You can’t go wrong with a visit to Los Arcos Restaurant, whether it is for breakfast lunch or dinner. They are open from 8 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. each day.
The food is tasty and reasonably priced for a downtown restaurant. The “Meal of the Day” usually includes soup, main course, desert and coffee for about $7 per person. The outside seating on the the covered patio makes for an entertaining meal as you can watch the people walking about the Plaza de Armas, the larger of two plazas downtown. If you do not want to be bothered excessively by the children selling their wares, sit more in the center of the patio, as they tend to be a bit overbearing near the outside edge of the patio.
This is the place to go on Fridays evenings for great live music, dancing, and inexpensive drinks. The seating goes fast, so be prepared to join someone else’s table, if necessary, which is acceptable in Mexico if you ask. There are always a lot of dancers in the center of the patio that will keep you entertained with their professional moves. And, if you would like to try your own moves, get up and dance. During the day, there are mariachis or jazz bands playing and on Friday nights there are always great bands playing a variety of salsa, cumbia and jazz.
If you are planning on spending the evening dining and dancing, be sure to order the buckets of iced down beer to avoid having to wait on the servers to make it back to your table, as they get quite busy when the place is full.
And, at 1 p.m. each day, “The Table” at Los Arcos a group of expats from around the globe meets at Los Arcos. “The Table” at Los Arcos was founded by philosopher-in-residence the late Darrell Bohlsen. They are joined by another group that arrives from the “other” table across the Plaza de Armas at the El Universal Restaurant. “The Table” at El Universal was founded by Korean War Hero and Purple Heart Medalist Bob Aaron over forty years ago. The El Universal table meets restaurant at 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. Bob resides over the group’s “congretating-cum-bloviating” activities as the late Tony Miller (a retired AP journalist who was a regular at the table) would say. So, if you are in the area between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., be sure to stop by either of the “Tables” and say hello. They love to hear from others.
The address is Jardin de los Heroes 4, but the best method of locating the restaurant is that is is halfway between the Palace de Cortes and the Government Building and off to the side of Plaza de Armas. Directly behind the Casa Hidalgo Restaurant.
