Baja Cuisine: Rosarito to Ensenada

One of the best parts of the Baja riding experience is the cuisine. Yep, there are great roads, the scenery is breathtaking, there’s whale watching like no place else in the world, the ancient missions and cave paintings are amazing, and the people are wonderful.   But what might be the best-kept Baja secret is the cuisine. In fact, if you need an excuse to head south (not that anyone ever needs an excuse for a motorcycle ride), you might want to ride Baja just to sample the food. It’s that good.

One of the things Baja has going for it is that no matter where you are, you’ll never be more than a few miles from the sea. That means great seafood, and lots of it. Fish tacos are a Baja staple, but there’s more. Lots more. We thought it might be fun to share with you a few of our favorite Baja restaurants in a series of blogs organized by area. This first one will be the Rosarito Beach-Ensenada corridor. With that as an intro, here we go…

Rosarito Beach

Located about 35 miles or so south of the border, Rosarito Beach is a tourist town, but that doesn’t mean it’s all refrigerator magnets and velour Elvis portraits.  There are two spots in this town that we love: The Rosarito Beach Hotel, and Susanna’s.

You can spot the Rosarito Beach Hotel from the cuota (the toll road heading to Ensenada).  It’s one of the tallest buildings to your right.

If you’re thinking that hotel restaurants are both overpriced and mediocre, you’d be correct most of the time, but the Rosarito Beach Hotel is the exception. If you stay at the Rosarito Beach Hotel you get one meal free (they’re smart, you may not want to go anywhere else after that first one) and if you’re there on a Sunday, you don’t want to miss the brunch. It’s awesome.  If you stop on the way south just for a meal, there’s ample protected parking and the hotel is biker-friendly.

Another best kept secret in Rosarito Beach is Susanna’s. It’s literally a 5-star restaurant tucked away in a small group of boutique shops at 4356 Benito Juarez Boulevard.    Folks, trust me on this:  Susanna’s is one of the best high end restaurants in the world.  I’ve been all over the world.  I know what I’m talking about here.

I always make it a point to have at least one dinner at Susanna’s whenever I’m passing through Rosarito Beach, and there have been more than a few times when I made Rosarito Beach a stop just to eat here.  It’s that good, and Susanna is an absolutely gracious proprietor.

Ensenada

As one of Baja’s larger cities, Ensenada has many dining choices. My favorites are any of the street taco stands (I love Baja street tacos), Los Veleros for breakfast, and a family-style place I just learned about called Birrieria La Guadalajara for either lunch or dinner (it’s on Macheros Street a little off the edge of the tourist area).

Los Veleros Restaurante is next to the Hotel Corona on Lázaro Cárdenas (it’s on the right as you head south, just a few blocks past where the cruise ships dock). Los Veleros has the best breakfasts in town, confirmed by the local business folks who regularly dine there. Breakfasts start with a plate of pastries that, all by themselves, are worth the trip to Baja (I’ll say that a lot about my favorite dining spots in Baja, and I’ll mean it every time).

My preference for street tacos in Ensenada is any taco stand along the waterfront.  Even though many folks who have never been to Mexico might be hesitant to try these, I haven’t found a bad one yet.   Head toward the embarcadero if you’re in the tourist area, and take your choice.  You can’t go wrong.

For either lunch or dinner, there are many choices in Ensenada.  I’ve tried many of them and they are all good.   Here’s the hot ticket:  The family-style dining at Birrieria La Guadalajara.

A meal at the Birrieria La Guadalajara is a treat not to be missed. I’m embarrassed to admit I only found out about this magnificent restaurant on my most recent trip to Baja (and I have my good friend Tim to thank for that).  Bring your group and bring an appetite, make your own tacos or burritos, and try the goat (you can thank me later).  It’s the best meal in Ensenada!

That’s it for our first installment on Baja’s gastronomical delights.  If you know of a great place to eat in the Rosarito-to-Ensenada corridor that we haven’t mentioned, by all means please leave a comment and let us know about it.  And watch the Exhaust Notes blog; we’ll be adding to this series with a focus on each Baja area of interest.   So what’s up next?  Hey, our next set of dining delights will be in the stretch south of Ensenada all the way to El Rosario!