El Nido Rosarito

El Nido has stood on Boulevard Benito Juarez, the main street of Playas de Rosarito in Baja California, since 1972, and it is the town's steakhouse of record. The room is built around a mesquite fire: rough-sawn timber walls, saddles, antlers and ranch tools hung as decoration, low lighting, and a grill visible from part of the dining room where cuts are cooked over mesquite wood rather than charcoal or gas, which gives the meat the resinous smoke the restaurant is known for. Rib eye is the cut most ordered, thick and served plain with charro beans, grilled spring onions and tortillas; the other signature is grilled quail, split and cooked quickly over the same fire, a dish that has been on the menu since the early years. Beyond those the carte covers arrachera, filete, chops, chicken, a short list of Baja seafood for tables that will not eat red meat, and a breakfast service that begins at 8AM and draws a local crowd for machaca, chilaquiles and eggs long before the grill is running at full tilt. Prices are moderate rather than high for the region, with most steak plates falling between 300 and 600 pesos, which is one reason the restaurant retains a Mexican clientele in a town heavily oriented to visitors from San Diego. The atmosphere is warm, dark and convivial, more ranch tavern than fine-dining room; the noise level rises in the evening, families and large groups are common, and dress is casual. Drinks run to Mexican beer, margaritas and a serviceable list of Baja and Mexican reds, with a few Valle de Guadalupe bottles an hour to the south. The restaurant does not take reservations and works on a walk-in basis, opening daily from 8AM to 11PM. Weekend evenings after 8PM can involve a wait at the door, while weekday lunch and the early breakfast service are quiet.