Guadalupe Sanchez 740, Centro
Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
www.cafedesartistes.com
+52 (322) 222.3228
Chef Thierry Blouet has worked in some of the most prestigious kitchens in the world, from Le Fouquet's de Paris and Le Moulin de Mougins near Cannes to the Ritz in Chicago. Along the way, he earned Maîtres Cuisiniers de France award, being one of only 340 French chefs to do so.
He now has his own restaurants in Mexico, the star of which is Cafe des Artistes in Puerto Vallarta, where he merges his French training and skills with Mexican ingredients. The result is that his restaurant is considered one of the top in Latin America.
While Blouet offers a three-course menu that may or may not offer vegetarian dishes for about 350 pesos a person, the kitchen is also eager to prepare dishes for vegetarian diners.
On a recent meal an appetizer included an artfully prepared trio of gazpachos - cucumber, tomato and beet (below).
A poblano pepper stuffed with cheese was certainly not out-of-the-ordinary, but nonetheless very well prepared.
The surprise vegetarian dish from the kitchen featured five thinly sliced pieces of eggplant wrapped around fresh goat cheese (above). While I generally dislike the texture of eggplant, this was excellent, leaving none of the spongy eggplant texture, but lots of wonderful flavor.My guests and I passed on dessert, but the kitchen delivered some small pieces of multi-layered, fondant-filled chocolate cake.
Service is top-notch, and the restaurant offers probably the most extensive wine list in all of Puerto Vallarta, with an excellent selection of wines priced under 500 pesos. With cocktails, a bottle of wine, and two courses each, I'm not sure where you can get a better meal for about $35 US per person.
