The Office Restaurant

The Office sits directly on Playa El Medano in Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur, with its tables set on the sand facing the bay and El Arco at Land's End in the distance, and it is the town's best-known example of beach dining in the literal sense. Opened decades ago on what was then a quiet stretch of shoreline, it now occupies a prime position on the busiest swimming beach in Los Cabos, surrounded by watersports operators and beach clubs. The kitchen serves straightforward Mexican and American beach food: shrimp tacos at roughly $16, fish and chips at about $18, and a full range of quesadillas, burgers, ceviche, guacamole and grilled catch. Breakfast is served from 7AM, including chilaquiles and huevos rancheros eaten with bare feet in the sand, which is the version of the restaurant most regulars prefer. The frozen margarita near $12 is the emblematic order and the bar turns out blended drinks in volume through the afternoon. Prices are higher than the cooking alone would command, which is the trade for the location. The setting is umbrellas and plastic-and-timber furniture directly on the beach, with music, roaming vendors, jet-ski traffic offshore and a constant flow of people along the sand. It is lively, hot and informal, and swimwear is the normal dress. Reservations are not generally taken for beach tables, though larger groups can sometimes arrange seating in advance during the December to April high season, when the front row fills by late morning. Hours run 7AM to 10PM daily. The restaurant is walkable from most Cabo San Lucas hotels and directly reachable along the beach from the marina, which is part of why it stays busy year-round. The beach position means the surroundings are part of the meal, with parasailing operators, jet skis and vendors working the sand a few metres from the tables through the afternoon, which is either the appeal or the drawback depending on expectations. Service is efficient given the volume the restaurant handles, and staff are used to seating groups arriving straight off the beach without notice.