One of the traditional seafood restaurants for locals is El Toro Guero (The Blond Bull) located just off of Centenario at the bottom of the hill leading up to the Pemex station on the north end of downtown. This large palapa restaurant is usually full and split between locals and expats (and a few tourists). The menu has recently been expanded to include some dishes for land lubbers – steaks and chicken entrées. But the fresh fish is the main stay. On our visit they had both Sea Bass and Mahi Mahi (Dorado).
The menu includes appetizers, ceviches, soups and salads as well as a long list of shrimp and fish items. The long list involves different types of preparations and sauces of for the shrimp or fish that you select. The first thing that you receive is a big basket of tortilla chips, pico de gallo, salsa and limes. The pico de gallo is interesting as it includes cucumbers as well as the traditional tomatoes, onions and peppers. We all snacked while looking through the menu. I ordered some Marlin pate as an appetizer – great with a little spice. Beth chose the tequila shrimp, Jerry the sea bass with a Veracruz sauce and I selected the Mahi Mahi with a mushroom sauce. All of the dinners come with salad, mashed potatoes and rice and the platters are very large.
During our dinner we were entertained by a guitarist/vocalist playing American rock songs. But the real entertainment and the big surprise to Jerry was his happy birthday wish. At El Toro Guero, the staff bring out a big hat, a shot and a slice of traditional Mexican flan with a candle. During the whole ceremony special music is playing and the staff are singing. The server put Jerry’s head back poured the shot down his throat, cleaned off his face and then did the same with his wine. We all had a great laugh.
The platters are so big that we had left overs to take home. Another fun night with good food, great service at a reasonable price.
For more information about El Toro Guero visit their website at https://www.eltoroguero.com/
