Camino Riviera

Explore the flavors of the Yucatán coast at Camino Riviera, where executive chef Brian Redzikowski’s menu features upscale takes on traditional preparations as well as playful, Southeast Asian-influenced dishes. Standout items include The Taco, a long filet of tempura seabass under a gilding of edible gold leaf, and Sonoma Lamb Shoulder Barbacoa with cucumber, onion, cotija, rattle tail chile aioli, and salsa borracha. Beverage directors Leigh Lecap and Eric Johnson created a similarly inspired cocktail menu; cochinita pibil, papadzules, and various moles like pipián and mole blanco serve as flavor guides and inspiration. Don’t miss out on the Brentwood Corn Ice Cream; it looks exactly like a fresh cob of sweet corn, but dessertified.
How to book: Reservations are recommended and can be made online. Walk-ins are accepted if seating is available.

When you want to get all dressed up and fancy but you still want fish tacos, Camino Riviera has you covered with their best-selling The Taco, possibly the most glamorous fish taco ever made. A long, chunky filet of sea bass is dipped into squid ink tempura batter, which turns the ultra-crisp crust midnight black and gives it a hint of brine. It’s snuggled into two tortillas, sourced from Gabriel Tortilleria in Barrio Logan, and topped with frisée and edible gold leaf. Pair it with something from the inspired cocktail menu—cochinita pibil, papadzules, and various moles like pipián and mole blanco serve as flavor guides and inspiration. And it’s not a fish taco, but don’t miss out on the Brentwood Corn Ice Cream; it looks exactly like a fresh cob of sweet corn, but dessertified. Reservations are recommended but walk-ins are accepted if seating is available.

Camino Riviera feels like it’s been lifted straight from Tulum and planted in Little Italy—taking over the space of what was once neighborhood fixture El Camino. The stylish restaurant/bar is outfitted with hanging macrame planters and tropical greenery—designed to look like a disco party in the middle of the Yucatán Peninsula jungle. Listed in both Mexican pesos and American dollars, the menu offers playful novelties: inspired by Taco Bell’s flatbread-wrapped hard shell taco, the Beef Salpicón “Gordita Crunch” swaps out the flatbread for a bao, resulting in a soft-meets-crunchy textural sensation topped with shredded Wagyu beef. One of the most talked-about dishes is “The Taco”—a sea bass filet fried in squid ink tempura batter, blanketed with edible gold leaf, and placed on two tortillas. Meanwhile, the bar crafts cocktails that highlight many traditional ingredients and native dishes of Mexico’s Riviera Maya region—like cochinita pibil, papadzules, and moles. You’ll also find a variety of small-batch mezcals, served in little sipping cups called copitas that are sourced directly from artisans in Tlaquepaque and Oaxaca.
How to book: Make reservations online.