Puerto Vallarta: Three foodie adventures you shouldn't miss in one of Mexico's favourite resort cities
A resort town which was put on the map by Richard Burton in the 1960s is carving out a niche as a foodie destination
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Your support makes all the difference.Puerto Vallarta was a little-known agricultural town until the mid 1960s when Richard Burton filmed The Night of the Iguana with Liz Taylor in tow, setting up temporary home at two houses separated by an arched pathway across which they could flee during tempestuous arguments.
It turned into a boom town for tourism, growing into one of the country's most popular destinations
But despite, or perhaps as a result of, its popularity, my first impression of Puerto Vallarta was that of an American Tenerife, a Playa De Las Americas for Yanks looking for medium-haul sun in the winter.
Typically, that wouldn’t be the vibe that could swing a trip recommendation from me. But the town is pivoting, with an eye on travellers who want to do more than sunbathe and party.
Specifically, they’re carving out a pretty impressive niche for the foodie. In the space of a couple of days you can take in a half-day market tour and cooking class with a young chef born-and-raised in the town, taste an abundance of tacos paired with shots of the local liquor with a knowledgeable tour guide, and take a culinary tour of a botanical garden followed by a lunch made from the garden’s bounty.
Eat your way around a botanical garden
Our tour guide, hunched down in the undergrowth, pulled out a a glistening dagger and stabbed it into the tree. Within seconds, a dribble of white liquid was running down its blade. Mixed with saliva on the tongue, the liquid coalesced into the chewing gum texture we all know. It was the culmination of a genuinely fascinating tour of Puerto Vallarta botanical gardens, an oasis created by an American Robert Price.
It is a relative newcomer - it only opened to public in 2005 thanks to the endeavours of Price, who has created a 64-acre plot that hums with plant and insect life.
Orchids are everywhere, the tour guides are enthusiastic, and it’s far enough away from the town that at times it feels completely isolated.
Tours focus on some of the edible items growing in the tense swathe of vegetation, including vanilla, cacao, and cinnamon.
At the end of the tours, which range in lengths from 5 to 7 hours from pick-up to drop-off, comes a meal overlooking the treetop canopy featuring food grown in the gardens. There's even a mojito muddled with vanilla pods grown close by. It doesn’t get much fresher than that.
As you dine, hummingbirds hover and drink from sugar water-filled containers. It’s simply magical.
They’re not the only birds you’re likely to see - the telltale sound of parrots pierces the thick leaf cover.
As a result of its perfection, it’s been garlanded with awards including making the list of North American gardens worth travelling for.
Go market shopping followed by rooftop cooking
Chef Julio Cesar Castillon knows Vallarta inside out. He grew up there, picking up and perfecting family recipes, before setting up and running his own tours.
He’ll lead you around modest market stalls, hole-in-the-wall tortilla manufacturers, and fresh-off-the-boat seafood counters to show you how to shop for good local produce, before hauling it back to the rooftop area of Gaby's Restaurant where over the course of several hours the bags of goodies are turned into plate after plate of delicious food.
The sides alone were worth the effort - bowl after bowl of the best guacamole you've ever tasted, fragrant pineapple salsas, smoky and spicy chilli sauces - along with stunning mains like chicken in a rich, complex mole.
You'll leave the restaurant with a full stomach and deep appreciation for the complexities of seemingly simple Mexican cooking.
But perhaps the most memorable thing about the experience was the location; the rooftop kitchen looks out across the bay, and is close to the soaring tower of the nearby church, which punctuates the cooking session with peals of bells.
Combine two of Mexico's most famous treats
Seven spots, seven different tacos and sides, and the number of shots of the local drink raicilla? Well, we kind of lost count.
The so-called Mex-ology tour lasts for up to four hours and gives you a grounding in two of Mexico’s most iconic creations - tacos and tequila.
On it, we sampled tequila and mezcal, as well as raicilla, which like the others is made from the agave plant. However, the process used is slightly different - it's roasted like mezcal rather than steamed like tequila, and single-distilled unlike the double-distilled mezcal. The expressions span a variety of flavours, from smoky mezcal-like tastes, to cleaner, more herbal types.
Equally important as the spirits were the tacos, including a stunning al pastor taco dripping in caramelised pineapple juice, and a carne asada taco served up with some very spicy creamy corn.
The tour ends at one of Vallarta’s oldest and most famous restaurants, El Dorado, overlooking the beach and the ocean beyond.
Our tour guide - as you'd expect from someone who earns a living knocking back shots of liquor and munching tacos - was upbeat, fun and exuded his love for the town. It's a great way to orient yourself with the place and is an ideal first-night activity.
Where to stay:
There are an abundance of hotels in the town, but we stayed away from the hustle and bustle at the Grand Miramar resort, around 10 minutes’ drive from downtown and up a winding hill that sent some Uber drivers into despair as their cars struggled with the incline.
But it’s worth the effort; the view out over the sea is stunning, and the vista from the rooftop bar stretches to the very end of the huge bay. The entire resort feels blanketed with bright pink flowers, and despite its size feels private. The facilities were impressive, from a better-than-average hotel gym to a luxe-but-pricey spa area.
Downsides? It feels very quiet, even when full, which can be good or bad depending on what you're looking for. Staff friendliness levels are inconsistent, ranging from the warm and welcoming to the very surly. And there's only a single bottle of water left in your room each day - which isn't great given the nearest store is only realistically reachable by taxi.
Overall though, it's rated as one of the top 10 hotels in Vallarta for a reason.
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