Marisqueria San Jose

Small place with 4 nice wooden tables and wooden chairs (no plastic!), very clean, good fresh-cooked meals and service with a smile. We felt very welcome. Six of us ate lunch for about $40 dollars including coffees and fruit drinks, bread, chips with salsa, and good-tasting main plates of whole fish, fish filets, big shrimp, or large portions of seafood soup. They also offer shrimp cocktails. The food seemed fresh and was nicely prepared. This is a small restaurant, perhaps not worth a special trip from Oaxaca, but if you're heading to the coast or driving into the Oaxaca area from Puerto Escondido, this makes a nice stop to eat. Mojarra, a nice white fish, is the main fish on the oral menu...there is no written menu. This highway runs north-south here and the little restaurant is on the west side of the highway, easy to spot if you keep an eye open as you drive. Spic N Span clean including the bathrooms. It would deserve five stars but the food is not gourmet but just simply good, well-prepared and filling, tasty food in a pleasant, informal atmosphere. We looked around Zimatlan, whose real name is Zimatlan de Alvarez, for other good restaurants, but this was the only good one we found at first blush. Zimatlan is a modest agricultural center, bustling with trading and little stores and outdoor food stands. The central plaza in front of the very nice church has plenty of benches available for a rest from the day's drive, and local folks are sitting around whiling away the hours, days, weeks, months and years, as far as we have ever seen when we've gone through there quite a few times over quite a few years. This is the not-usually- preferred road from Oaxaca to Puerto Escondido (it's our very much preferred route though) because it's a very winding mountain road and can be unnerving to flatlanders. It's an hour or two quicker than the other road through Pochutla and on the coast end, it comes out right in downtown Puerto Escondido rather than an hour downcoast as the other road does. We've driven this road many times and love the high mountain views and the changes in life zones as we go up and down over passes and through pretty valleys and forests. The pavement is usually in quite good shape but there can be areas of potholes, as is true with any of the Oaxaca roads. It's worth checking with the tourist office in the rainy season to see if they know the condition of both or either highways to/from the coast. Landslides can temporarily block either one after heavy rains. If you feel like you don't want to drive any further, there is one modern-looking, several-story hotel several blocks off the main drag in Zimatlan. There is a good "HOTEL" sign on the highway right about in the town's center, that points down the side street to the hotel. We'll check out the hotel and report on it next time we're there.

Small space with 4 beautiful wooden tables and wooden chairs (no plastic!, very clean, good freshly baked meals and service with a smile. We felt very welcome. Six of us ate lunch for about $40 including coffee and fruit drinks, bread, chips with salsa, and well-tasting main plates of whole fish, fish fillets, large shrimps, or large portions of seafood soup. They also offer shrimp cocktails. The food seemed fresh and was nicely prepared. This is a small restaurant, perhaps not a special trip from Oaxaca, but if you're going to the coast or go to the Oaxaca area of Puerto Escondido, that makes a nice stop to eat. Mojarra, a beautiful white fish, is the main fish on the oral menu... there is no written menu. This highway runs here north-south and the small restaurant is located on the west side of the highway, easy to see if you keep an eye open as you drive. Spic N Span clean including the bathroom. It would earn five stars, but the food is not gourmet, but simply good, well prepared and fill, delicious food in a pleasant, informal atmosphere. We looked around Zimatlan, whose real name is Zimatlan de Alvarez, for other good restaurants, but this was the only good we found at the first bloating. Zimatlan is a modest agricultural center that stands with trade and small shops and outdoor food. The central plaza in front of the very beautiful church has many benches available for a rest from the car of the day, and local people sit around the hours, days, weeks, months and years away, as far as we have ever seen when we have gone through for a few years. This is the non-usually preferred road from Oaxaca to Puerto Escondido (it is our very preferred route, although it is a very curved mountain road and can become flatlanders. It is an hour or two faster than the other road through Pochutla and at the coast end, it comes directly in downtown Puerto Escondido instead of an hour down as the other road does. We have driven this road many times and love the high mountain views and the changes in the living zones, while we go up and down over the passes and through beautiful valleys and forests. The Pavement is usually in quite good shape, but it can be areas of pots as it is true with any of the Oaxaca roads. It is worth checking with the tourist office in the rainy season to see if they know the state of both or either highways to / from the coast. Landslides can temporarily block after heavy rainfall. If you feel that you don't want to drive further, there is a modern, multi-storey hotel several blocks from the main train in Zimatlan. There is a good HOTEL sign on the highway in the middle of the city, which shows on the side street to the hotel. We'll check the hotel and report to you next time.