Restaurant and Bar Villa Serena

As I told you before, I never ever forget an amazing dining experience.  When I was a preteen, my mother and her companion at the time took me and my friend to this restaurant. I remember that we had delicious lobster but I distantly remember that the restaurant was a bit of a drive from the city.  So much so, it cannot be seen from the major highway.  In addition, when you turn into the restaurant driveway, you are on a dirt road and magically end up at the really nice restaurant in desert greens that has a view of the ocean. But I also remember that the restaurant randomly had a pool and I wanted to go swimming in it but it is not good to swim after you eat and my mother wanted to get back to the resort so I did not get a chance during that visit. Fast forward to our trip last year, I visited Cabo for the first time in 8 years.  I mentioned the details of the restaurant to my mom and she had no idea what I was talking about and I could not remember the name! However, during this trip, her friend remember distantly remembered the details of the restaurant and what I could not, the NAME!! Villa Serena!!!!

Restaurant and Bar Villa Serena is a bit of drive away from our resort and took about 25 minutes to get there and a $35 taxi ride given our large party. If you need landmarks, the entrance is directly across from the Home Depot. The address is Carretera Transpeninsular Kilómetro 7.5, Cabo Bello, 23455 Cabo San Lucas, B.C.S., Mexico. From the highway, the restaurant advertises $19.95 lobster specials to attract customers. There are not many places where you can find $19.95 lobster. We arrived for dinner around 7pm and were immediately seated in a table in the main covered eating area.  However, we did not have a good view of the ocean, and opted for a table right at the entrance of the pool.  And since I was the last person to make it to the table, I sat with my back to the pool and the view of the ocean. Bummer.

It was odd that we were not presented with menus as we took our seats. After a brief wait, the waiter came for our drink orders. My mother ordered the mango, her friend the strawberry, my friend the lime, and I ordered the pina colada! Everyone except my friend felt that the drink was tasty but weak on the alcohol. Her lime cocktail definitely hit the spot for her and was quite flavorful.  After the drinks came, the waiter bought out a tray of raw meats, fish, and seafood wrapped in plastic and discussed the specials of the day. We ordered 2 servings of the guacamole and an order of fried calamari for starters. After placing our orders, we took a photo session in another area to take advantage of the ocean view.

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When we got back to the table, our appetizers had arrived. The fried calamari was more like calamari strips that were pretty big in size but delicious.  They were fried just right leaving the calamari not to tough and the breading on them perfectly fried. The seasoning of the calamari was also wonderful.  The guacamole was also pretty good and went quickly in our group.  The presentation of the guacamole was different and I certainly appreciate the creativity. A cool little addition to the chips and salsa was that it also included chicharones or pork rinds.

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A short while later, our meals came and we were excited. I ordered the 8oz filet mignon medium with a lobster tail, and shrimp for $55.  The meal came with a side of vegetables, a potato casserole, and brown gravy. The star of this dish was the lobster. I initially wanted just two lobster tails but felt that I would be missing out and I was not. I should have stuck with the original plan. My steak was undercooked and unnecessary wrapped with a soggy bacon strip. I was so disappointed in the steak that I ended up not even finishing it which is uncommon for me. The shrimp were also pretty good but not as good as the lobster. The vegetables were just ok and not very well seasoned.  They tasted like they may have been frozen at some point and reheated for the dinner. The brown gravy is how I got most of the vegetables down because I really enjoyed the seasoning of the gravy. However, the potato casserole square was amazing!! It was seasoned with rosemary and I ended up having to give some away because I did not want to over eat.

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My mother ordered the lobster tail and the T-bone steak which was extra for $60. The T-bone steak was a huge cut but she enjoyed every bite of it as well as the lobster. Not sure how she felt about the veggies because her focus was on that meat and seafood. One of her friends ordered the single lobster tail for $19.95 and enjoyed her meal.  She was pleased with the size of the tail and also loved the potato casserole like I did.  The other friend ordered 2 lobster tails ($40) and was equally satisfied with her decision.  She opted out of the potato casserole and got double veggies like my mom but I do not remember her raving about them either. Finally, my friend ordered a similar dish to mine for about $50 but it did not come with the shrimp.  She enjoyed her meat and felt her meat was cooked perfectly.  She also enjoyed the lobster.  So the general consensus is that the lobster tail is a must here.

While we enjoyed our meal, the dessert options did not seem all that exciting so we enjoyed our large margaritas for our dessert.  As we were sitting outside, the bugs and mosquitoes bite of few of us as we dined. Nothing to take away from the meal but should be noted if you have allergies to possibly spray yourself before dining. Overall, we had a wonderful dining experience that we were so happy to remember and enjoy.  The total bill came out to about $435 for the 5 of us which was a bit high but sense. The following is my Seven Mac Score for the restaurant:

Please look out for Part V of my Cabo Dining Adventures series!  Also, you can find me on Instagram @finediningdiva and Twitter @moderndaybeauty. Also, if you would like to follow my blog to receive notification when a new blog is posted, please send your email to finediningdiva@gmail.com.

And remember: It’s a BIG world and we are going to eat our way through it!

http://www.loscabosguide.com/villaserena/