Waldorf Astoria Los Cabos Pedregal is known for its serene surroundings (on the southernmost tip of Mexico’s Baja California Peninsula, it’s wedged between cliffs and the beach); personalized service (it has earned both the hotel and spa Forbes Travel Guide Five-Star awards since 2020); lavish accommodations (each comes with a plunge pool and ocean views); and a one-of-a-kind spa (the treatment rooms sit atop a lagoon). But what some don’t yet know is that it’s also a premier culinary destination.
The Los Cabos hotel delivers unique upscale Mexican dining experiences. Whether you want a deep dive into mezcal or an unforgettable cliffside meal, Waldorf Astoria Los Cabos Pedregal will delight your palate.
A Romantic Alfresco Dinner
Carved into the cliffs at the far edge of the property and jutting over the ocean, El Farallon offers a breathtaking location for dinner. Sit under the stars in the open-air, dimly lit restaurant, gaze at the foamy water lapping the sandy shoreline and listen to the waves pounding the boulders just feet away. The enchanting setting is eminently romantic — this is a place to pop the question, commemorate an anniversary or sweep people off their feet. But it’s just as appropriate to mark a new beginning, an ending or anything in between.
Of course, any celebratory occasion calls for popping open some bubbles. Upon entering the restaurant, you will find the Champagne Terrace, where you start with a tasting. We basked in a flight of Veuve Clicquot, Henri Abelé and Taittinger as an expert sommelier led us through each invigorating pour, explaining where it came from and helping you compare the tastes. The aperitifs allowed us the chance to soak up more of the incredible vista from the ocean-adjacent tables while easing us into dinner (though we would come just for the champagne, too).
Stroll a few feet to El Farallon for the main event. Your waiter brings over a large chalkboard menu — and most of it comes from the water surrounding you. The dishes change based on what fishermen catch that day, but if you see chocolate clams, be sure to order them. The local delicacy gets its name from the dark brown color of its shell. Here, the meaty catch is roasted and deliciously topped with crumbled bacon and chunks of feta.
We also savored a light but flavorful green tomatillo salad with guava dressing, amberjack slices doused in a tangy cilantro sauce, bluefin tuna with pineapple purée and radishes, and a succulent lobster. Settle in for an unhurried meal that lets you linger with that view.
A Taco Tasting
While nearly every hotel in Mexico serves tacos, Waldorf Astoria Los Cabos Pedregal is one of the few to offer a formal taco tasting. The beloved street food gets the gourmet treatment on the hotel’s seasonal nine-course Travesía Su Cocina menu, a private dining experience that takes place at a long wooden chef’s table in the colorfully tiled hacienda-style kitchen at Don Manuel’s restaurant.
Each course features a taco stuffed with proteins ranging from lamb barbacoa to wagyu cheeks birria. Chef Gustavo Pinet upends the traditional taco with versions like lightly breaded and fried oysters and aguachile tucked into a large slice of jicama that serves as a tortilla. In another creative offering, pieces of uni and crumbled chorizo artfully sit on top of a scallop “tostada” with an edible purple flower garnish. The flavors sing, especially in the blue prawn with chintextle, a rich Oaxacan smoked chili paste.
Be sure to add on the cocktail pairings. Like the tacos, each libation offers a taste of Mexico — primarily through agave spirits. The uni tostada arrives with a Sangría Tapatía, a refreshing blend of raicilla (which comes from the agave plant), chardonnay, lime, ginger and soda water. During dessert — a taco with apple beignets, banana and peanut mole, fermented pineapple, raspberry bits and crispy plantains — sip an earthy and sweet mezcal distilled with mole.
Since this is a tasting menu, you also receive one final bite. But instead of petit fours, you get short churros and a cup of thick hot chocolate to end your memorable Mexican meal.
An Agave Lesson
Every Waldorf Astoria has a Peacock Alley bar, but Pedregal recently added a local touch with its new Agave Study, an open-air lounge for agave tastings. Sit at a live-edge table for a cliffside peek at the water and a tour through mezcals from Koch, a family-owned brand based in Oaxaca.
While tequila still reigns as the favorite agave liquor worldwide, mezcal has been gaining popularity, popping up on more restaurant and bar menus. And a recent study predicts that the global mezcal market will grow an average of 10.3% a year over the next decade.
Of course, the centuries-old spirit is a standby in Mexico. Our agave tasting guide shared a well-known saying in the country: “For everything bad, mezcal. For everything good, mezcal.”
During your tasting, you learn how Koch’s artisanal mezcal is made, including the more than 30 different agave plants it comes from; the “mezcal guardians” or producers behind the handcrafted process; and how different regions have distinct traditions of how they create the spirit. And then you get to learn all this in the best way with samples of the deep, smoky pours.
A Celebrity Chef Hot Spot
Time your trip carefully to have the chance to meet some of the world’s most prominent chefs and try their food. The Waldorf Astoria hosts a monthly Culinary Weekend series, when it invites top-of-their-game chefs to cook up a delicious food-and-drink-themed itinerary at the resort. Typically, these weekends consist of a welcome cocktail reception on the beach, numerous chef takeover experiences and a private chef’s table dinner. You can attend the full weekend or specific epicurean events.
Brian Malarkey, a Top Chef alum who helms restaurants that include San Diego’s hot Herb & Wood, was the guest toque during our stay. We attended his hosted dinner at alfresco Don Manuel’s. Given Malarkey’s proficiency with seafood, we went for the sea-based options. We started with the bright, fresh Pacific blue shrimp aguachile with blood orange, Calabrian chili and mint, and then had the angry local lobster, which packed a flavor punch with the chili, garlic, lemon, brown butter and gochujang aioli. Throughout the night, Malarkey visited every table to chat with diners.
Upcoming visiting chefs include Michael Mina, who will showcase his acclaimed Bourbon Steak steakhouse chops June 9 to 11, and Texas pitmaster Ronnie Killen, who will throw a beach barbecue and other Fourth of July festivities July 1 to 5.
