Cheap Eats In Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

The best cheap eats in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico! Budget-friendly restaurants that include happy hour and the best tacos in Puerto Vallarta.

Cheap Eats In Puerto Vallarta

During our visit, we managed to find a lot of free things to do in Puerto Vallarta. Unfortunately, food isn’t free. Because we were on a budget, we did some research and were able to find plenty of cheap eats in Puerto Vallarta. But don’t think that because they were cheap, they weren’t delicious!

We ate some really great meals during our trip. To save money, we stayed away from Puerto Vallarta restaurants on the beach. However, all of these inexpensive restaurants were easy to walk to and near attractions we were visiting anyway.

Map Of Cheap Restaurants In Puerto Vallarta

Below is a map with all of the restaurants in Puerto Vallarta that we recommend.

Best Tacos In Puerto Vallarta

We’ll start with what we think are the best tacos in Puerto Vallarta – and possibly the world! Pancho’s Takos is so great we actually ate there twice during visit. They have a large food and drink menu with indoor and outdoor seating. This is one of the best places to eat in Puerto Vallarta, so don’t be surprised if you have to wait a few minutes to get seated.

Pancho’s Takos obviously has all kinds of tacos. What we had that absolutely had us drooling were the Al Pastor tacos with cheese. Holy cheesus were they delicious! An order of four is 76 MXN (about $3.75). We also recommend getting their cheese fondue. We ordered the one topped with chorizo which was 85 MXN (about $4.25).

Another popular place to get cheap eats in Puerto Vallarta is Pepe’s Taco. They have all kinds of tacos including chicken, pork, and beef, although what they are most famous for are their Al Pastor tacos. You can order them all individually, with a taco on a corn tortilla priced at 20 MXN ($1) or on a flour tortilla priced at 40 MXN ($2).

To experience a different style of Puerto Vallarta tacos, we recommend eating at Pollo Feliz. It’s a local fast food chain; think of it as a Mexican version of KFC. We had their Tacos Dorados (Golden Tacos) which are fried and filled with chicken. You get five for 57 MXN (about $2.85). They tasted great, were filling, and inexpensive!

Best Breakfast In Puerto Vallarta

Fredys Tucan has been voted one of the top restaurants in Puerto Vallarta because of their delicious breakfasts. Their dishes are also pretty inexpensive. To have the best breakfast in Puerto Vallarta, choose an authentic Mexican meal like Chilaquiles. Depending on what you want on them, they range from 86 to 102 MXN (about $4.25 to $5).

Best Ceviche In Puerto Vallarta

Are you a fan of ceviche? For the best ceviche in Puerto Vallarta, head over to Rio Grande Restaurant. We had their Shrimp Ceviche appetizer and it was amazing. It tasted so fresh and had just the right amount of kick to it. And even though it was an appetizer, it can definitely be eaten as a main dish.

Another great place to get ceviche is Mariscos el Guero. Here, you can have your ceviche on a tostada. A Fish Ceviche Tostada is 16 MXN (about $0.80). The restaurant also serves other seafood items like Shrimp Tacos and Fish Tacos for 24 MXN each (about $1.20).

Best Dessert In Puerto Vallarta

We love finishing our meals off with a sweet dessert and when you’re in Mexico, flan in a must! Petricor Coffee and Sweets offers a variety of delicious desserts and their flan is a customer favorite. It’s on our list of cheap eats in Puerto Vallarta because a large piece is only 45 pesos (about $2.25).

Another popular dessert in Puerto Vallarta (and all of Mexico, really) are paletas, which are popsicles made from fresh natural fruits. We tried two different paletas at La Michoacana; a Paleta de Jamaica (hibiscus) and a Paleta de Lima (lime). Each were 20 MXN ($1).

We’ve loved crepes ever since living in Europe, and Mi Crepa did not disappoint. You’ll find their cart selling different flavored crepes on the Malecon in the evenings. Our Nutella and Banana crepe was 60 MXN ($3). Compared to some of the other things we ate in Puerto Vallarta, we thought the crepes were actually a bit expensive. But again, most things on the Malecon cost more, which is why this was the only thing we bought there.

Best Happy Hour In Puerto Vallarta

Happy hours always offer great deals but we found the best happy hour in Puerto Vallarta at Zapata Antojeria & Bar. Their Happy Hour is from 1 pm to 7 pm and includes beers, margaritas, and mojitos. During our visit we had huge margaritas for only 27 MXN each (about $1.35). And they didn’t skimp on the alcohol just because it was happy hour! 😉

Best Meal Deal In Puerto Vallarta

Another great place to eat in Puerto Vallarta that is inexpensive and you get a ton of food is El Campanario. Because you get so much for the price, we think it’s the best meal deal in Puerto Vallarta. Their lunch special is served Monday through Saturday from 1 pm to 5 pm.

For 78 MXN (about $3.90) you get a drink, soup of the day, an entrée that comes with salad, rice, and beans, and also a small dessert. On the day that we visited, the soup of the day was a creamy vegetable soup. I’m normally not a soup person, but this soup was so good I licked the bowl clean. The two entrées we ordered were the Carne Asada and Fajitas. For dessert we chose the flan. We left feeling completely stuffed and in disbelief that we ate so much for so little.

Final Thoughts On Cheap Eats In Puerto Vallarta

We were really impressed by the food and restaurants in Puerto Vallarta. Not only is it insanely delicious, it is also very budget-friendly. We do plan on visiting Puerto Vallarta again soon, and can’t wait to discover more amazing cheap eats!

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