A Gourmet Sneak Peek: Cabo’s Celebrity Chef Scene
Cabo San Lucas has emerged as one of the top culinary destinations in Mexico. Situated on the southern tip of Mexico’s Baja California peninsula, where the Pacific Ocean meets the Sea of Cortez, Cabo offers striking ocean views, world-class resorts and hotels, and an array of restaurants headed by celebrity chefs that draw inspiration from the region’s land and sea bounty.
In recent years, several high-profile chefs have been lured to Cabo to oversee the restaurants in many of the luxury resorts that dot the coastline. While Cabo has always had strong seafood and local Baja cuisine, the influx of celebrity chefs has elevated the dining scene to new heights—focusing on high-quality ingredients, creative flavor combinations, and curating one-of-a-kind dining experiences paired with outstanding wine lists and cocktails.
The celebrity chef trend has transformed Cabo into a top “foodie” getaway, attracting travelers who specifically seek out these culinary masters’ new takes on Mexican cuisine as well as innovative seafood, steaks, and seasonal vegetarian dishes. Dining has also become activity in itself—as the resorts open up their kitchens for intimate chef’s counter experiences, cooking classes, and exotic dining locations (like sunset beach meals). Cabo provides accessibility to these top chefs that you won’t find in major cities like Los Angeles or New York, making it an appealing destination for curious foodies.
We had the opportunity to tour the kitchens of five celebrity chef establishments that are redefining the Cabo culinary scene. Here’s an exclusive sneak peek behind-the-scenes of these world-class dining destinations:
El Restaurante at Las Ventanas: Seasonal Fine Dining & Personalized Tasting Menus
Overlooking the sweeping vistas of the Sea of Cortez at Las Ventanas al Paraíso luxury resort, the El Restuarante is headed by Executive Chef Fabrice Guisset. Originally from France, Chef Guisset honed his skills at Michelin-star restaurants across Europe before eventually migrating to the cuisine of Los Cabos after being named the youngest executive chef in the region ten years ago.
The dining room offers a panoramic sea view framed by windows on three sides while an open kitchen provides glimpses of Chef Guisset's team hard at work. Guisset has crafted a seasonal menu focused on local Baja produce, sustainably caught seafood, an in-house dry aging program for premium cuts of beef, and house-made pastas. Dishes reflect California-Baja cuisine like Seared Scallops with corn pudding, shishito peppers and huitlacoche or Slow Cooked Chicken with squash blossoms, poblano peppers and roasted garlic. His meticulous combinations and cooking techniques result in explosions of flavor in every bite.
What makes the experience unique is Guisset's willingness to personalize every meal. Guests meet with the chef before dinner to share their preferences, allergies or aversions to customize their own five- or seven-course tasting menu perfectly catered to their tastes. As diners are savoring Guisset's plates, the chef frequently steps out of the kitchen to explain dishes and source ingredients. On request, Guisset will even treat guests to a kitchen tour during service. Watching him lead his team in executing multiple customized menus simultaneously is like watching a conductor guide a world-class symphony.
Manta at The Cape: Blending Mexican & Japanese Influences
Led by celebrated Mexican chef Enrique Olvera, Manta at The Cape hotel blends Japanese and Mexican culinary traditions with a focus on fresh seafood shared through family-style dishes. With both an interior dining room and exterior patio located just steps from the private beach overlooking the Pacific Ocean waves, Manta capitalizes on Cabo's striking ocean views and seafood bounty.
Chef Olvera is known for his reinventions of classic Mexican street food dishes at his renowned restaurants like Pujol and Cosme. At Manta, he applies this philosophy to seafood with shareable dishes like Tempura Squash Blossoms with smoked chile salsa and Shrimp Al Pastor with pineapple, avocado and morita chile. His signature Baja Manta dish is a towering presentation of plates featuring raw seafood like oysters, crudo and ceviche paired with tostadas and homemade tortillas. Japanese influences are reflected in ingredients like yuzu kosho, ponzu and even seaweed tortillas.
The intimate open kitchen allows curious guests to watch Olvera's team assemble vibrant multi-component dishes with meticulous precision. Olvera himself can often be found at the pass plating dishes or garnishing plates with microgreens mere seconds before the dishes are swept up by servers to amazed guests. Occasionally Olvera will step out to mingle with guests at their table for personalized discussion about dishes, inspirations or wine pairings. Dining at Manta becomes a conversation centered around food rather than just a meal.
COMAL at Chileno Bay Resort: Farm-to-Table Baja Cuisine & Mezcal Pairings
Led by Guadalajara native Executive Chef Yvan Mucharraz, COMAL at Chileno Bay Resort & Residences focuses on authentic farm-to-table Baja cuisine prepared in custom stone hearth ovens and grills. The ingredients are sourced from local purveyors and farms, all within a 60-mile radius to ensure freshness and sustainability. The dishes reflect the terroir of Baja with bright acidic flavors from citrus, sweetness from in-season produce and pleasant smokiness from the cooking methods.
Dishes like wood-fired whole fish with blackened scallions, grilled avocados with roasted pumpkin seeds and fire-roasted carrots with macadamia picada showcase simplicity by allowing the flavors of quality ingredients to shine through. COMAL also offers a wide selection of rare Mexican Mezcals that can be expertly paired with dishes through their in-house Mezcal sommelier.
The exhibition kitchen allows guests to watch dishes being prepared over flaming grills and hot stones while interacting with Chef Mucharraz as he calls out orders and expeditiously plates dishes. Joining Mucharraz at the pass is educational as he explains his creative process for combining authentic Mexican flavors in new ways while carefully controlling textures and temperatures. Guests rave that every COMAL dish delivers vibrant, balanced flavors while respecting Mexican culinary traditions.
La Deriva at Solaz: Oceanfront Italian Fare & Wine Spectator Recognition
Offering oceanfront views of the Pacific coastline, La Deriva at Solaz Resort is led by Executive Chef Emanuele Olivero, who was born in Southern Italy. Olivero's cooking philosophy centers around letting the high-quality ingredients shine rather than overworking dishes. Fresh pastas, seafood, steaks and produce take center stage, enhanced by flavorful sauces, herbs and spices. Dishes like Ricotta and Spinach Ravioli, Herb Crusted Lamb Loin and Cabernet Braised Short Ribs represent refined executions of Italian comfort food.
Olivero's meticulous attention to quality ingredients and technique has already earned La Deriva accolades like the AAA Four Diamond Award and Best Hotel Restaurant in Los Cabos distinction from Wine Spectator magazine, considered one of the highest dining honors. The restaurant’s wine list features over 200 Italian labels that have been expertly selected to pair with Olivero’s menu.
From La Deriva's exhibition kitchen lined with copper pots, guests can watch Olivero lead his team to execute multiple dishes simultaneously, communicating calmly through the chaos of dinner service. Olivero enjoys mingling with diners to get real-time feedback on dishes which he uses to drive continuous menu innovation while retaining signature items like the crowd-pleasing Veal Ossobuco. Watching his seamless choreography of pots, pans and plates makes it is easy to see why his food and restaurant have been so critically recognized.
Acre: Farm-to-Table Fine Dining at a Boutique Hotel
Led by Executive Chef Kevin Luzande, Acre restaurant at the boutique hotel The Garden offers an elevated farm-to-table dining experience with global influences driven by seasonal availability of ingredients. The intimate 42-seat dining room features an open kitchen flanked by an impressive wall of wines. Multi-course tasting menus center around creatively prepared vegetables, seafood and meats enhanced by chef-made breads, condiments and preserves.
Dishes reflect combinations you may not expect like Charred Cabbage with oyster mushrooms, preserved lemon and dill or Seared Salmon accompanied by mole verde with hazelnut and charred cucumber yogurt. Each component is meticulously prepared to ensure harmonious flavors across the entire menu which change based on seasonal availability from local providers.
Acre's cozy kitchen allows Chef Luzande to describe each tasting menu dish and inspiration to every guest table throughout the evening. Seeing his intense attention to detail in preparing each plate makes it easy to understand how his omakase-style dining concept has already earned accolades like unanimous Top 100 Restaurant honors in Mexico. Watching Luzande and his tight-knit kitchen team effortlessly pivot menus based on daily offerings helps to appreciate the connections between the land Luzande sources from and the exceptional plates created.
Conclusion: An Elevated Culinary Scene Driven by Celebrity Chefs
Cabo San Lucas has transformed from a sleepy fishing village serving classic Mexican cuisine and seafood into a world-class luxury travel destination with a globally recognized dining scene in less than a decade. While the beaches, resorts and activities attract visitors in the first place, Cabo’s cadre of celebrity chefs now take center stage by offering travelers opportunities to experience one-of-a-kind cuisine they simply cannot enjoy anywhere else.
These acclaimed chefs have turned Cabo into a living cookbook of tastes, ingredients, wines and creativity. Travelers come not just to eat but to learn directly from the internationally recognized talent redefining Baja cuisine, Mexican traditions, seafood mastery and more. From beachfront meals to cooking classes, the celebrity chefs themselves are now the attraction.
The intimate access guests have to talent like Guisset, Olvera, Mucharraz, Olivero and Luzande allows travelers to directly engage rather than merely sample the visionary culinary arts. Personalized tasting menus, counter seating, open kitchens, chef tableside discussions and tours make dining in Cabo a conversation fueling future culinary inspiration. This culinary renaissance centered around creativity and local flavors has undebatable established Cabo as Mexico’s most exciting dining destination today with its brightest days still ahead. So pull up a seat and join the culinary conversation! ¡Buen provecho!