Cerritos Beach Club

Cerritos Beach Club sits above the sand at Playa Los Cerritos, at kilometre 64 of the highway between Todos Santos and Cabo San Lucas in Baja California Sur, on one of the few Pacific beaches on this stretch of coast that is safe for swimming and reliable for beginner surf. The cooking is beach-club Mexican done properly rather than ambitiously: fish tacos at around $7 built on the morning's Pacific catch, a shrimp cocktail near $12 served in the Mexican style with tomato, lime and avocado, and a lobster quesadilla at roughly $18 that puts local spiny lobster into a flour tortilla with melted cheese. Ceviche, aguachile, grilled catch of the day, guacamole and burgers fill out a menu built for people who have been in the water. The setting does most of the work. Tables and loungers occupy a terrace on the rocks above the break, with the point at Punta Cerritos to one side and open Pacific ahead, and the sound of surf carries over the whole room. Palapa shade, sand underfoot at the lower level, and a house soundtrack keep the mood relaxed and slightly boisterous through the afternoon. Dress is beachwear throughout, and there is no expectation of anything else. Drinks matter as much as food here: micheladas, palomas, frozen margaritas, Baja craft beer and a serviceable tequila list, served through the day. There are no reservations for ordinary tables, and the terrace fills between 1PM and 4PM in winter high season, when the surf schools and day-trippers from both Todos Santos and Cabo converge. Hours run 9AM to 6PM daily, so it closes before dinner and the sunset itself is only caught at the very end of the day in winter. Parking is on packed sand off the highway, and a rental car or a Todos Santos taxi is the practical way to arrive.