CABO SAN LUCAS RESTAURANT REVIEW
La Golondrina Restaurant and Trading Post
DIFFERENT NAME - SAME GREAT FOOD!


Walk through the arched entrance at La Golondrina Trading Post and Restaurant and you find yourself engulfed by a canopy of mesquite trees, their trunks wrapped in twinkling lights, lanterns hanging from their branches. Mariachis stroll through the restaurant entertaining guests while the aromas from the open-air kitchen rouse your appetite. Approach the maitre d’s station and you are quickly and happily greeted by Tito Roberts, a part owner and dedicated “front of the house” personality.

Tito finds you a table and soon you are instructed on how things work in this long-standing, family-owned eatery. Originally known as The Trailer Park, the ownership felt that it was time for a name change, partly due to others trying to cash in on the excellent reputation of the restaurant by copying the name, partly because the name no longer fits. Back when the restaurant first started, many Cabo bound travelers arrived in motor homes or towing trailers and the restaurant was built within a trailer park, where they would take up temporary residence. Thus the name, The Trailer Park, and soon their reputation for huge portions, excellent quality and good old fashioned hospitality set them firmly on the map as the place to go when in Cabo. Cabo has changed dramatically since the restaurants inception but other than the name change, things at La Golondrina have not. The portions are still gargantuan; the lobsters still tender and succulent, the service and congeniality are just as good if not better.

One of the indicators that I use to gauge the quality and attention of any restaurant is whether or not ownership is actively involved in the daily operations. Here, you’ll find owners everywhere. Michael Gotfried, Head Chef and son of the founders, is not shy about meeting and greeting his clientele even though he admits that he is most comfortable in the back of the house. Michael is genuinely concerned with diner’s needs and is easily spotted cruising the dining area insuring that everyone has everything they need.

Tito Roberts is perfect in his role as the host, deftly greeting diners. Placing your order does not involve a typical review of a menu at your table instead, you are instructed to take a short walk to a large wall mounted menu adjacent to the open-air kitchen. Once there, you have a difficult decision to make. Which of the 100 or so items on the menu sounds good? Truth is, they all are but one should not miss the lobster, and La Golondrina makes it easy to include lobster as part of your meal with several combination dinners that include the tasty crustaceans.

On a recent visit, Dolores Peralta, my partner, and I opted for the Seafood Feast for two: a three pound lobster surrounded by whole Dungeness crab, grilled red snapper, fried calamari, jumbo shrimp served with drawn butter and sided with mashed potatoes and a starter salad. Once the platter arrived, the only concern we had was just how could we possibly finish the feast ourselves! Seafood Feast for two? Maybe two Chicago Bear offensive linemen, not “normal” people like us, and I use the term “normal” lightly as we both have good appetites and can put away quite an impressive amount of food.

Our dinner was excellent and if the smiles on the faces of our fellow diners were any indication, so was theirs. To cap it all off, try one of Gabriella’s tantalizing desserts: Carrot Cake, La Golondrina Flan, White Chocolate Bread Pudding, a plethora of fine cheesecakes, or for the chocolate lover, Molten Chocolate Decadence.

La Golondrina is located on Paseo del Pescador just off the main drag near theCity Club. Reservations, which are highly recommended, can be made by phone at 011 52 (624)143-3705 from the US. For online reservations or to learn more about La Golondrina, visit them online at www.lagolondrinarestaurant.com and let Michael and Tito know that Richard and Dolores of Cabo's Best say hello and told you all about them.