Bars & Cantinas

Bottom's Up Yacht Club

Benito Juárez

Karaoke and strong drinks, with the best homemade chips in town. A neighborhood bar that can also cook.

Shrimp tacos with a following in a no-frills mariscos room. Signed Tekilas, answers to Chango's too.

Drinks on a swing with a gorgeous view, and a wheel you will regret spinning. The fun kind of cantina.

A converted-house lounge with event-night highs: trivia, DJs, and cool lights; check what's on before rolling up.

Bryan's Sports Bar

Benito Juárez

Half locals, half regulars-from-the-north: daily specials, every game on, and cash only. Bryan insists.

JJ's Cantina

Laguna Shores

The Cholla Bay institution: 35 years of bands, beers, and concrete seats facing the water.

Beer brewed on site, a hazy and a blonde, tacos, the game on, and Cindy behind the bar for twelve years.

Manny's Beach Club

Benito Juárez

The iconic beach bar on Mirador: live bands, fish tacos, a pool, and an ocean you can watch octopuses in.

La Tóxica's Malecón sibling: terrace sunsets, arrachera worth writing home about, and a pool table upstairs.

Max's Restaurant and Bar

Bella Vista

The everything-menu near the waterfront: killer breakfast, nostalgic walls, and no card machine in sight.

A family-owned celebration of Mexico: traditional decor, guacamole in a molcajete and a deep tequila list.

The hangout bar that feels like a friend's backyard: Monday smash burgers, pool table, bands, dogs welcome.

Good food and good service with what regulars call the best view on the Malecón.

Toes-in-sand beachfront lunch: tropical cocktails, sunset views, plus a seafood omelet with a fan club.

Chilled mugs, Spanish music, kitchen till midnight, bar till 3. The local beer joint doing its job.

Luckys Cantina

Benito Juárez

The deals cantina: free breakfast with your drink, Friday fish fry, coconut shrimp that overdelivers.

A big, easygoing bar and grill with excellent wings, cold beer and room for the whole group.

The resort restaurant anyone can walk into: say 'restaurant' at the gate for fish & chips and Sunday bottomless mimosas.

A locals' bar with a kitchen, and an owner people mention by name.

Banditos

Centro

Live bands, cold drinks, birria egg rolls, and staff who tell you the truth. The fun night out.

Fresh grilled seafood under a covered patio by the sunset-cruise docks. Bring your own catch and they will cook it.

Tekila Bar

El Puerto

Neon, blacklights, and margaritas over the Malecón. A drinks-first joint that knows its job.

Fresh-fruit craft cocktails with color-changing lights, live music, and malecón proximity minus the crush.

A beach bar with tide pools at its feet: cold beer, live daytime music, and a plate of chicken for your dog.

A rooftop built for sunset photos and craft cocktails.

A festive restaurant-bar with indoor and outdoor seating, bilingual servers and a piña colada served in a carved pineapple.

A beach bar with live music, a bartender who plays what you want to hear, and margaritas people plan a New Year around.

The little bar at Las Palmas: pool tables, air hockey, a cowbell for one more, and drinks people call the best in town.

A beachside club with a bar, private parking and easy access to the sand. A gathering place for family afternoons.

A clean, friendly cantina with Diamond pool tables, darts, a Sunday tournament and a US-dollar ATM by the bar.

Huge split-topping pizzas and killer chicken fingers near the Sandy Beach resorts. Beer and pizza is the house move.

The remodeled beach cantina with two stages, bonfires on the sand, plus a kitchen that outruns the name.

A music venue on the dock with great sets and a staff people call amazing.

An air-conditioned cigar lounge with deep couches, a TV, and rum and cigars from the restaurant next door.

A locals' bar with a small dance floor, a pool table or two, cheap drinks and doors open until dawn.

The spring-break nightclub, at spring-break volume. Peak weeks only; check who's spinning first.

A calm, well-kept sushi bar with Japanese decor, attentive servers and a tuna tataki people call phenomenal.

Angels Beach Bar

El Mirador

A new little bar on the sand with an unbeatable view and tacos the size of the plate.

An old-school cantina: the coldest beer claims in town, and live Spanish rock.

A rock bar with a great view, good drinks and friendly service.

The Sandy Beach comeback: the old Reef reborn with a real kitchen, fresh flounder, and servers worth naming.