Best Non-Mexican Restaurants in Vallarta-Nayarit Leave Your Daily Hell
go to original August 7, 2015

Sandrina's Restaurant-Boutique in Bucerias, Riviera Nayarit

When you think of vacationing along the pristine shores of Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, you think of lazy days at the beach, tangy margaritas at sunset and, above all, Mexican food. While it’s easy to feast on Mexican cuisine in your resort – or, to be sure, to take to the streets and find an amazing taqueria – the fact is that you might be craving something slightly less local at some point during your trip.

Here are some of the best non-Mexican restaurants in Puerto Vallarta and Riviera Nayarit:

Mediterranean Delights at Sandrina’s

With balmy weather all year round and dramatic, sweeping vistas, the climate and landscape of Puerto Vallarta are not terribly different from what you might expect somewhere along the Mediterranean. Sandrina’s, to be sure, draws not only only Mediterranean flavors, from Italian pastas, to grilled Greek- and Lebanese-style meats, but also on hospitality, such as when you’re enjoying wine on the beachside garden patio.

Archie’s Pan-Asian Wok

Asia’s a long way across the Pacific from Mexico, but if you get the craving for oriental-inflected cuisine while sunning yourself on Mexican shores, salvation is just a few steps from your Puerto Vallarta hotel room. Sample familiar favorites like Pad Thai and Vietnamese pho, or venture farther afield with more adventurous dishes, such as Pancit noodles from the Philippines or Singaporean-style fish. The ambiance here is as casual as food stalls in Southeast Asia, so you don’t need to feel pressured to dress up.

Pizza at Piazzetta

The war over where pizza originated will probably rage on forever, but if we assume for a moment that it originated in Naples, Italy, which many food historians believe is true, then the most authentic place to enjoy pizza in Puerto Vallarta is at La Piazetta, whose pizzas stay faithful to the true Neapolitan style.

Whether you keep it simply with the basil, cheese and tomato margherita, or enjoy a more festival flavor like quattro stagioni, close your eyes for a minute as you eat – you might see visions of Mt. Vesuvius. Pair your pizza with a glass of rich Italian vino or, if it’s available during your visit, a shot of rich limoncello, which like pizza (probably) originates from Naples.

Vitea’s Fresh, French Fare

French food might not be as ubiquitous as Italian favorites like pizza and pasta, even if the most popular food item with the moniker “French” (fries) is just as questionable in its attribution to France (they’re Belgian) as pizza is to Italy. Indeed, lunch or dinner at Vitea might not so much result from you craving French food as it does your curiosity to discover it for the first time.

The menu here, to be fair, does focus less on traditional French delicacies (you won’t find escargot or os à moelle bone marrow here), but rather on the fast-and-fresh “bistro” style of dining. And hey, there’s never a bad time to enjoy soup and salad, particularly when the salty sprite of Puerto Vallarta’s waves is perfuming the air around you.

Read the original at Leave Your Daily Hell.