The Only Breakfast Buffet I've Ever Enjoyed Was At This Locally-Owned Mexican Resort

Bland breakfast buffets are the woe of my existence. Whenever I'm in a hotel that offers one, I usually skip it and wait for lunch. Thankfully, I didn't do this during my stay at Hacienda Encantada Resort in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. The prospect of drinking my coffee with views of the Sea of Cortez and the Gulf's famous arched rocks lured me to Las Marías restaurant. Brightly colored walls and tiled counters greeted me with homely warmth, and I was delighted to see that this wasn't a typical buffet. Although continental breakfast options were available, most of the food was proudly Mexican. I filled my plate with fresh fruit, sweet breads, refried beans, housemade salsas, machacas (shredded dry beef with scrambled eggs), and tasty chilaquiles, a staple Mexican breakfast dish. My taste buds couldn't have been happier.

"The heart of the buffet is rooted in local cuisine, allowing guests to enjoy something truly authentic rather than a generic hotel breakfast," Gabriel Ibarra Macías, sales and marketing director at Mexico Grand Hotels, told me over email. Ibarra Macías explained that the restaurant cooks many of the dishes in small batches to ensure freshness. He added, "We work closely with local suppliers and focus on seasonal ingredients, which helps maintain both quality and flavor across the buffet."

According to Ibarra Macías, the chilaquiles are very popular with other guests as well. (They're seriously good.) "Many guests also [like] our traditional Mexican coffee served in handcrafted clay mugs," he stated. 

Las Marías' recipe for success is obvious and simple: emphasizing local dishes and ingredients. Offering a continental breakfast with Mexican dishes allows travelers to break from their fear of the unknown. "While some [guests] may start with familiar items, we often see them return for the more traditional options after sampling a few bites," Gabriel Ibarra Macías said. "The buffet encourages exploration."

This focus on local food works best for the hotel outside of breakfast as well. My favorite diners on the property were Los Riscos and Mestizo del Mar. Both leaned heavily on Baja California Sur's fish and seafood traditions, giving Mexican ingredients a modern twist. At Riscos, for example, I enjoyed the pastor-style shrimp marinated with achiote, and served over cilantro risotto with pineapple flamed in tequila. Mestizo made an excellent blackened catch of the day over sautéed vegetables, paired with a stunning sunset over the ocean. In Cabo's Marina, I dined at Los Deseos (which is outside the hotel but part of its all-inclusive package). I got tender beef tongue tacos, and grilled octopus with adobo sauce and sugar cane honey. Both were masterful takes on difficult dishes to cook correctly.

Although the hotel's international restaurants were good, they weren't as memorable as the ones that capitalized on local flavors. I still wistfully think about the Baja-centric dishes that provided deep flavor, a glimpse at Mexican culinary history, and a strong sense of place. What could be more delicious than that?