The Hardest Reservations in Cabo: Restaurants to Book Before You Land

Most nights in Cabo you can walk in somewhere good. A few tables do not work that way. They are small, or they have the view, or they only seat dinner, and in high season they fill days ahead. These are the ones we book before we do anything else, and how we get in when we forgot.

The ones to book first

Sunset Monalisa

The hardest table in Los Cabos is a specific one: here, at sunset. Sunset Monalisa is at km 6 on the highway, fine dining, $$$$, open 4pm to 10:30pm, with a 4.5 from more than 2,100 reviews. Everybody wants the same ninety minutes. In high season, book a week or more out, and ask for a time before the sun goes down.

Flora Farms

Flora Farms runs on set seatings: breakfast 9am to 10:30am, lunch 11am to 1:30pm, dinner 5:30pm to 9pm, Tuesday through Saturday. Sunday is 10am to 2pm only, and Monday it is closed. Fewer seatings means fewer tables. It is $$$ and carries a 4.7 from around 3,400 reviews. Book this one before your flight.

Edith's Restaurante

Dinner only, 5pm to 10pm, on Av. del Pescador. $$$$, a 4.5 from about 1,170 reviews. Five hours of service a night and a room people plan anniversaries around. Reserve early in the trip.

Acre Restaurant

Farm-to-table in San José del Cabo, $$$, 4.6 from around 1,600 reviews. Weekdays it is open 11:30am to 10pm. On Saturday and Sunday it splits into brunch, 10am to 2pm, and dinner, 5pm to 10pm. The weekend dinner is the tough one.

Salvatore G's

The highest rating on this list, a 4.8 from nearly 2,000 reviews. $$$, on Vicente Guerrero, open 11am to 10:30pm and from 4pm on Sunday. The trick here is lunch. Same kitchen, much easier table.

Daikoku

Sushi inside Plaza Nautica on the Marina, $$$, open 1pm to 11pm, a 4.5 from over a thousand reviews. It is a quiet room, so prime-time tables go. Go late or go for lunch.

Romeo & Julieta

Italian on Blvd. Paseo de la Marina, $$, 4pm to 11pm and 2pm to 10pm on Sunday. A 4.6 from close to 1,400 reviews. Dinner only, so book the weekend.

Don Sanchez

Our rule for Don Sanchez: two to three days ahead for a weeknight, four to five for a weekend. If you did not book, show up at opening time or ask for a seat at the bar.

Where you can usually walk in

Not every night needs a plan. The Office (7am to 10pm) and Mango Deck (8am to 10pm) on Medano Beach are large and move fast. SUR Beach Club is open until 10:30pm. La Lupita Taco & Mezcal in San José is casual, open noon to 10:30pm and closed Monday. Outpost on the Marina is open 8am to 1am every day, which makes it the answer when everything else is full or closed.

Cabo Wabo Cantina is somewhere in between. For a table on a busy night, book two to three days ahead on weeknights and four to five on weekends. Otherwise, walk in at opening or take the bar.

How to get the table

• Book before you fly. Peak season is December through April. For the top three or four, a week or more ahead is normal. Summer is much easier.
• Go early or go late. The first seating and the last one are the tables nobody fights for.
• Try lunch. Salvatore G's, Daikoku, Acre and Flora Farms all serve it.
• Ask for the bar. Many rooms hold bar seats for walk-ins.
• Skip the Marina on Sunday. Cruise ship crowds flood it. Book Sunday dinner somewhere else.
• Check the closed day. Flora Farms and La Lupita are closed Monday. Jazamango in Todos Santos is closed Tuesday.

Book the sunset table and the farm dinner before you land, and leave the other nights open. You will eat well either way. See every place we like, with hours, on our Cabo restaurants page.