Description: Boca Bento has always been a favorite of ours. The food is exquisite but the prices are too high to be an everyday kind of place. Very close to the parking plaza Lazaro Cardenas it is handy to many of the hotels in the Romantic Zone. When you walk in, the bar is to the left. It is casual and relaxing. There is a long bar, plenty of comfortable stools and a few tables with cozy chairs. There are beautiful colorful murals on the walls. The price of a drink is high but not shocking. To the right is the dining area; behind it are a couple more private dining rooms. It is peaceful and slightly elegant with sparse but tasteful décor and well dressed tables. Elegant but casual. Customers also run from elegant to casual, some in fancy duds, some in shorts, most in between and everyone seems comfortable.
I will tell you about my last visit to Boca Bento. I was with Sails. Neither one of us had been here in at least a year. It was a good night. The weather was perfect (an almost daily event here), parking was no problem (not a daily event here), we were famished (typical) and flush (not typical). One of the many friendly waiters saw us coming, hurried over, and remembering our wicked ways, led us to the perfect table, where our smoke would bother no one and no one’s children would bother us. We ordered beverages which were quickly served along with the menu. The night kept getting better. The menu looked about the same but the prices had been noticeably reduced. Sails whooped.
We ordered an appetizer to nibble on while we agonized over what to have for dinner. The wonton purses were incredible, as expected. They were stuffed with a shrimp concoction and served on a poblano cream sauce. Still tortured by the dinner menu we ordered another appetizer, the Pineapple Mahi Mahi Ceviche, also great. It was little chunks of pineapple and fish in a citrus ginger marinade, very refreshing and possibly mind clearing. We decided on our main courses. I went for the tried and true. I had the Grilled Filet Mignon. It was as good as always. The meat, a good sized serving, was tender, juicy and cooked to my liking. It was served with wasabi mashed potatoes, grilled vegetables and a Pasilla chile sauce. The potatoes had enough wasabi to taste like wasabi. They were very good and had a little kick. The vegetables were crisp and smoky and the sauce was perfect with almost no heat but plenty of flavor. Sails tried something new, the duck carnitas. It was a pile of shredded duck meat served with a fantastic tomato ginger salsa, tortillas and plum sauce. I managed to snag a bite despites Sails defensive moves. It was very good. We were stuffed.
Our very attentive waiter offered us dessert, obviously expecting us to say no. His eyes bugged out when we ordered the trio of crème brulee. We always end our meals here this way. I can’t tell you if the other sweets are any good but the crème brulees is fantastic. Three tiny servings, three big flavors – chocolate-chile (my favorite), ginger (Sails favorite) and Kahlua. The waiter came back curious as to whether we could stuff in some after dinner drinks. Much to his shock, Sails ordered more crème brulees. I was stunned, but I snatched up the chocolate-chile one as soon as it got to the table. Our bill, quite a bit smaller than usual, was delivered. It had been a very good night.
Sails said, "Unbelievable, the prices have gone down, the servings are bigger and it still tastes just as good. I'll have some more of those little creme brulees"
sample menuYellowfin Sashimi and Tuna Tartare............125 pesos/US$11.90
with arugula, wasabi cream and a
three-chile vinaigrette
Coconut Curry Chicken Empanadas............68 pesos/US$6.50
with Asian guacamole
Grilled Seven Spice Salmon............162 pesos/US$15.40
served with cilantro rice and pineapple salsa
Three Chile Crusted Lamb Chops............market price
served with habanero guava salsa, grilled
asparagus and creamy polenta
Chocolate Temptation............68 pesos/US$6.50
chocolate ganache and vanilla bean ice cream
Boca Bento is open Thursday through Tuesday from 6:00 pm until 11:30 pm. Visa and MasterCard are accepted.
Directions - Boca Bento is on Basilio Badillo between Olas Altas and Pino Suarez. From the southwest corner of parking/plaza Lazaro Cardenas (the ocean is to the west) head south along Olas Altas for one block, go left on Basilio Badillo a half block. The restaurant is on the right.
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