Restaurante El Huachinango — Restaurant in Jalisco

This is an amazing little place, off the beaten path. We were visiting from CA with a friend who was familiar with the area. Instead of being touristy, we wanted to mingle with the locals and immerse ourselves in the community. Boca de Tomatlan was our destination today and it could not have been more perfect. The little village is in a cove surrounded by the jungle. Beautiful homes on the hills and the scenery is magnificent. We came across this restaurant (it's not the first one you see next to the wide concrete walkway, it's the one next to it). The service and food was awesome, truly authentic and welcoming. Try the whole fish special...truly one of the best things I've ever eaten...and right on the sand on a beautiful beach. Right from the restaurant, we chartered a little boat that took us to the back side of the cove to a private beach. We swam, jumped off rocks and climbed to the little waterfalls. It was truly the best day...with the best start at this...

Two of us shared their pescado Sarandeado specialty which was cooked over an outdoor fire. The waiter had first showed the whole fish to us for our approval. It was probably the freshest fish I've ever eaten. They served it butterflied, but some places serve it whole. I liked their way. You do have to sort through bones but it was so good I didn't much care. Put some fish between a homemade "melt in your mouth" tortilla and you've got a memory in the making. Boca de Tomatlan is one of the few places that serves this style fish, particularly cooked authentically over a fire. I've thought about going here for years, but it is a bit of a ride. I definitely shouldn't have waited so long. This was one of the highlights of our one month trip. I can't...

El Huachinango is one of two or three restaurants sharing a common patio/palapa at the beach in Boca de Tomatlan. Having read the favorable reviews, we made sure to sit at one of their tables. The lunch was a disappointment: slow service, very salty food, even for a Mexican restaurant. The steamed vegetables in my dish were overdone and mushy. The fish tacos were actually tortillas rolled up into thin "cigars", with filling that looked like chunks of minced fish. It was enjoyable to sit under the shade of the palapa right at the beach, but I wish we had done that at the price of a couple of...