Dan Goy
The outside patio of Malarrimo Restaurant.
Words and Photos by Dan and Lisa Goy
We have been travelling throughout Baja California Sur (BCS) for more than 20 years. As you can imagine, we’ve made many regular stops in a variety of areas for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Some were taco stands, while others were established local restaurants. Over time, we have shared them with friends and also included them as stops on our Baja caravan RV tours. As there have been several memorable experiences in a variety of places, we highlight three in BCS due to their ambience, excellent menu, reasonable prices, unique atmosphere and enticing characteristics.
Malarrimo Restaurant, Guerrero Negro, BCS
Malarrimo Beach is on the north shore of a conspicuous ‘horn,’ which is about halfway down the Baja Peninsula. This mysterious, rural location was named the beach of Malarrimo by the famous Spanish Explorer Sebastián Vizcaíno.
It juts out sharply westward into the waters of the California Current, generating an intense upsurge that washes up boat wreckage, military supplies, clothing, preserved foods and countless surprising items onshore.
Dan Goy
Just some of the decor that creates a nice atmosphere at Malarrimo Restaurant in Guerrero Negro.
The town of Guerrero Negro was founded in 1957 when Daniel Ludwig built a saltworks to meet the demand in the Western United States and is now the greatest salt mine in the world. Another claim to fame in the area includes whale watching, especially when Grey whales congregate to breed and give birth every winter in the coastal lagoon of Ojo de Liebre.
In 1974, the same year Federal Highway 1 was completed, Enrique Achoy López decided to build a restaurant in town with a gourmet kitchen and a discotheque. It became a meeting place for locals and tourists alike. Over the years, he decorated the restaurant with objects washed up on Malarrimo Beach and even showcases items in its small museum. The restaurant has been visited by personalities from around the world and is known for the freshness and delicacy of its seafood. When the President of Mexico visits the area he dines at Malarrimo.
Dan Goy
Providing some of the entertainment at Los Magueyes in La Paz.
Enrique also built an RV Park in 1978 and a hotel in 1986. His son Enrique Jr. Malarrimo opened Eco-Tours in 1989; his daughter Nena opened the "Casa el Viejo Cactus" gift shop soon after; his other daughter Monica opened the Malarrimo Convenience Store. His youngest son, Tony, joined the ranks of Malarrimo Restaurant after earning his degree in marketing and advertising.
We first ate at Malarrimo in the early 2000s and have been taking our caravan groups there for dinner since our first season in 2009/2010. More than 50 tours later, we still dine here when possible. Everyone always loves the atmosphere, ambience and most importantly, the food. It also has an excellent wine list.
Our recommendation is always the seafood platter. It’s delicious, reasonably priced, and has a menu item that can only be found at upscale restaurants in the US and Canada. Usually, when our caravan groups go on the local whale watching tours in the morning, Lisa and I visit Malarrimogo for breakfast. Lisa habitually orders the ‘Huevos Albanil’ and looks forward to it every trip.
Guerrero Negro is popular and visited by seasonal visitors, celebrities, dignitaries and Mexican political leaders. The dining at Malarrimogo is just one other highlight.
Dan Goy
The exterior of Los Magueyes.
Los Magueyes in La Paz, BCS
La Paz (The Peace) is the capital city of BCS and the only large colonial city in Baja. Hernán Cortés arrived in 1534 and founded Santa Cruz, which later became the city it’s known as today. A couple of interesting known facts include the American’s occupied La Paz during the American/Mexican War from April 15, 1847, to February 2, 1848, and served as the capital of American William Walker's Republic of Sonora from January 10, 1854, to May 8, 1854. The project collapsed due to the lack of US support and pressure from the Mexican government to retake the region.
La Paz boasts more than 300 restaurants and we have frequented many of them. Friends of ours who live in the city introduced us to Los Magueyes in 2008. The restaurant is named after maguey. This is one species of the agave plant, which is used to make tequila.
Dan Goy
The Baja Amigos Parked at El Triunfo.
Established in the centre of La Paz in 2004, Los Magueyes is one of the most traditional restaurants in the city, celebrating traditional and authentic Mexican food in a pleasant, relaxed atmosphere. We now commonly host our “Baja Fiesta” dinners here during tours and the menu features typical dishes of Mexican cuisine as well as barbecue, arracheras (skirt steak), soups, salads, and delicious desserts. It also has an excellent bar.
Our favourite waiter is Ricardo, a personality everyone enjoys and his specialty is the ‘Flaming Flan.’ Our Baja Amigos are always well looked after and the experiences of the evening are very positive. This restaurant epitomizes the friendly nature of Mexican culture and will stay on our itinerary for years to come.
Dan Goy
The lobby of Caffe El Triunfo.
Caffé El Triunfo in El Triunfo, BCS
Caffé El Triunfo is located in the former mining town of El Triunfo on Federal Highway 1 between La Paz and Los Barriles. In 1878, the mine was occupied by the British El Progreso Mining Company and was once the largest city in BCS, which was home to more than 10,000 miners. El Triunfo was the first town in the region to install electricity and telephones. Pianos and other instruments were brought to El Triunfo from around the world and a piano museum still exists. A notable feature of the town is the 47 m (154 ft) smokestack that was built in 1890 called La Ramona and designed by Gustave Eiffel. When the mines closed in 1926, the town quickly became a village with a population of 300.
Before we started Baja Amigos we would just drive through El Triunfo, which is just another vast area on Federal Highway 1. Then came Mark Spahr who opened Caffé El Triunfo in 2008 and wanted to open with a comfortable setting that served good food with excellent flavours of a wood-burning oven. Mark was born in Oakland and spent many years living in California before moving to Todos Santos and opening Café Todos Santos in 1993. He later moved to El Triunfo.
Dan Goy
The Malarrimo RV Park.
It was the 2012/2013 season that our tours stopped regularly for brunch at Caffé El Triunfo, which was a real treat after a couple of days on the beach at Playa Tecolote. Fortunately, there’s just enough parking available for the RVs on both sides of the road. Mark has spent years renovating the café both indoors and out, laying new brickwork, adding stone slab tables and planting cacti on ledges. We often sit on the lower patio and sometimes as a group on the upper patio.
Mark has devised a spectacular menu and Lisa always orders the chicken enchilada omelette, which comes with fried potatoes, fresh fruit, oven-baked sourdough bread, sliced avocado and crema. Many of our caravan members love the fish tacos that are made with Ahi tuna while others savour the pizza cooked in the mesquite wood-fired oven. I always order the house salad with goat cheese, baby lettuce, cherry tomatoes, pecans and dried cranberries, and it’s always delicious. The prices are reasonable given the quality of food and unique ambience. El Triunfo is now a tourist hot spot and several of the original buildings are now restaurants, museums, and boutiques.
There are many other restaurants that we enjoy during our seasonal caravan tours and while each one is unique, these on our ‘top three list’ are always memorable.
Dan Goy