had so many versions in so many different cities in Mexico, but we both agree that Café de Olla has the best chilaquiles we’ve ever had! We order chilaquiles verdes con huevos estrelladas — green sauce with eggs over easy. But you can order red sauce instead of green, and add chicken if you want. I’ve probably had that dish 25 times over the years, and it continues to be my favorite.
There are three tables outside — typically at least one is available, but if not, it’s worth the wait!
Another tip — if you like coffee, order the café de olla. It’s a mexican style coffee with cream and piloncillo. They bring the cream, and the piloncillo is in a box on the table. I typically take my coffee black, but when at café de olla, I drink my coffee café de olla style!