Adobe Guadalupe
Adobe Guadalupe offers three dining options to fit every mood. For casual Spanish tapas, the Adobe Food Truck awaits, while on the sun-kissed El Jardín patio, South African chef Ryan Steyn delights diners with yellowtail with uni and seaweed caviar, or foie gras draped with hibiscus jelly and edible flowers. Elegant fine dining can be found in Comedor Formal, where chef Martha Manríquez presents five-course feasts that change daily, based on the freshest ingredients from her organic garden and the valley. The in-house sommelier pairs reserve wines, some of Adobe Guadalupe’s best vintages, with the lovely cuisine, and guests enjoy a romantic candlelit dinner and stirring valley views. adobeguadalupe.com
Deckman’s En El Mogor
Shaded wooden tables under market lights, hay bales, roaming dogs, an outdoor grill, and open brick kitchen set the stage at this farm-to-table eatery, which invites guests to immerse themselves in the rustic beauty of the valley. Chef Drew Deckman makes magic with seafood, serving everything from oysters on the half-shell with yuzu mignonette to marinated spider crab with avocado, complemented by wines from Mogor Badan or local Agua Mala beer. deckmans.com
Finca Altozano
Chef Javier Plascencia’s seasonal alfresco eatery is a study in good taste, with its laid-back rustic style and vibrant cuisine. Guests sip vino atop giant wine barrels that overlook the family’s vineyards and then enjoy meats cooked perfectly over a mesquite-wood fire, ahi tostadas, beef-cheek tacos, buttery grilled octopus, fresh yellowtail ceviche, and more in this romantic campestre setting. fincaltozano.com
Hacienda Guadalupe
Gracious and warm hospitality fills the restaurant of this family-owned property. Chef/owner Gaby Melchum cooks with love, using the highest quality products, herbs from her garden, and local cheeses, fish, and meats. Guests enjoy birdsong-filled breakfasts of huevos con chorizo on the patio, or grilled quail over greens for lunch. Delectable dinner dishes include fresh fish in lavender sauce or duck breast with Mexican chocolate crust, followed by chef’s signature pink-peppercorn ice cream for dessert. The wine cellar impresses with 100-plus labels, including the five Melchum wines produced onsite. haciendaguadalupe.com
Guadalupe Valley Dining
Latitud 32
Located at the lovely El Cielo winery, this sophisticated restaurant has a new chef, Marco Marín, whose “honest and healthy cuisine” is influenced by his Veracruz roots and time spent in Yucatán and Europe. His menu focuses on fresh local ingredients and treasures from the sea like his Pulpo a las Brasas, grilled octopus enlivened with cayenne pepper, garlic, and black-truffle oil. Latitud 32 has more than 100 labels of Mexican wine to pair with Marín’s passion on the plate. The only distractions from the innovative cuisine are the sweeping valley views and impressive estate-grown wines. vinoselcielo.com
Corazón De Tierra & Troika
Chef Diego Hernandez’s creativity never ceases to impress at La Villa del Valle’s unforgettable restaurant, Corazón de Tierra. Nightly prix-fixe dining with wine pairings features dishes with spellbinding flavor combinations such as wood-fired grilled carrots with garlic purée, basil gel, gremolatta, and Cortés cheese; sliced partridge giblets and sautéed lamb quarters with mole coloradito, onion ashes, craft sour cream, and dehydrated parsnips; and caramel frozen panna cotta with pistachio praline, balsamic vinegar gel, radish foam, and epazote chlorophyll. Also on the property, the gastropub food truck Troika sits by the winery’s lake and serves up sliders, tacos, tostados, and more, along with the excellent Vena Cava wines and local Wendtland beer. Live music and pig roasts on weekends add to the magical experience as well. lavilladelvalle.com
Hacienda La Lomita
At this alfresco eatery at the notable boutique winery Hacienda La Lomita, chef Humberto Aviles masterfully grills lamb, quail, steaks, and seafood, showcasing the bounty of Baja California in his family regional cuisine. lomita.mx
Malva Cocina De Roberto Alcocer
At Malva, guests linger under a giantpalapa enjoying artistic plates by chef Roberto Alcocer. He forages for many of his ingredients, like wild radish, fennel, arugula, and nasturtium, along with making his own butter, yogurt, cheese, and ice cream and raising his own lambs, goats, chickens, and ducks. Expect delicious, thoughtful food in another breathtaking valley setting. malvarestaurant.com
Tre Galline
Head to Tre Galline for authentic northern Italian cuisine, a fitting match to Monte Fiori’s Italian varietals planted in the vineyards. Executive chef Angelo Dal Bon hails from Italy’s Lake Garda district, so the pasta is fresh and poetic. His signature tortellini, plump with cheese, have been known to cause diners to pause and sigh. villamontefiori.com.mx
Guadalupe Valley Dining
La Esperanza
Guadalupe Valley Dining
Miguel Angel Guerrero
A fourth-generation ranchero and huntsman, acclaimed chef and creator of Baja Med cuisine Miguel Angel Guerrero has landed in Guadalupe Valley, adding La Esperanza to his respected restaurant roster, which includes La Querencia and El Taller in Tijuana. Gorgeous La Esperanza overlooks the wineries of LA Cetto and mountains, and here you’ll find Guerrero gliding through his dream exhibition kitchen with a self-designed bi-level wood-fired oven, masterfully creating his progressive cuisine. Start with oysters or his Shot of Mixto, brimming with chocolate clams, oysters, vodka, lemon juice, and salsa. Beet carpaccio comes with micro greens and queso fresco; beef tongue with blue cheese and chervil. Chef dresses up his mesquite-grilled octopus with olive tapenade, braised kale, Serrano ham, and saffron aioli. Perfectly cooked rack of lamb from the family ranch pairs smartly with grilled veggies from Guerro’s gardens and greenhouses, and wines made by his sommelier wife at LA Cetto. When not cooking, the free-spirited chef is fishing, hunting, diving, and roadtripping on his motorcycle, looking for inspiration for his dishes.
As Guerrero says with a smile, “You don’t see this every day: a new wine valley with chefs putting new things on the table and developing new cuisines, now in the moment. You don’t want to miss this.”
Guadalupe Valley Dining
Finca Altozano
