Located in Plaza del Pescador in the hotel zone in San Jose del Cabo is a French bistro open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The chef and owner Sebastien Agnes has extensive experience as a chef with some of the top chefs in the world. Throughout his career Chef Sebastien has shared the kitchen with renowned Michelin Star French chefs such as Alain Ducasse, Guy Savoy, and Eric Frechon. Chef Sebastien led the opening of restaurants for Chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten for thirteen years around the world, arriving in Mexico in 2008 to take over Vongerichten’s kitchens at One & Only Palmilla, in addition to directing the kitchen at Maravilla, one of the region’s most exclusive clubs.

Bistro by Sebastien Agnes was born in 2021. He brought his culinary experience, his passion for French cuisine, combining it with the tradition and richness of local products, to bring to life classic French cuisine with Mexican touches and accents of Baja California Sur to the gastronomic offerings of Bistro by Sébastien Agnès.

Clams, oysters, mussels, and fish from different parts of the peninsula are transformed at Bistro by Sébastien Agnès into dishes that evoke the classic flavors of French gastronomy. His menu is a journey from the north to the south of France, but also a tribute to the bounty of Mexico’s sea and land. The menu offers diners choices of starters – from soup and salad to a wide range of seafood dishes and tuna nd beef tartar – to main courses of seafood, fish, lobster, steak, lamb, hamburgers and tacos with a French flair.

We were offered a table either outside on the plaza of Plaza del Pescador or inside in the restaurant. We chose a table for two inside. It is very nicely decorated with a long bar on the back of the restaurant, jazz posters on one wall and a very interesting large painting on the other. Our meal started with an amuse of foie gras with crushed pineapple that was absolutely amazing. For an appetizer, we shared the crab cake siting on half an avocado with onion rings and a ginger sauce. Another winner. For a main course, Beth chose the Seared Seabass Pierade style with peppers, onions and potatoes. I selected the seven-hour roasted lamb with a unique layered potato in a great sauce. Both dishes had excellent flavor and the portions were large enough that each of us took half home (we also wanted to save room for dessert). Our dessert choices allowed us to taste the warm chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream and the French Apple Tart. As Beth exclaimed, she would return to the restaurant just for the French Apple Tart and its perfect combination of cinnamon, butter and pastry, along with the vanilla ice cream.

As the French Apple Tart takes 25 minutes to prepare, Chef Sebastien came over to see how we were enjoying our meal. We had the opportunity to learn more about him and about the restaurant. Throughout our meal, we enjoyed the duo performing on the sidewalk between La Forchetta and Bistro by Sebastien Agnes, creating an even more pleasant atmosphere.

The overall experience at Bistro by Sebastien Agnes was excellent. The flavor, presentation and portion sizes of the dishes was very good, the service was detailed with several servers checking on us regularly, and the atmosphere including the live music very nice. We will definitely be back and will try their breakfast next time – with lots of crepe choices.