Zoco Restaurante — Restaurant in Baja California Sur

This is the best restaurant in Cabo. It may not have the view of Sunset Monalisa, but Nico and his crew have created some of the most brilliant, creative, and delicious food I have ever had the privilege of tasting.

3 course meal, I can't recall the intimate details of the dishes because there was not a fixed menu and it changes with some regularity, (chef Nico read us the options and we chose what sounded good) but to give you an overview: Stuffed red pepper with wild mushroom in a homemade hummus, beef tongue salad, dressed with a garlicky, peppery, and lemony concoction with a hint of fish sauce (inspired by larb) that pairs beautifully with the meatiness of the tongue. The entrees were fried fish in what reminded me of a Japanese curry sauce with his take on a spring roll and a braised beef within an argentinian version of shepherd's pie. And finally, the desert... which if you had asked me about initially I would have been skeptical, but after tasting everything else Nico came up with I was eager to try: grilled eggplant stuffed with goat cheese, accompanied with almonds, preserved lemon, and Jewish style fried pastry bits soaked in orange blossom syrup coated in pistachio crumbles. Truly decadent and somehow felt healthy at the same time.

Make sure to try the house cocktail also, hibiscus water with mezcal, simple but very well thought out, they pair...

Memorable dinner at Zoco - make a reservation before it’s too hard to get a reservation! Chef Nico and his staff will see to it that you taste something new — maybe something you never would have thought to order or put together in one dish — and make you glad you trusted your evening to this chef’s creativity. Fixed-price 3 course at about $60(us) per person, or less if you decide you don’t want one of the courses. Pictured are the 3 appetizer courses for this evening (offerings change constantly based on season and local availability, which itself is an excellent indicator of high standards), and each one was a masterpiece. Main dishes offered this evening were a crispy fried chicken dish with broccolini and potatoes, an amberjack entree with fresh seasonal tomatoes and herbs (we watched them snip herbs right out of the little garden there), and a homemade spinach pasta with sundried tomatoes and mushrooms… we sampled them all and I would have been delighted with any one of them. Dessert? I’m not even going to give that away, as it was daring, original, brilliant… something I have never had in a dessert before and never would have guessed would be as delicious as it was. Seating is all outdoors, but serapes are on hand for chilly evenings, and this place is well away from the adolescent nonsense of Cabo’s main party scene. Stop browsing...

We saw this place on Google and that it was five stars. I was a bit nervous that it had fewer reviews than other restaurants even if it was five starts. I even looked to see if the other reviewers had like 1-2 reviews so they must have been friends and family.

But we decided to try it out based on the reviews and i gotta say WOW!

We had a fantastic evening! We got the grilled salads and chicken curry and gnocchi with mushroom and pork cheek.

And we talked to Nico for a long time! He’s the owner and head chef. There isn’t a menu he just tells you what he has that day and the choices are all fantastic! It’s not limiting at all. It’s all craveable and unique.

Nico has worked in high end restaurants and traveled the world for years at a time, seeking out locals who cooked with interesting flavors and techniques. He’s brought that all back home to his restaurant where he cooks with his heart and a whole lot of love.

Give it a try. It’s interesting and amazing. You must get the chamomile and orange iced tea! And the gelato is some of the best I’ve had...