Bay View Restaurant at Hotel Palmas de Cortez

Hotel Palmas de Cortez is the old-school sport-fishing hotel in Los Barriles, on the East Cape about 80 minutes north of San José del Cabo. It runs its own fishing fleet and hosts the Dorado Shoot Out, which the hotel calls the biggest dorado tournament in Baja. Its main restaurant, Bay View, looks over the Sea of Cortez and is open to everyone, every day from 11 AM to 9:30 PM.

The best thing about Bay View is the cook-your-catch service: bring in the fish you caught that morning and the kitchen will prepare it however you like. Otherwise, the hotel points to its shrimp cocktail and grilled fish tacos, which are what we'd order too. The same hotel runs Umi Sushi Bar on the beach (Wednesday to Sunday, 4 PM to 9 PM) and Tico's for breakfast from 6 AM, early enough for anglers heading out.

Los Barriles is a windsurfing and kiteboarding town in winter, when the north wind blows most days, and a fishing town in summer. It's relaxed, full of golf carts and ATVs, and nothing like Cabo San Lucas. Book a table by phone; there's no online reservation for the restaurant.

Los Barriles is 1 hour 45 minutes to 2 hours by car from Villa 1, via San José del Cabo and Highway 1 north, so we'd only make the trip as part of an East Cape fishing or kiting day, or on the way back from a longer Baja road trip. If you're chartering out of Los Barriles, though, having your dorado cooked at Bay View after you dock is one of the best meals of a Cabo trip.