Cabanna

Cabanna is the casual seafood restaurant and bar of Grupo Los Arcos at Plaza Paseo Chapultepec on Boulevard Agua Caliente, a lounge-style room and patio that fills with groups sharing aguachiles, tostadas and colorful cocktails. The brand started in 2012 and now has branches from Mexicali and Ciudad Juárez to Polanco and Guadalajara, but the Tijuana location is one of the originals and still one of the plaza’s busiest tables. It works for a long Saturday lunch, a birthday with friends or a weekend brunch before crossing back.

The food

The menu is Pacific seafood done beach-style: a section of aguachiles and tiraditos, tostadas, tacos playeros (seafood tacos), beef tacos, Cabanna snacks and beach snacks for sharing, salads, pizzas and desserts, with a drinks list that runs from margaritas to house cocktails. Reviewers mention the ceviche, shrimp tacos, seafood platters and the tres leches cake. Each branch publishes its own menu PDF on the Cabanna site, so check the Tijuana one for current prices before you go.

What to expect

Music is part of the package. The room is built for a social afternoon, the patio is the popular seat and recent reviews note it can get loud; sit indoors if you want to talk. Weekend brunch is listed as a feature, and the patio tables with a view of the plaza are the ones regulars ask for. Service is generally praised as accommodating, with one recent complaint about a reservation not being honored on a busy night, so arrive on time and confirm. Smart casual is the listed dress code.

Prices and reservations

OpenTable lists Cabanna at MX$310 to MX$500 per person, which lands it below its upstairs sibling Lorenza. Reserve through OpenTable, on the restaurant’s own site, by phone at 664 681 8490 or by WhatsApp at 663 204 6183. Hours as listed: Monday to Thursday noon to 9 p.m., Friday and Saturday noon to 11 p.m., and Sunday noon to 7 p.m.

Getting there

The address is Blvd. Agua Caliente 10387, local D-203, Plaza Paseo Chapultepec, Colonia Neidhart, on the main boulevard east of Zona Río toward the Hipódromo. The plaza has its own parking lot, and ride-hail drivers know it by name; it is a direct ride from the border or the Río.

Good to know

Lorenza (same group, more formal) and Bodega 8 (steaks and cocktails) are in the same plaza, so you can start at one and finish at another. Instagram (@cabannarestaurant) is where specials and events get posted, and the Cabanna site has a jobs page and a reservation form if you prefer not to use OpenTable. Sunday closes early (7 p.m.), so plan a Sunday visit as a lunch rather than a dinner. Eric’s visit, with a rating, is in his Cabanna review.

More seafood in our guides; weekend events are in the calendar.