We have had dinner at La Vaca Tinta many times over the years. First, when they were on the up street in San Jose del Cabo, then when they were in downtown Cabo San Lucas near McDonalds and now at their location on Manuel Herrera up the hill from downtown Cabo San Lucas. The owners, Ulises and Estrella are truly dedicated to creating a great dining experience for their guests. Ulises has been a restauranteur for over 30 years. The restaurant has parking in front and seating both inside and outside, including a wine room for small private parties. During a rainstorm in early December, we decided to go to La Vaca Tinta because of the availability of an inside dining room. However, it turns out that they had added sheeting over their pergola allowing us to eat at a table outside.

Estrella provided our group of five with menus. Ulises brought the specials available that day in addition to the regular menu to the table to show and describe them to us. There were several special cuts of steak – rib eye, chateaubriand, filet, sirloin, and more. As Ulises gets only US Prime meat and often, cuts the steaks himself, using trim pieces for hamburgers and even beef broth, he makes sure that his diners are only getting the best. Ulises is also a sommelier and strongly believes that diners should be able to enjoy a good wine with their meal at a reasonable price. La Vaca Tinta’s wine list has dozens of bottles of good wine for less than $1000 pesos.

We ordered our drinks to start and began to go through the menu. Tanya ordered a charcuterie board, which is for two but was enough for all of us to share. The tray included Mozzarella, Gorgonzola, Brie and Provolone cheeses with Serrano ham slices, Kalamata olives, grapes, nuts, chimichurri sauce and a basket of bread. Bill ordered the melted cheese with christorra and flour tortillas. It was served still bubbling in a large cast iron pan, and again was enough for several people. Each of us chose a different meat dish for our main course. Tanya ordered the Picanha Angus steak, a favorite in Brazil, prepared black and blue – charred on the outside and very rare on the inside. Beth chose the Flank Steak and Dianne went for a small filet. All three asked for baked potatoes to accompany their steaks. I decided to order the Chateaubriand – knowing that I was going to take more than half of it home with me – with a side of grilled vegetables. Bill asked for the Black Angus Burger with four cheese – gouda, provolone, mozzarella, and grilled panela – and served with caramelized onions, bacon, lettuce (he said hold the tomatoes) and pickles on the side. They were cooked to perfection. The portions were large enough that we shared tastes of each other’s choices as well. We were offered dessert but everyone was much to full to have any. In fact, almost everyone was taking some of their main course home with them.

La Vaca Tinta does and exception job with both the food and the service. So, if you are in the mood for some great meat (or big shrimps or lobster), it is worth visiting this restaurant.