Review: Manta Restaurant, The Cape Hotel Los Cabos

This Review of Manta Restaurant at The Cape, a Thompson Hotel in Los Cabos, is from our Los Cabos site inspection trip which also included the Four Seasons Los Cabos and Zadun, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve. Manta is a restaurant by Enrique Olvera, who is known for his flagship restaurant Pujol, which, depending on whom you ask, is either one of the best high end restaurants in Mexico City or incredibly overrated.

Manta Restaurant at The Cape Hotel, Los Cabos

Manta Restaurant Location and Hours

Manta Restaurant is located at The Cape, a Thompson Hotel, at Carr. Federal Libre Transpeninsular Km. 5, about a 45 minute drive from Los Cabos International Airport (SJD), depending on traffic, and a 15-20 minute drive from Cabo San Lucas.

The restaurant is open for dinner only, with two nightly seatings, currently 5:30pm and 8pm. As with all resort dining post-pandemic, we recommend making reservations in advance; Manta can be reserved on OpenTable. We requested an outdoor table on the balcony, which is also a good vantage point from which to view the sunset.

Manta Restaurant Dinner Menu and Food

We had to wave a server over in order to get a QR code so as to look at the menu:

As a starter we were brought puffy rice crackers along with salsa and a bit of seafood crudo, which was fine, although we preferred the homemade bread at Humo at Zadun.

The highlight for us was the roasted sweet potato with almond mole. It doesn't look like much in the photo, but that mole sauce was extraordinarily rich and flavorful. I'd come back mainly for that dish alone. It was accompanied by fresh tortillas and condiments, but the mole really needed no adornment.

Roasted Sweet Potato with Almond Mole, Manta Restaurant Review, Los Cabos

My husband's Fried Chicken with Aji Amarillo dish, on the other hand, could charitably be described as glorified chicken nuggets, and had the appearance of a kid's meal. Not impressive.

The catch of the day, Totoaba, was well cooked and accompanied by shishito peppers topped with bonito, as well as guacamole. It was a delicious main course.

We didn't order dessert, but we were brought a couple of dates, one of them chocolate covered. My husband got both of them, since I dislike dates. He was happy, but I couldn't help but think that it was a poor excuse for the mignardises or petits fours we've enjoyed in other restaurants.

Dates, Manta Restaurant Review, The Cape Hotel, Los Cabos

The Verdict

We enjoyed our overall experience at Manta Restaurant, particularly the view from our table on the outside balcony and the sweet potato in mole sauce, which was fantastic. The catch of the day was also good, while the fried chicken underwhelmed. Service was friendly, if a bit slow. Our top meal in Los Cabos was at Limon Restaurant at The Four Seasons Los Cabos, with Humo at Zadun and Manta tied for second place. Manta's mole sauce was exceptional, but otherwise we enjoy better food at one of our local neighborhood restaurants that's within walking distance, even though it doesn't have Manta's view.

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