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The Stop Light Restaurant in Cabo San Lucas
When it comes to places to eat in Cabo San Lucas, there are restaurants you can find at home, and there there are those unique 'Cabo' places to dine - The Stop Light is one of the later...
The Stoplight in Cabo San Lucas is not just a traffic signal. It is a
great restaurant in Cabo, located near the first stop light of Cabo
San Lucas and has been in operation since June of 1996. That is when
partners Jose Benitez Ferrara and Marcel Cadoret arrived from Los
Angles to start the restaurant. Marcel told me “They just loaded up
the car with their suitcases and drove down and within 1 ½ months had
their restaurant open for business.” When they started the restaurant,
he explained “We thought of many different names but one friend
suggested the name Stop Light because they were located next to the
only stop light in town at that time”. Well the name stuck and while
Cabo has grown much since and now has many more stoplights they are
still here serving up some of the best dinning value in town.
Mention you saw it here, on the BajaInsider, and receive 10% off your check
This
is truly an Insider review here, as I eat at this restaurant a lot for
a lot of good reasons. Their dishes range from traditional Mexican
cuisine to fresh fish and seafood, pasta, excellent steaks, sandwiches
and salads for the light eaters. They are open for at 8:00am for
breakfast till midnight for dinner. The Stop Light Restaurant is
centrally
located
almost next to the famous Squid Roe and across from the marina
entrance they are not only very easy to find but are open late at
night and right in the middle of all the action for the night life of
Cabo San Lucas.
Click here to contact The Stop Light for Group Events or Parties
I’m a local and I eat there with many locals sometimes 3-4 times a
week. In fact some of my friends and I try have tried not to eat there
and drive around thinking of where else to go but we still end up back
at the
Stop
Light. Their consistent quality and fun location for viewing what’s
happening in Cabo really makes it a great place to eat and hang out
for the evening before enjoying the bars a
nd discos that are all
located nearby.
I have had a lot of friends and family visit over the
years and after they eat at the Stoplight they never seem to want to
go anywhere else. My own brother when visiting with his family a few
years ago was advised by me that it
was
a great place for the family to dine in Cabo. A couple of days later
when I had dinner plans with them I asked if they wanted to try the
Stoplight. They said sure and then when ordering my niece and nephews
said they wanted what they had the night before. “What you have
already eaten here?” I asked. They laughed and said they not only had
dinner there the night before but breakfast this morning too.
Other
of my friends while on vacation and have the means to eat anywhere
they want, they still end up wanting to eat at least a few times at
the Stop Light. I 
had one friend visit last year and out of 7 nights
we ate at the Stoplight for 6 nights at his request. Just so you know
this friend has worked in many restaurants in the Ashland Oregon area
where he lives and there are many fine restaurants there. Another very
old friend of mine was just here last week and while he lives in the
Newport California area and has the money to eat where he wants he
arrived at the airport saying “Stop Light tonight?: Then proceeded to
buy dinner for
everyone
several nights at the Stop Light saying “It is such a value!” Not
something you commonly hear in Cabo (Carro (Spanish for expensive))
San Lucas.
My friends, guests and clients do go to some of the much finer restaurants around the Los Cabos area but you can only eat fancy fine dinning so much before you just want a casual good home cooked style meal or a light dinner all of which the Stop Light offers.
Click here for a map showing the location of The Stop Light
Mine
as well as some of my friends favorite dishes are the fresh Ahi Tuna
cooked rare blackened with pepper sauce or simply with garlic and
butter. The rib eye and the filet mignons are excellent (better than
most of the high end steak houses). Also many like the Mexican combo
or the lighter plates like a Club sandwich, Blackened Chicken or Ahi
Tuna (seared sashimi) salad. They also serve many pastas including
Fettuccine Alfredo, Linguini or Penne pasta with Chicken for example.
The Stop Light has appetizers
like
baby back ribs and snails in garlic, or a Cheese Fondue in Marinara
and Cilantro Pesto as well. The Stop Light also has a full service bar
with great Margaritas and Long Cabo Ice Tea and a very attentive
staff.
They really do have something for everyone and the portions are very
generous. The consistency is the key and according to Marcel the head
chef “this is what we try very hard to do even though it is not always
easy here in the frontier of Mexico”.
One of the hardest things about writing this review is knowing that it will only be harder for me to get my favorite seating along the paseo (sidewalk) as more people discover what us locals already know. Be sure for larger groups to call ahead so they can better serve you. The hours of operation once again are from 8:00am to 12:00pm. Their number is (624) 143-4740 or you may email them via the contact form here
