Isabel Restaurant - Bar & Friends in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico

It was my first night in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, and I was hungry and tired. It was getting late, and due to COVID-19 restrictions, most restaurants in the city were shut down or closed for the night.

While walking around the backstreets of Cabo San Lucas between the marina and Medano Beach, I stumbled upon Isabel Restaurant—Bar & Friends. I knew nothing about this small restaurant, so I decided to take a chance on it without reading any reviews or looking at the menu.

Though it was late, standing out front was a man trying to get customers into his restaurant. The man was Alfonso, one of two twin brothers who operated the Mexican restaurant on a small street behind Puerto Paraiso Mall.

Alfonso told me that the restaurant opened four years ago and that they were planning to build a second floor soon. While business was down, Alfonso and his brother kept all their workers employed during the COVID-19 pandemic, which was fantastic.

If you are looking for more information about Cabo San Lucas, I highly recommend you pick up a guidebook such as Moon Los Cabos: With La Paz & Todos Santos

Interior

The dining room at Isabel Restaurant was small and open with only a few tables. The dim lighting made the space feel cozy, romantic, and intimate at night. Like many restaurants in Cabo San Lucas, Isabel Restaurant featured a covered yet open-air dining room. Since Cabo enjoys wonderful weather year-round, you can usually expect a cool and comfortable breeze.

With its open-air dining room and location on a small but busy street, I could hear the sounds of cars and motorcycles driving by. However, this wasn’t an issue with the live music. When the guitarist was playing, all the outside noises and worries disappeared.

Isabel Restaurant Menu

Dinner Menu at Isabel Restaurant - Bar & Friends — Dinner Menu at Isabel Restaurant – Bar & Friends

What I appreciated about the dinner menu at Isabel Restaurant was that it was one page. Many restaurants have confusing menus with multiple pages and endless options, making ordering confusing and time-consuming.

While only one page, the menu was anything but basic. There was something for everyone: appetizers, salads, soups, seafood, meats and combinations, and Mexican dishes. While not the cheapest restaurant in Cabo, I was getting my money’s worth.

Caesar Salad

When you think of Mexican food, the last thing you might think of is a Caesar Salad (215 pesos or about $10.66). Fun fact: Caesar Cardini invented the Caesar salad in 1924 in Tijuana. Cardini was an Italian immigrant who operated restaurants in the United States and Mexico. So, the Caesar salad can trace its roots back to Mexico.

The first thing that caught my attention was how big this Caesar salad was. While not cheap, its generous portion size was perfect for sharing. The next thing that caught my attention was how beautiful the salad was. They say you eat with your eyes first, so I hoped it tasted as great as it looked.

What stuck out was the dressing, which differed from your standard Caesar dressing from a bottle. Made in-house, the dressing had egg yolks and anchovies. Using egg yolks gave the dressing a bright, beautiful golden color, while the anchovies added saltiness. The dressing covered almost every piece of fresh, crunchy lettuce. But there wasn’t so much dressing that it made the lettuce soggy.

Topping the salad was fresh grated Parmesan cheese and crunchy, garlicky croutons. And that was about it. Simple, delicious, and fresh.

Shrimp Enchiladas in Green Sauce

With Cabo on the ocean, the city enjoys some of the freshest seafood. Therefore, I knew I had to order something with seafood. While there were many great options on the menu, I settled on the Shrimp Enchiladas in Green Sauce (340 pesos or about $16.94). This dish was absolutely beautiful and colorful.

If you order the shrimp enchiladas, you can choose either the red sauce, green sauce, or mole. While I bet all three sauces were delicious, I decided on the green sauce. This bright green sauce nearly covered the entire plate and looked beautiful. While light and thin, the green sauce was flavorful and tart from fresh tomatillos.

The enchiladas were quite simple. They consisted of perfectly rolled corn tortillas filled with chunks of fresh, plump shrimp and a mixture of sautéed vegetables.

On top of the enchiladas was a combination of creamy, fresh sour cream and queso oreado. Queso oreado is a local cheese with a salty, somewhat funky flavor that slightly melts.

The mixture of fresh shrimp, tortillas, cheese, and green sauce was the perfect combination of flavors and textures.

On the side was rice mixed with diced bell peppers, refried beans, and a tortilla chip. While simple, the refried beans were delicious. They were luscious, creamy, and smooth in texture and had a rich flavor.

Queso fresco was sprinkled over the refried beans, adding the perfect saltiness to each bite.

Chile Relleno with Shrimp

Next up was the Chile Relleno with Shrimp (340 pesos or about $16.94). This dish featured a poblano pepper stuffed with cheese and shrimp. On the side, a fried zucchini, rice, and the same delicious, luscious refried beans.

After sampling the green sauce with the shrimp enchiladas, I was excited to try the red sauce. This sauce was just as delicious as the green sauce but was thicker. The sauce, made from fresh tomatoes, had a sweet and tart flavor. I could taste the natural sweetness of the tomatoes in the sauce.

The highlight of the dish was the poblano pepper, stuffed with cheese and shrimp before being dipped in egg batter and fried. After being fried, the breading was flavorful with a spongy, soft, and moist texture. As with the enchiladas, the slightly spicy pepper had fresh, salty pieces of shrimp, sautéed vegetables, and that same funky, salty queso oreado.

On the side was another fried goodie. The fried zucchini was similar to the chile relleno with cheese, coated in batter, and fried the same way. The zucchini’s texture was crispy and soft after being lightly fried. The breading was soft, moist, and flavorful. Inside the hollow interior of the zucchini was a generous amount of queso oreado.

Service

The service at Isabel Restaurant was fantastic from the moment I walked into the restaurant until I left. Even though it was late at night and the restaurant was about to close, the servers treated me like a special guest. Everyone was friendly, from the servers to the owners. It was a memorable experience.

Conclusion

Whenever I travel, I plan ahead and make a list of must-visit restaurants or sights in a city. Over the years, however, I have realized that plans don’t always work out as expected.

I found this true when I visited Cabo San Lucas during the COVID-19 outbreak. While the city was everything I remember, everything was different. There were tourists, but the town was quiet. While some places were open, many restaurants, bars, and clubs were closed.

Some of my most memorable travel experiences have happened when I least expected it. While Isabel Restaurant was not on my list of restaurants to try in Cabo, I am thankful I stumbled upon it.

Everything about this unassuming restaurant, located on a small street away from most tourists, was excellent. The food was fantastic, and so were the people running it.

I highly recommend you add Isabel Restaurant—Bar & Friends to your list of must-try restaurants in Cabo San Lucas. It was a memorable dining experience, and I can’t wait to return on my next trip.

Pros

Delicious, homemade food using fresh ingredients and bright colors
Small but great menu with a wide variety of dishes
Fantastic service

Cons

More expensive than your typical restaurant in Cabo San Lucas, but you get what you pay for
Located away from the typical tourist zone on a small but busy street