Oystera

An old sugar mill in the center of Todos Santos now holds Oystera. The building is part of the Santa Terra development, on Calle Benito Juárez a couple of blocks from the mission church. It's a big, high-ceilinged room with a central oyster bar and a patio out the back, and it's run by chef Poncho Cadena, the same chef behind CARBÓNCABRÓN outside San José del Cabo. The MICHELIN Guide selected it.

The oysters are the reason to come. The menu lists more than ten Mexican sources, including Kumamotos from San Quintín and Sol Azul oysters from Mulegé, so order a mixed dozen and taste the differences between the Pacific and the Sea of Cortez. After that, the dishes MICHELIN singles out are the fried oysters with habanero aioli and the marinated tuna tostada. The aguachile tatemado, the lobster roll and the Baja shrimp tacos round out a proper seafood lunch. Oysters Rockefeller are there if someone at the table doesn't eat them raw.

It opens at 10 AM Tuesday to Sunday with a short breakfast menu until noon, and runs to 9 PM; Mondays it's noon to 8 PM. That long day makes it the easiest serious meal in town to fit into a day trip, because you don't need to wait for a dinner seating. It's air-conditioned, which matters from June to October, takes cards and allows pets. MICHELIN rates it in its top price band, so a full oyster lunch for a group is not cheap.

For a first lunch in Todos Santos (about an hour and 10 minutes from Villa 1), Oystera is our pick: central, open all day and easy to walk to the galleries and the plaza afterwards. Book on OpenTable for weekends in high season. If you want a garden setting instead, go to Jazamango or Hierbabuena.