Cabo After Dark: A Local's Guide to Sunset, Dinner and Late Drinks

Here is the thing about Cabo after dark that surprises people: it is an early town. Most kitchens close at 10 or 10:30pm and the beach bars shut at 10. If you plan the night like you would in a big city, you will be hungry at 11 with nowhere to sit. Plan it like a local, sunset first, dinner by 8, music after, and it is one of the best evenings in Mexico.

Sunset comes first

Sunset Monalisa

At km 6 on the Corridor, and the one table everybody should do once. Mediterranean fine dining, $$$$, open 4pm to 10:30pm, with a 4.5 rating from over 2,100 reviews. There is live music, a fireplace, and a serious wine and cocktail list. Come for a drink at golden hour even if you eat somewhere else. Book ahead in peak season, November through April.

Dinner downtown

Salvatore G's

The highest-rated room on this list: a 4.8 from close to 2,000 reviews. Italian, $$$, on Vicente Guerrero, open 11am to 10:30pm, with Sunday starting at 4pm. A good wine list and no pretense.

Los Tres Gallos

Mexican, $$, on the corner of Leona Vicario and 20 de Noviembre, open 11am to 10pm every day. A 4.4 from about 1,530 reviews, with live music. This is where we send people who say they want real Mexican food and mean it.

Romeo & Julieta

On Blvd. Paseo de la Marina, Italian, $$, a 4.6 from nearly 1,400 reviews. It opens at 4pm and runs to 11pm Monday through Saturday, 2pm to 10pm on Sunday. One of the later kitchens downtown, with live music and a proper wine list.

Edith's Restaurante

Near Medano on Avenida del Pescador. Mexican fine dining, $$$$, open 5pm to 10pm, a 4.5 from around 1,170 reviews, with live music. It is the special-occasion room on this side of town.

Medano Beach: evening on the sand

The Office

Tables in the sand on Playa El Medano, open 7am to 10pm. $$$, a 4.3 from over 5,300 reviews, with live music and a good cocktail list. Best as a long dinner with your feet in the sand, not as a late bar.

Mango Deck

Same beach, louder crowd. Open 8am to 10pm, $$, a 4.4 from roughly 6,200 reviews. Bar games, live music, quiz nights and dancing. It closes at 10, so treat it as the warm-up.

Where the music goes latest

Cabo Wabo Cantina

On Vicente Guerrero downtown, open 9am to 11pm daily. $$, with a 4.3 from more than 6,250 reviews. Live music, live performances, dancing and happy-hour drinks. It is the most famous bar in town and still the easiest answer to where the band is playing.

The San José del Cabo side

San José is a different night: art district streets, mezcal, earlier bedtimes. It is a 30 minute drive from Cabo San Lucas, so give it its own evening.

La Lupita Taco & Mezcal

On José María Morelos, open noon to 10:30pm, closed Monday. $$, a 4.6 from around 2,200 reviews. Tacos, a deep mezcal list, live music and rooftop seating. Our favorite casual night in San José.

Jazmin's Restaurant

A few doors down at Morelos 14, open 8am to 11pm every day, which makes it the late one on this side. Mexican, $$, a 4.5 from about 1,900 reviews, with live music.

Baja Brewing Company

The San José brewpub, open 11am to 10pm. $$, a 4.5 from around 1,380 reviews, with live music and a great beer selection.

Flora Farms

Out at km 30 in Las Ánimas Bajas. Farm-to-table, $$$, a 4.7 from about 3,400 reviews. Dinner runs 5:30 to 9pm Tuesday through Saturday. Sunday is 10am to 2pm only and Monday is closed, so check the day before you drive out.

How to plan the night

• Sunset, then dinner by 8. Most kitchens close between 10 and 10:30pm.
• Check Monday. La Lupita and Flora Farms are both closed.
• One zone per night. Do not cross the Corridor twice in one evening.
• Carry small pesos. Tips run 15 to 20 percent and musicians appreciate cash.
• Agree the taxi fare first, especially late.

Early dinner, live music, home by midnight: that is Cabo after dark when you live here. See everywhere we eat on our Cabo restaurants page.