El Ciruelo — Restaurant in Baja California Sur

I only leave negative reviews when really disappointed, and this is one of those rare times. Maybe it’s just that this place doesn’t know how to give proper attention or cater to solo diners? I sat for 20 minutes and had to ask myself to get menus. (The servers weren’t trying to ignore me, but they were giving far more attention to every other table, all of which had parties of 2+. I learned that you have to buy bottled water if you want water to drink (in CDMX or other cities in Mexico, that is absolutely standard, but PLENTY of places in Cabo that have filtered water they provide so for expensive restaurants it comes across as super cheap to not have that option), and there are no specialty cocktails- just a beer and wine list. And they sell almost nothing by the glass, and multiple servers kept pushing and trying to upsell a bottle. I had no intention of drinking a bottle to myself, and couldn’t even justify as a value because the price markup on bottles is excessive, even in comparison to other expensive restaurants in Cabo. After almost 30 minutes and just total disappointment and frustration I decided it was best to leave, so I can’t comment on the food. Definitely does NOT live up to the standards I’m used to for restaurants attached to a Westin- so much room for...

Dinner for 2 on our 3rd day at the resort. It started off very turbulent, the guests behind us were arguing to the point of us wanting to leave and the first interaction with our server wasn't much better. However we stayed and the food and wine more than made up for the weird situations. With a bottle of wine ordered the anxiety dropped. We started with a locally grown organic tomato salad which was extremely refreshing. The dressing complimented extremely well. Next was various types of bread with a tomato infused butter. Followed after with a beef empanada with a habanero salsa. Everything was extremely enjoyable. Our main course was a Sea Bass with a mushroom risotto and a ribeye with grilled vegetables. The mains were superb, nothing like a really well executed meal to completely take the initial sour taste out of the air. We finished with a coffee and a cream brulee with local assorted fruit. We feel that the initial situation was only an unintentional situation and not typical of the restaurant. Overall the night was good and the food was exceptional. Dinner for 2 was...

El Ciruelo offers great views, but it's far from fine dining. For a $150+ per person dinner, you could eat at one of Cabo's highly awarded restaurants for the same price.

Pros: The staff were friendly, and our server Jose really took care of us.

Dessert was good and well made.

Cons: Poorly trained staff: Bread came after the appetizers, and the intermezzo sorbet arrived before the main course, showing a lack of fine dining experience.

Disappointing food quality: The amuse-bouche was stale, tortillas were store-bought, and the fish course was overcooked with soggy skin.

Inexperienced management and chef: It’s evident they have never worked in fine dining before.

Inefficient service: The wait staff also act as runners, making it hard to find help and causing the food to come out cold after sitting on the pass too long. They need dedicated runners.

Despite the friendly service, the dining experience and food quality were well below expectations, especially given the price. Save your money for a truly fine dining...