Team C&J
This Restaurant Is Permanently Closed.
Restaurant Rating
Cost Rating
Food Type
Seafood
Barracuda 77, 22710 Puerto Nuevo, B.C., Mexico
Puerto Nuevo is located in Playas de Rosarito, which is part of Baja California. Puerto Nuevo is famous for its lobster, so much so that travelers to Baja will go out of their way to visit this charming fishing village for a massive and inexpensive lobster meal.
The difference in price of lobsters in Puerto Nuevo versus neighboring cities in the United States is pretty dramatic. The lobster at Villa Ortega, for example, is just $33.50. In the States, a lobster of this size will cost double, or sometimes triple that, depending on where you order it.
Getting to Puerto Nuevo is easy. From San Diego, you can make the drive to Puerto Nuevo in just about 30 minutes on the Baja 1 toll road. There are over 30 langosta houses, or lobster houses, in Puerto Nuevo and dozens of local shops on the town’s main street. Like many small towns in Mexico, haggling is welcome, so after you dine at a restaurant like Villa Ortega, be sure to walk around and check out the local wares.
The first thing most diners notice about Puerto Nuevo’s Villa Ortega is the sheer size of the restaurant. The space can serve up to 500 diners at a time in its indoor dining room and two ocean-front patios. It’s just a massive place.
If you have the option, the patios are the place to be. All of the patio dining at Villa Ortega is shaded, so you can experience the ocean air without worrying about overheating in the sun. The restaurant features local musicians performing on the patio and upper deck, so you can listen to the music while watching the waves and enjoying authentic Mexican cuisine.
We go to Villa Ortega every time we head down the west coast of Baja. When you take a look at the food pictures from our latest trip, you will understand why. Haven’t checked out the pictures yet? One word sums up Villa Ortega: lobsters.
The lobsters in Puerto Nuevo are just as much a feast for the eyes as they are for your taste buds. Restaurants like Villa Ortega serve their lobsters whole and cut down the middle, which makes pulling out all of the delicious meat easy.
When you order your lobster feast, be prepared for a good amount of food. The meal comes with tortillas that are the size of throw blankets, and they arrive at your table warm and ready to be filled with fresh lobster. Traditional accompaniments like rice, beans, and housemade salsa with crunchy tortilla chips are simple but well-made additions that go great with a bottle of local beer or a cool, refreshing cocktail.
Ordering the lobster at Villa Ortega is a must, but don’t stop there because there are so many other great dishes as well. On our most recent trip, we also dug into a big, doughy basket of cheese-filled bread.
If you are traveling with a group and need to satisfy the palates of non-lobster lovers, there are plenty of options on the menu. Because Puerto Nuevo is a coastal village, the restaurant offers a number of other seafood options like shrimp quesadillas, ceviche, octopus, and fresh-from-the-sea ‘catch-of-the-day’ specials prepared on the grill, scampi-style, or vera cruz-style.
The most important thing to know before you visit this charming coastal restaurant is that Villa Ortega is a cash-only restaurant. While this isn’t all that rare when you travel to smaller towns in Mexico, if this is your first trip to this part of the world, be prepared to leave your credit and debit cards behind.
While there are ATMs within walking distance of the restaurant, it’s best to come prepared with some cash so you don’t need to interrupt your dining experience.
The food, service, and incredible ocean view always make a trip to Villa Ortega worth it in our book. As we mentioned above, the large Pacific lobster is only $33.50, and that includes all of your rice, beans, tortillas, chips, bread, and soup. If you decide to share, and this meal is totally sharable, that amounts to less than $20 per person! You really can’t beat that. We can safely say that Villa Ortega has the best lobster in Puerto Nuevo.
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