Marlin Azul La Ventana — Restaurant in Baja California Sur

The one star is for the nice setting in a palapa, surrounded with lots of palm trees, lush flowers, and a pool. Despite the WRONG Opening Hours on Google we finally made it on February 5th that they were open. The waiter came after TEN minutes and handed as a breakfast menu - even it was twenty minutes before twelve noon. We ordered fresh juice and asked him nicely if we can bring us the lunch menu and we would wait until twelve. He refused and declared that there is a group coming for one o' clock. After another twenty minutes (it was already twelve) he came to take our breakfast order. Then 40 minutes after we arrived our drinks came! Nothing to nibble on ever came to the table like in other places. Then a lady walked out of the kitchen and asked us what we would like to order... So this waiter hadn't even told them what we wanted! Another fifteen minutes and the first dish came, but it looked totally different to the picture on the menu and the plate was half covered with beans. I asked to take the plate back because I had not ordered beans and they were not mentioned on the menu. They exchanged these beans with lettuce and Avocado. The fish was totally dry and salty.

Then my friend's dish, an omelette, arrived, but totally burned. The black was covered with lots of cheese and again half the plate full of beans. If I would be her, I would have refused it. But she is good-natured and put up with this. Then we waited, and waited, and waited some more for the waiter to bring our bill. But nothing happened. So I went to their bar and without a word he handed me the bill.

I have been in La Ventana for the second time for the whole winter and I tried pretty much every restaurant - high-end and low-cost, but I have never been in a restaurant in town where I had such a lousy service, bad food, and long waiting time. And I would never, every recommend anyone to patronize this place! There are great restaurants such as Pólvora El Cafe, The Ceviche Bar, Nomada, La Moringa, Mariscos El Cone, El Parmar, Wind Rider Restaurant, etc. where guest receive great service and delicious food in La Ventana. Don't put up...

UPDATE: October 2023: I ordered the shrimp combo (combinación azul?) and my usual mango margarita. The combo comes with two stuffed shrimp (empanizados), two coconut, and two breaded, and I could only finish the side salad and stuffed ones. They were very Rick and flavorful, and SO filling. My mom ordered the house frozen margarita, and as with most margaritas here in Mexico, it was on the tart side but not as tart as some others we've had down here. My mom ordered a cheese quesadilla but added chicken and said it was one of the best she's ever had. Their mashed potatoes are fantastic too!!

January 2022: This place is FANTASTIC! The prices are slightly high compared to a lot of other local fare, but you get huge portions! I went twice in the four weeks I was in town. I almost always get the coconut shrimp. They're delicious and pretty decently sized. It's served with a small side salad and delicious mashed potatoes. The first time we went, my grandpa got their burger (one of his usuals), and it was probably one of the top ten best burgers I've ever tasted, and burgers are one of my favorite things to get in the States. It's also enormous. He managed to finish it, but it could probably easily feed two people. Their table salsa is delicious! I'm also a big fan of their mango margaritas. I tend to like them on the sweeter side, and theirs definitely is, but I'm pretty sure the only other thing they add is the liquor. Delicious! I highly recommend!

April 2021: I got the rib and shrimp plate, and oh my! So good!! I love the salsa too. This is my new favorite restaurant...

Definitely not our favorite restaurant in la Ventana. I imagine happy hour might be nice. Margaritas were watered down compared to other restaurants, service was slow, and we were served a dish that looked amazing, but was wrapped in bacon which we do not eat, and this was not noted on the menu. We let the waiter know and he said oh that's too bad. We felt terrible not eating what looked to be an amazing meal, but the waiters reaction made it even more awkward. We didn't expect a discount, though he did tell us we would get one, when the check finally came, there wasn't a discount applied. We paid and left without saying anything and honestly won't be back. I will say that it was a busy night with minimal staff, so there must be a reason so many people were there, we just weren't...