Ala Braza — Restaurant in Nayarit

A La Braza is an incredible find. Gustavo, the owner, chef, server and host deserves a tremendous amount of praise and all of the business he can handle. With no formal training, he prepares and delivers his food at an incredibly high lever. A La Braza is the Textbook definition of a whole in the wall mom and pop place. But not the food. The food is at a whole other level. Not just of taste (which is amazing) but in presentation and appealing to all your senses. The Ribeye for example (picture below) he presents it to you with a pad of locally sourced butter and rosemary he cut from a potted plant he has near by, which in turn he melts with a blowtorch table side. The smell of the charred rosemary infuses the butter that flavors an already very tasty cut of meat. We also ordered the ribs (which Gustavo insisted we tried) and they were world class. We also tried all of their sides (corn, Mexican zucchini, fries) all expertly (I don’t use the term lightly) prepared and presented. Gustavo said to us: “ I don’t want to just give you good food, I want to create an experience”. My friend, you most certainly have. Service is as attentive and personal as it gets with the kitchen right there amongst the 6 tables of the restaurant located in the rooftop of what I’m assuming is Gustavo’s house. If you’re lucky, you will also catch Gus’ little girl watering the plants and flowers that adorn the place (because she wants to help). Oh and don’t get me started on the “off the menu“ desert. Half of a plantain, charred to perfection and topped with strawberry preserves and sweet and condensed milk… out of this world. Located around the corner from the famous “Tacos on the Street” in La Cruz, it’s definitely worth the trip. But in this humble reviewer’s opinion, you should go soon before Gustavo is discovered by the “in crowd” and there is a line...

We were looking for a steakhouse and Ala Braza had good ratings. OMG was it good!!!! Everything was amazing. It's a little outdoor, family run restaurant. So friendly. We ordered a bottle of red wine, which was chilled...it was perfect on a very hot evening. The Elote arrived first and the flavor was so delicious. Next came the perfectly cooked rib eye steak with arugula salad. Tender and delicious. Such a welcomed departure from the "buffet" back at the hotel!!!! oooooohhh I can't forget to mention the home made rolls, they were heavenly! Crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. We also had the bone marrow ... the smoky goodness melted in our mouths and as a finishing touch, we did a bone marrow tequila shot. So good! It was my husband's 60th birthday and they brought him a piece of cheesecake which was also yummy. I haven't even mentioned the best part...the service! The restaurant is run by a family and they take pride in their food and their service and it shows! If you want a quality culinary adventure with good service don't walk...run to Ala Braza!!! We will...

Ala Braza offers excellent BBQ in La Cruz. They have a simple menu written on a board with clear English translations. Server also speaks English fluently.Easy street parking on the cobblestone street at night and food came after a short wait.

We ordered the Charola Ala Braza which they said was enough for 2-3 people, and it fed our family of 2 adults and 2 kids easily. The ambiance was relaxing and allowed us to enjoy the meal.

My kids liked the ribs the most, while I though the chicken wings were on point. They were able to do half + half sauces for us, and we picked Spicy Tamarind and BBQ Honey. Both were great, but Spicy Tamarind wins with a slight edge. I also loved the spicy sauce that came with the plate, simply divine to dip the spicy wings in it.

If I had to nitpick, I would say the corn was very average. It tasted like it was steamed (over-steamed) without flavor and not as tender as it could be, but my kid loved it, so it worked out!

And they do take credit card which is always a...