Manta

Manta hangs on the Misiones del Cabo cliff at the southern tip of Baja, where the dining room and its terrace look straight down on the Pacific and across to Land's End. It opened with The Cape, a Thompson Hotel, in 2015 as the Cabo restaurant of Enrique Olvera, the chef behind Pujol in Mexico City. The kitchen is run day to day by chef de cuisine Abisai Sánchez, and Manta sits in the first Michelin Guide Mexico, published in 2024.

The cooking is contemporary Mexican with clear Peruvian and Japanese lines. The signature is the nori taco, which trades the tortilla for seaweed and fills it with the day's local catch; the ceviche and the Baja sashimi follow the same logic of cold, clean Pacific seafood. The vegetable plate to remember is sweet potato in an almond mole under a tamarind-and-soy crust. Expect to spend around $102 a head before drinks, with a 15% service charge added.

The Room

The room is the reason to book. Tables on the open terrace sit well apart, the light comes from the sky and then from candles as the sun drops, and the only competing sound is the surf working the rocks below. Sánchez paces the meal so dessert lands with the sunset. Ask for an edge table at golden hour; the indoor seats are handsome, but they miss the view the whole place is built around.

Book Manta for a first date because the room does the heavy lifting. A terrace table at golden hour hands you a shared view to talk about before you have to find your own subjects, the tables sit far enough apart for a private conversation, and the surf keeps the silences from feeling like silences. Order to share — the nori tacos and ceviche are made for it — and time dessert to the sunset. For a birthday or a deal worth marking, the same terrace carries the occasion without a word of effort.

Not for: a budget-conscious dinner or a windy night. This is $$$$ hotel pricing with a 15% service charge, and the open terrace can turn breezy once the sun is down.

Is Manta worth it? For the setting and the name, yes. Manta is Enrique Olvera's restaurant at The Cape, and it sits in the 2024 Michelin Guide Mexico. You are paying cliff-top hotel prices — around $102 a head before drinks, with a 15% service charge added — as much for the Pacific view at sunset as for the cooking. Come for a first date or a celebration, not for a quiet-value dinner.

How hard is it to book Manta? Book one to two weeks ahead for a sunset terrace table, longer over US holidays and Cabo's December-to-April high season. Reservations run through The Cape and OpenTable. Ask specifically for the terrace at golden hour; the indoor tables are handsome but miss the point of the room, which is the cliff and the surf below.

What is the dress code at Manta? Resort-smart. This is a Thompson hotel restaurant on a cliff, so think linen, a collared shirt or a summer dress rather than beachwear; swimwear and flip-flops are out after sundown. The terrace cools once the sun drops behind the Pacific, so bring a light layer for the second half of dinner.

What should I order at Manta? Start with the ceviche and the nori taco, Manta's signature riff that swaps the tortilla for seaweed and fills it with local seafood. The sweet potato in almond mole with a tamarind-soy crust is the vegetable dish to keep, and the sashimi shows off the Baja catch. Time dessert to the sunset, and read the rest of our Cabo San Lucas dining guide for the morning after.