Picture sitting down to dinner with no menu to scan and no dishes to debate. The chef chooses every course based on whatever’s freshest that day. That’s the idea behind a new tasting experience at a boutique resort in Los Cabos, where you share your dietary preferences up front and let the kitchen take it from there.
Chef Oscar Morales cooks it at Encanto, the signature restaurant inside Mar del Cabo by Velas Resorts, a boutique property between San José del Cabo and Cabo San Lucas. He calls it “Encanto de la Baja: The Chef’s Blind Menu,” and instead of ordering off a printed menu, you fill out a short questionnaire covering allergies and any ingredients you’d rather skip. From there, Morales builds your sequence around whatever’s freshest that day, whether that’s a fresh catch from the Sea of Cortez or produce from a nearby ranch.
The Blind Menu Follows Encanto’s 90% Local Rule
Mar del Cabo built the blind menu on the same local sourcing that already defines Encanto Farm & Sea. More than 90% of the restaurant’s ingredients come from nearby orchards, ranches and coastal producers. There’s no printed menu locking in choices weeks ahead, so Morales can adjust your sequence to match the season and the day’s catch.
Recent Courses Have Included Clams, Lobster and Rib Eye
Seven courses move you from ranch country to the coast and back. Pairings change too, with local wines from Valle de Guadalupe or a signature cocktail matched to whatever’s on the table that night. Recent sequences have included:
- Charred chocolate clams with beef tallow, truffled ponzu and apple foam.
- Puerto Nuevo-style lobster sope with harissa butter.
- Cabrilla, the local sea bass, with butternut squash curry and cilantro pearls.
- Wood-fired Angus rib eye with eggplant purée and Nebbiolo beef jus.
- Coconut roll with dates and wild honey, paired with thyme-infused ranch cream ice cream.
If you lean toward land-driven dishes, you might get a wild honey cookie topped with fresh Miraflores cheese instead. A lighter course resets your palate right before dessert.
Book at Least 48 Hours Ahead
Reservations need 48 hours’ notice and that same dietary questionnaire, and the tasting starts at $140 per person with drinks extra. If you’re the type who’s betting everything on dinner when picking a destination, this is one dinner worth planning a Los Cabos trip around. Skip the menu, trust the chef and let the seven courses do the rest.