Restaurant El Nene — Restaurant in Oaxaca

Wow, wow, wow! El Nene really took me by suprise. We walked and cabbed passed it so many times during the day and late afternoon and it was always empty, so we assumed it was open but just never busy aka the food couldn't be that good. Boy were we wrong! It just didn't open til 5pm, like many restaurants in PE.

A local bar tender from another spot recommended it, so we decided to give it a try for our last dinner after spending a month in PE, and i'm so glad we did. It was hands down the best food we had in Puerto Escondido, and we tried TONS of restaurants.

The flavor of the food was off the charts! Like wow!!! We tried the tuna tostadas, steak (beef), and the tuna steak/seared tuna. The seared tuna was out of this world!!!!! Seared gently to perfection with an Asian inspired citrusy soy sauce, mashed potatoes, and salad. The cocktails were awesome as well. I can't believe we only got to eat here once since it was our last night. What a gem! Hats off to the chefs! Servers were knowledgeable, friendly, and amazing with their recommendations.

The place is also beautifully designed, the ambiance is warm, inviting, and lively. It was packed to the brim! It'll definitely be my first stop for dinner next time we're in PE. If I could give it 10...

Updated for 2024: All is as excellent as ever…..perhaps better? Great service, amazing drinks, and the food is always spot on. I cannot imagine someone coming here and complaining as the staff seems to do it right and the kitchen is both consistent and the quality is kept high. We now sit at the bar all the time as we can hear each other better, and we can watch Juan Pablo (sorry if I spelled it wrong) and Diego doing their mixology magic. Our only complaint is they took the tofu tacos off the menu!! 2023: We’ve been here a couple of times already on this trip and will be back! The new building is awesome and, as before, it is an incredibly well run restaurant. We sat at the bar both times and the bartenders are rockin' the drinks. Everything gets out fast but they are not rushing you to get out….we had the tuna sashimi and caprese for the appie and a couple of the tofu taco orders this time. Last time we did the tuna tostada appie and camarone mains. Everything was excellent and it’s so nice to just know that there won’t be mistakes and all will be top notch. The drinks are fantastic and service is spot on. Definitely give it a try on the main strip in Rinconada across the street and down from their...

We are staying in Rinconada, and decided to stop in for dinner last night. It looked pretty touristy, but we were hungry and just wanted some quick tacos. Well, service took quite a while, the older gentleman that looked to be the owner or manager walked by us several times to chat with other tables, even put his hand on the back of my chair while walking by. Beers took about 20 minutes, but not a huge deal, we had chips and salsa (the salsa cacahuate was the best part). The tacos however, were some of the worst we have ever had. The Asada was dry and plain, the pastor was also super dry and mostly filler, and as someone that spends a lot of time in baja, there was nothing baja about the fish tacos, they were also dry and flavorless. We’ve never been ones to leave an empty plate, and arnt picky, but we ended up leaving 3 of the 9 tacos we ordered (we each tried one of each) Lots of great food in Puerto Escondido, I would...