Sayulita has a reputation for being expensive, and on the beach and around the plaza it can be. But it is still a Mexican town where people cook, shop and eat lunch on a working budget, and if you eat where they do you can have three good meals for less than one dinner at a sunset table.
The rules are simple: eat your big meal at midday, follow the Spanish menus and the plastic chairs, carry small peso notes, and walk a few blocks inland along Avenida Revolución. Prices below are from 2025 and 2026.
A day of eating for under 400 pesos
Here is what one cheap, very good day looks like, using prices from menus and stands in town. It skips nothing: a sit-down breakfast, a proper lunch, a snack and a late round of tacos.
Swap any of it for the beach clubs and you'll spend that much on a single main course. The difference isn't quality; it's rent, loungers and the view.
- 8amChilaquiles with egg (120 pesos) and a café de olla (30) at El Rey, the diner at the far end of Revolución.
- 1pmThree guisado tacos at Naty's on Calle Marlín, roughly a dollar each, with salsa and a cup of agua de jamaica.
- 5pmAn elote from a cart, 20 to 25 pesos.
- 9pmFour al pastor tacos at the plaza corner, about 24 pesos each.
- TotalRoughly 350 to 400 pesos for the day, drinks included if you stick to aguas frescas.
El Rey Restaurante
Local diner on Revolución, open 7am to 6pm, with breakfasts from 80 pesos and tacos at 20.
Naty’s Cocina
Guisado tacos on stacked tortillas a block from the beach; lunch only, closed midweek.
Tacos Al Pastor Diaz
Plaza-corner al pastor at about 24 pesos a taco, with a salsa bar.
Fondas, loncherías and the guiso del día
The cheapest full meals are in the small family kitchens: loncherías and fondas that open for breakfast and lunch and close by mid-afternoon. They cook a few dishes a day, often a guiso (a stew) with rice, beans and tortillas. Ask '¿qué hay hoy?', what is there today, and order that. In some places this set lunch is called comida corrida.
El Rey lists its guiso del día at 80 pesos. On Calle Gaviota, Lonchería Martha serves Mexican breakfasts and lunches Monday to Saturday until 3pm, and El Sabor de la Tía on Revolución does the same with plates to take away. SayuLunch on Pelícanos is a family place for pozole, tostadas and enchiladas verdes.
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Loncheria Martha
Family-run lonchería on Calle Gaviota for breakfast and lunch, Monday to Saturday until 3pm.
El Sabor de La Tía
Small Mexican kitchen on Revolución for breakfast and lunch, to eat there or take away.
La Margarita
Family-style Mexican restaurant on Calle Tamarindo, open 10am to 5pm, Monday to Saturday.
SayuLunch
Local lunch spot for pozole, tostadas and enchiladas verdes; hours vary.
Antonia's
Family kitchen in a backyard on Niños Héroes, for tamales, mole and chiles rellenos.
Tacos, tortas and roast chicken
Taco stands are the obvious budget dinner (see our tacos guide for the clock and the prices), but there are other cheap ways to fill up. El Metro on Revolución makes tortas, big filled rolls of pastor, cubana or milanesa, for about 40 to 60 pesos. La Fogonera, a food truck by the soccer field, is one of the best-value meals in town, for tacos and big burgers.
For a group, roast chicken is hard to beat. Pollos Yolanda flame-grills chicken by the quarter, half or whole with rice, slaw and tortillas, and Rosticería La Pechugas on Revolución sells chickens off the spit to take away. Pizza Venezia, on the north side, does a pizza with as many toppings as you like for about 200 pesos and lets you bring your own drinks.
El Metro Torteria
Cheap, filling tortas on Revolución, about 40 to 60 pesos, plus chilaquiles in the morning.
La Fogonera
Food truck with garden tables for cheap tacos and big burgers.
Pollos "Yolanda"
Flame-grilled chicken by the quarter, half or whole, with rice, slaw and tortillas. Cash.
Rosticeria la Pechugas
Family rotisserie on Revolución with whole and half chickens to go; good for a group picnic.
Pizza Venezia
Build-your-own pizza at a set price with unlimited toppings; bring your own beer or wine.
Tortillerías, fishmongers and the Friday market
Cooking for yourself saves the most. Tortillerías press corn tortillas through the day and sell them by weight: a kilo, about 26 pesos in Nayarit in 2025, feeds a family; ask for medio kilo or un cuarto for less. Most also sell masa if you want to make your own. There are two on Avenida Revolución.
Fruit and vegetable shops along Revolución are far cheaper than the minisupers, and the fishmongers sell the morning's catch. In the dry season, the Mercado del Pueblo sets up on Revolución across from Escondido Bar on Fridays, 10am to 2pm, with farmers' produce, bread, prepared food and crafts; it runs roughly November to spring.
- 26
- pesos for a kilo of tortillas, Nayarit average, Aug 2025
- 10am–2pm
- Fridays at the Mercado del Pueblo, in season
Tortillería El Ranchero
Neighbourhood tortillería on Revolución: corn tortillas made on the spot, and masa to take home.
Tortillería Calamar
Another tortillería on Revolución, with masa too.
Frutería Carolina
Fruit and vegetable shop on Revolución.
Pescadería Omar (Sayulita)
Fishmonger on Revolución for fillets, whole fish and shrimp; go in the morning.
Mercado del Pueblo
Friday farmers' and makers' market in the winter season, with produce and prepared food.
Carnicería El Curita
Butcher for meat and poultry, with homemade meatballs. Cash only.
Where the money quietly goes
The bill creeps up in a few predictable places. Beach clubs often attach a minimum spend to the loungers. Some cafés add a surcharge for cards, or take them only above a minimum. Prices quoted in dollars are usually rounded in the seller's favour: pay in pesos.
A tip of 10 to 15 percent is normal in sit-down restaurants, and more at upscale ones; it isn't expected at a taco stand. To drink for less, use the happy hours, which several places run late in the afternoon, or eat where you can bring your own bottle.
La Panga Seafood & Grill
Seafood restaurant that lets you bring your own drinks.
The Dock Sayulita
Beachfront terrace with a daily happy hour from 3 to 5pm on margaritas, mojitos and piñas coladas.
El Tiburon
Restaurant and bar off the plaza with a cocktail happy hour from 4 to 7pm.
Questions people ask
Is Sayulita expensive to eat in?
It can be on the beach and around the plaza, but local diners, loncherías and taco stands are cheap. A full day of good food can cost under 400 pesos if you eat where locals do.
What is comida corrida?
A set lunch in a small family kitchen: usually a stew or main with rice, beans, tortillas and a drink. Ask '¿qué hay hoy?' and order the dish of the day.
How much are tortillas in Sayulita?
Tortillerías sell them by weight. The Nayarit average was about 26 pesos a kilo in 2025; ask for medio kilo or un cuarto for less.
Should I pay in dollars or pesos?
Pesos. Dollar prices are usually rounded in the seller's favour, and small places may not take dollars or cards at all.
How much should I tip in Sayulita restaurants?
About 10 to 15 percent in sit-down restaurants, a little more at upscale ones. It isn't expected at taco stands.
Written by sayulita.co from our own research, checked against 15 sources. Nothing here is paid for. Photos: Ismail Esen (CC BY 3.0); David Stanley from Nanaimo, Canada (CC BY 2.0); . See something out of date? Tell us.
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