Vallarta Lifestyles Restaurant Week is a two week food festival in Puerto Vallarta, as well as the greater Nayarit area. The festival takes place each year from May 15th to June 10th. During these two weeks, participating restaurants offer their guests special innovative three-course menus to delight anyone seeking to explore our destination’s outstanding cuisine at a reduced price. Typically, most restaurants that participate in this festival are located in Puerto Vallarta, however this year, local restaurant Bistro Organico in San Pancho will also be participating. I speak with Gisela Marin from Bistro Organico about their involvement in this year’s festival.

Gisela, can you first explain what, when, and where Restaurant Week is?

Vallarta Lifestyles Restaurant Week begins on Wednesday May 15th 2019, but will start at Bistro Organico in San Pancho on Friday, May 17th, and go through Monday, June 10th 2019. Bistro Organico will be open only on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays between the dates of May 17th and June 10th. This is the 15th year of celebrating the Restaurant Week event. This year, there are 62 participating restaurants scattered mostly in Puerto Vallarta, and then our little Bistro Organico in San Pancho. To see the list of participating restaurants or to find more information on the festival, one can refer to their website. Our special three course menu will be offered for just $399 pesos. Diners will get to choose an appetizer from three options, as well as a main course and a dessert. As the busy season starts to wind down, Bistro Organico is so happy to be infusing some good energy into an unforgettable dining experience at an affordable price.   

What is Bistro Organico’s concept for the menu?

Our menu is based on our local waters’ seafood as well as plant based food. We will stick with our normal philosophy of using local, organic ingredients, and sustainable everyday practices. For example, at Bistro Organico we make everything in-house, from our homemade bread, chutneys, scones, and salsas. We have a zero tolerance substitute rule, because this is a way to ensure our standard of quality food. The special concept of this event in general is for guests to be able to taste the mouthwatering sensations of our creations at a very affordable price. Diners can come more than once to try all the different combinations of our special menu. You will be impressed by the delicious shrimp brochette with cilantro pesto, pumpkin seeds, and morita pepper, as well as the tasty zucchini pasta in coconut milk with fish, and the shrimp green curry.   

It is special that Bistro Organic is the only "local" restaurant participating in the festival. Why did  Bistro Organico decide to become involved in the event?

Bistro Organico has been participating in this event for the last five straight years. We were initially asked to be a part of it by the publisher of Vallarta Lifestyles, even though we are in Nayarit, because we had been awarded the Best Restaurant of Nayarit by the Green Guide, and we were strong with our concept of healthy and delicious foods utilizing ingredients that were local, regional, organic, and sustainable. It is this philosophy that drives every decision we make about our menu and the food we have been serving our guests for the last fourteen years. We embarked on “project sustainability” seven years ago to find the best products Mexico has to offer. From these efforts, we found our award winning olive oil that comes from Baja California in Valle de Guadalupe, and has won awards in the New York Olive Times contest; it is the best of the best, and it’s regional. These are the types of important small details that we pay attention to which make our food stand out.

How would you describe Bistro Organico’s type of food and flavors?

Our style of food is simple elegance, using local seafood with a heavy plant based influence. The ingredients we use are the best, from the salt to the olive oil, to the organic local greens from our beautiful farmers we collaborate with. A highlight from our menu will be the chile stuffed with panela cheese, roasted chayote, epazote, and mushroom sauce, and perhaps with a delectable chocolate, coconut, and mango cake. For the festival this year we will have a special wine list curated by our sister business, Sayulita Wine Shop. A natural wine will be an option along with other fine wines from Mexico.  

For more information about Bistro Organico or to contact for reservations, please visit their Sayulita Life Web Page.

*Written by: Aanya Sheikh-Taheri