Field Report: Sayulita
A Pueblo Mágico on Mexico’s west coast.
For a week in the beginning of May, I travelled down to Mexico with Surf Yoga Beer for a week of—you guessed it—surfing, yoga, and beer. Sayulita is a small beach town about an hour north of Puerto Vallarta, and perhaps 30 minutes north of Punta de Mita, where most of the resorts are located. Beyond a handful of hostels and casual hotels, most people who visit are staying in a rented house, whether through Airbnb or otherwise. Our crew stayed at a magnificent home right on Playa Sayulita, a quick walk up the beach to town.
I could spend a lot of time about the Surf Yoga Beer experience, but I’ll let them do the talking on that. Instead, I want to tell you about the magical food I ate in Sayulita. Before I get into the details, though, I want to emphatically tell you this: Your next beach vacation should be to Sayulita. The place is actually magical.
You won’t be surprised to know that a Mexican beach town had spectacular tacos. Two spots in particular caught my heart and my mouth: Naty’s Cocina and Tacos El Ivan. Naty’s is your perfect post-surfing lunch, as they’re usually out of tacos by 3:00 PM. Ivan is your move for late-night munchies, because they don’t even set up until around 6:00 PM. Before you ask, yes, you should always eat tacos for at least two meals per day.
Naty’s tacos are served from a counter for 15 peso apiece, unless you splurge and get the marlin taco, at an extravagant 20 pesos. I’ll save you the conversion: That’s hardly a single dollar per taco. And they are really, really good tacos, not the skimpy ones you still pay five bucks for up in New York. My favorite was the pollo mole. Perfectly sweet without being sugary, like the ideal barbecue sauce. That said, I tried almost every taco variety they had—we ate at Naty’s three separate times—and it’s all good.
Tacos El Ivan is a cart that sets up outside of a bodega starting in the evening, and they’re known for the tacos al pastor. I don’t know if there are other things on the menu, but even if there are, you should just get the tacos al pastor. They’re unimaginably good and they’re served with a show. The chef palms a few tortillas, presses them up against the meat on a spit, and carves off a few slices of chicken. Then, in one fluid motion, he whips his arm up and lops off a piece of warm pineapple sitting atop the spit, flicking the just-barely-carmelized chunks of fresh fruit through the air, and catching them in the taco like a baseball player’s mit. Then, you eat.
It’s not all tacos in Sayulita, though. Like anywhere else in the world, tourism has its effect, and the most upscale restaurant in town happened to be an Italian restaurant called La Rústica. Entirely outdoors, the design would be equally at home in a trendy neighborhood of Los Angeles. During the day, they serve coffee and espresso up front, and in the evening, the dinner service is great for a chance to get spiffed up and order a nice bottle of wine. I’m not saying the pizza is better than wherever you’re from, but hey, you eat Mexican food at home, don’t you?
It’s basically impossible to go into detail about all the lovely sidewalk bars and beer gardens hidden within palm groves, but that’s what the This There That community is for. Join up and ask the questions that’ll lead to your own magical experience.
