Julie Miller

Beautiful atmosphere! Truly fantastic service! The Octopus dish, fish tacos, pork belly tacos and juevos rancheros exceeded our expectations! Definitely wish we lived near by to enjoy more often! Don't pass this place up!

Bob Atkins

A very chill atmosphere with excellent service. We were seated immediately upon arrival with our reservation. Best table, right on the beach with a fantastic view of the pier and the sunset. Super romantic. The waiter was attentive but not intrusive. The drinks and food were wonderful. The overall experience of sitting a table, right on the beach in the sultry evening warmth while listening to a live performance serenading us while dining and watching the sunset and rain showers in the distance was mesmerizing.

+9

Victoria Marcelle

We had an awesome experience at La Palapa. We booked dinner for 15 people on the beach for the night before our wedding. They customized a 3 course vegan menu for us and let us make whatever changes we wanted. Our guests had different options for appetizers and desserts and EVERYONE loved the food (both vegans and non-vegans). The event coordinator was great to work with and the staff that night went above and beyond. Do not hesitate to reach out to them for your event, they will make it how you want it! We were on the beach for sunset and as it started to rain they moved out whole large table inside (it was incredible). The open bar was also very reasonable and the margaritas were excellent. Thanks for a great night!!

+5

Joshua Gilstein

The pork potstickers and the tortilla soup were both delicious! The duck confit mole enchiladas were pretty bland though. Service was attentive but food was quite slow to come out. They did bring me an extra drink as an apology for the wait, which i appreciated. Can't beat the views though!

Alexa Kafka

Although this places atmosphere is amazing, they need more workers during busy season. Service was incredibly slow… I ordered a vegan entree and got served the non-vegan option, and everything took ages! Overall though, the food is awesome, the vibes are awesome, and the staff is friendly!

Marcelo Machado

Cool place, great ambience on the beach, comfortable and cool. The food was great, everything perfectly cooked and served. Good service. The reason for the four stars is the prices. They defy logic. As an example, I paid 145 pesos for a beer. This is the kind of price I paid in Norway. Wages and liquor taxes in Norway are among the highest in the world. It was much more than what I would pay in a similar place in Spain or Portugal (cool restaurant on the beach). In the end, we enjoyed it but mind the prices.

+2

Maui World Travelers

We've now had breakfast, lunch and dinner at La Palapa. Prices are higher but you can't beat the view and vibe. ATMOSPHERE: The open air beach house decor with ambient orange lighting, spreads out from the indoor dining area, to thatched huts, then onto the actual beach with tables. A live band sang really well at dinner. The bathrooms have a gorgeous tile counter! FOOD: Definitely try their tray of baked goods that are brought around soon after sitting. The banana muffin was really good and moist. Lunch and dinners we've had were six years or more ago, so I won't comment on those. But, I recently had their Local Blue Crab benedict. The chipotle sauce overpowered the crab's flavor, so it wasn't that enjoyable. SERVICE: Always on-point and on a higher level than most eateries in the area. OVERALL: A classy and classic PV beach restaurant!

+1

Sergei S

I’ve always liked La Palapa and have been coming here for years. The setting is still beautiful and the service remains professional. But it’s hard to ignore how far the pricing and portions have drifted out of balance. Portions are now noticeably small, and the wine list pricing is frankly out of step with reality — the cheapest bottle hovering around $60 USD is a shock, especially given the portion sizes and overall experience. It no longer feels like value, even by destination-restaurant standards. What’s most telling is that half the restaurant was empty during what should have been a busy period. That’s usually a sign, not of a slow night, but of a strategy problem. La Palapa seems to be pricing and portioning itself out of relevance. This place needs a reset — either more generous portions, more realistic pricing, or ideally both. I want to keep loving La Palapa, but right now it feels like it’s drifting away from the loyal guests who helped build its reputation.

S K

La Palapa has all the ingredients of a perfect evening — beachfront tables, the golden hues of a Puerto Vallarta sunset, and just enough history to sound impressive when you name-drop it at brunch. Unfortunately, it also comes with a heaping side of aloof hostesses and vendors turning your dinner into a live-action episode of Flea Market Flip. Let’s rewind to a few nights before our reservation. We went in person — yes, actual face-to-face interaction — to request a sunset table. After a brief hostess hunt, we found her and were met with the enthusiasm of someone who’d just been told their shift was extended. She confirmed a beachfront table was available… with the same energy you’d use to confirm a dental appointment. When we arrived on the big night, a different hostess was on duty — consistency is clearly not the strong suit here, unless we're talking about the consistently frosty greetings. We weren’t so much welcomed as... tolerated. Once seated, we were finally ready to bask in that famous sunset — the whole reason I made the reservation. Enter: the world’s most determined street vendor, who decided the best place to hawk his inventory of questionably sourced goods was directly in front of our table. For the entire sunset. Blanket after blanket was rolled out like he was preparing for a yoga retreat. Meanwhile, the staff just watched him set up shop like he was part of the entertainment package. If I wanted this kind of retail immersion, I’d eat dinner in the middle of Mercado Municipal. The food? Mixed. Jumbo shrimp starter — solid. Red snapper — excellent. Short rib — wildly mismatched with its tomato sauce partner, like a culinary blind date gone wrong. For dessert, churros were delightful, but the mandarin crème brûlée? Let’s just say it was zesty in the way heartbreak is character-building. The saving grace was the attentive wait staff, who clearly cared — unlike the host stand, which felt more like a DMV kiosk with mood lighting. Final verdict? La Palapa is great if you enjoy beachfront views, unpredictable service, and being aggressively marketed sarongs while trying to cut into your snapper. I might return, but only if they start offering vendor repellent with the bread basket.

+1

Azin

Not the best. The food was mediocre. None of the dishes we had were delicious or special, but you have a gorgeous view. Unfortunately, I wouldn't recommend this restaurant.