Lake Chapala Restaurant Guide

Is anyone going to La Bodega on Thursday to see the female mariachis? We saw them perform in Tlaquepaque over the holidays and were impressed. We ate at La Bodega once, on Thanksgiving, and were not particularly impressed, but I chalk this up to trying to prepare traditional American food with poor recipes, so I am willing to try again. They should ask this southerner, next year, how to prepare cornbread dressing and pecan pie and pumpkin pies!

Thanks, Don, for the bus info. We love taking the buses in Mexico and are ready to go a little further afield, now that we are feeling comfortable with traveling around Lakeside and Guadalajara.

We traveled out to El Ancio Restaurant, Bar and Grill today, located west of Los Sabinos. I rarely see this mentioned as a good local place to eat, so was a little wary. However, we had a few recommendations and decided to try it. We were pleasantly surprised.

This is a great place to eat, creative and delicious-sounding dishes on the menu, a full bar and desserts that are different from the flan usually offered at local restaurants. We tried a fish and a chicken dish. They were great.

We had bananas flambé for dessert, which was quite good. We reviewed it on our blog, but wanted to recommend it here as well. Really good food and we plan to return soon.

Back to the restroom topic, I did take photos of the highly regarded men's room at Casa Valadez in Guanajuato:
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Wow, I never get to see the inside of a men's room so thanks for posting that. Reminds me of the restrooms in Soji Tabuchi's Theater in Branson, expect that the Branson men's room had a pool table.

Also please include  " Go "  Peter Palmer's  (Pedro)  Restaurant with the Best view and great food.

Please include Thor's in Riberas next to S&S.

We had not been to this restaurant since it was Bubbas and we were quite pleased to hear the reviews from the community about the new management. My wife and I decided to go for lunch yesterday. She had the BBQ ribs w/fries and said they were really good. I had the southern fried chicken with fries and it was very good. We will go back and try the other items on the menu as we can. We were very pleased with the food and service.

A highlight of our meal was getting to meet Thor & Laura. Very nice people! Also the unforgetable biscuit that is the best I have had in many years.

Great job!

TTT. As a guy I too like to avoid men's washrooms. Ladies washrooms are usually cleaner and you get to generally meet a better class of people, except college towns. The downside, the ladies tend to take my presence as an affront. By working the senior/age angle I seem to get away with it. I particularly enjoy the lack of those urinal thingies and other guys checking out my you know. Also, you almost never get moisturizer in the "Mens". Both the "Mens" and the "Ladies" @ the Shangri La Hotel in Vancouver, B.C. have moisturizer. I know, I checked - same scent. What's up with that ? Ooops, gotta go, hear sirens.

From your post, Borderreiver, you appear very confused and I feel compelled to remind you that the moisturizer in the ladies room is for your hands. Applying moisturizer inappropriately may explain the affront that ladies feel by your presence. It may also explain why men cannot be trusted with a moisturizer dispenser in their washroom. As for your question about Canadian washroom culture, I have no idea, just like I have no idea why Canadian men wear plaid shorts, white knee socks and sandals and smell like my moisturizer. What is with that? TTT

We have put "Thor's" on our list of places to try. We have noticed the changes and the increase in customers lately - a good sign. Still must get to "Go".

There is a pizza place on the lake side of the Carretera in Riberas that looks interesting, does anyone know anything about this place and would you recommend it?

We visited Café Negro for breakfast - someone explain to me the attraction of this café to expats. I don't get it. Rarely, in lakeside cafes and restaurants, do we encounter rude service, but our waitress at Café Negro was downright surly, and we were charged $10pesos to top off our cup of regular coffee when our meal was served.

The food was fine, but service was probably the worst I have encountered since arriving here. In an area where customers get to know the owners, where the wait staff greets you like an old friend when you visit more than once, why would anyone eat at an establishment that treats customers like they are a bother?

I've always had friendly, responsive service and have never felt I was bothering anyone with my requests. That and the excellent food is why I keep returning. Sorry your experience was different.

As for the pizza place, Toscano Pizzeria, they serve a very nice thin crust pizza. Their pastas and salads are also good. I find the service friendly and attentive there, also.

Thanks for your reply. We must have visited Café Negro when someone was having a bad day. We are pretty easy-going about service - not demanding or unreasonable - so for a waitress to act visibly annoyed is uncommon treatment for us.

Will try Toscano Pizzeria. Sometimes I just get hungry for a good pizza. But for today, it is El Jardin de Ninette. We haven't been there in a while and want to review it while the tastes are fresh in our minds - at least that is our excuse to go there today for lunch.  

My book club met there today at 1:00. I hadn't tried it at their new location.
They had an awesome hamburger selection on the menu for 65 pesos including fries or salad.  There were other offerings, including some meal sized salads, chicken dishes and seafood.  Diners had the option of having 1/2 orders of the main menu items.

I ordered one of the burgers and when it arrived, it was thicker than my mouth could chomp on.   Others succeeded in the process. Some gave up quickly.   Rather than struggle messily, I took it apart and downed the components.  Very good they were, too.  There were three additives in  bowls: a good barbeque sauce, mustard sauce and I'm guessing.....ketchup. The salad was small but good.  My companions liked the fries they had with theirs.
 
Very nice atmosphere; attentive waiters.  I'll be back.  I think I'll order something easier to consume, but that was one fine burger.

gringal wrote:My book club met there today at 1:00. I hadn't tried it at their new location.
They had an awesome hamburger selection on the menu for 65 pesos including fries or salad.  There were other offerings, including some meal sized salads, chicken dishes and seafood.  Diners had the option of having 1/2 orders of the main menu items.

I ordered one of the burgers and when it arrived, it was thicker than my mouth could chomp on.   Others succeeded in the process. Some gave up quickly.   Rather than struggle messily, I took it apart and downed the components.  Very good they were, too.  There were three additives in  bowls: a good barbeque sauce, mustard sauce and I'm guessing.....ketchup. The salad was small but good.  My companions liked the fries they had with theirs.
 
Very nice atmosphere; attentive waiters.  I'll be back.  I think I'll order something easier to consume, but that was one fine burger.

I'm a little confused Gringal.  Are you talking about Thor's, Café Negro or somewhere else?

Hey, Gringal, that was us sitting at the table next to you! The only other table in the restaurant.

Lunch was very, very good. I usually have the BLT, but this time I tried the spinach and chicken salad with mango chutney and can recommend it. I love the bread and herb butter. There are always about a dozen items on their menu that tempt me.

I really love this place. I often wonder why there are not as many people eating here for lunch as at Tango - the food is so good, the service excellent and the ambiance is wonderful (except when the noisy book club is meeting - JK   )

Do you think it is because many people do not know of the new location? I know it took us 2 months to find Yves new location after they moved.

BTW, what book is the club reading?

Oatsie, if you wait to start drinking until after dinner, it will be much easier for you to read and understand these posts.

Gringal's comment was in reference to my comment that we were going to eat at El Jardin de Ninette today - which we did, and even sat next to Gringal and didn't even know it.

For a great sandwich and salad check out Verde cafe,nest to upscale retail. Lorna, the owner, is almost always there and I have never been disappointed. Great coffee too!

TTT wrote:Hey, Gringal, that was us sitting at the table next to you! The only other table in the restaurant.

Lunch was very, very good.  I usually have the BLT, but this time I tried the spinach and chicken salad with mango chutney and can recommend it. I love the bread and herb butter. There are always about a dozen items on their menu that tempt me.

I really love this place. I often wonder why there are not as many people eating here for lunch as at Tango - the food is so good, the service excellent and the ambiance is wonderful (except when the noisy book club is meeting - JK   )  

Do you think it is because many people do not know of the new location? I know it took us 2 months to find Yves new location after they moved.

BTW, what book is the club reading?

Sent you a PM.......read all about it  

Okay, Shan, I give up. Where is Café Verde? We cannot find an address, a review, or a mention of it anywhere else.

Had a great lunch in Chapala today - very unexpected - at a place called La Lena. Very good food, outdoor seating, clean washrooms.

Cafe Verde is in the strip mall that includes the Maskaras Clinic. It is next to the second hand store and I assume it has some connection to the second hand store. It looks nice but I haven't tried it.

Luisa wrote:Cafe Verde is in the strip mall that includes the Maskaras Clinic.  It is next to the second hand store and I assume it has some connection to the second hand store.  It looks nice but I haven't tried it.

I don't think it's connected, except physically, to the Upscale Resale place. I peeked inside the restaurant and it's a cutie. The one problem is the location with it's difficult parking situation.

?
There seems to be quite a bit of parking space available for Café Verde, Upscale Resale, Dr Pinto, Maskaras Clinic and whatever else is located in that area... you may have to walk from your car to the door a few feet if you can't park right in front of the establishment of your choice.

when i go to the gym,i park in front of that empty building to the east of everything so yes,there is plenty of parking

Not to nitpick the responses, but what I meant is that the restaurant itself suffers from lack of parking adjacent to it.  Down the street, yes, and that's fine by me since my feets work.

Not to nitpick your not nitpicking but parking is right in front of the restaurant....   

where i park is only 30-40ft. away. if you can't walk that far-'nough said-SNORK!