El Gomez Restaurant & Bar: Same Fabulous Seafood, New Location
Tara A. Spears
Seafood lovers, this is your utopia! Want a million dollar view as you laze away an afternoon sipping Margaritas (special happy hour price 1-3 pm daily) from the calmer, less crowded south beach, come wiggle your toes in the sand at El Gomez beachfront Bar & Restaurant, Guayabitos. Open from 8 am til 8 pm everyday offering breakfast, snacks or dinners in addition to cold libations. Proprietress
Hortencia Gomez 327 105 3268 (Spanish) or 322 888 7982 (English) is a third generation chef and restaurateur. “I learned how to prepare flavorful dishes from my father.” Located a short taxi or drive from anywhere in Jaltemba Bay, it’s a beautiful walk down the beach from your accomodation. The street address is Celso Delgado Barrera #24 but there is no street sign at Ave. Sol Nuevo. It’s the first right side street after the Decameron speed bump. Don’t feel like getting out? Let Gomez prepare a perfect meal for your family as take out. This is the same restaurant that was in central beach but they recently moved to a new location. Let’s look at some of the El Gomez specialty seafood dishes that are popular.
Hortencia personally selected the extensive menu choices. “I’ve always loved to cook and wanted to follow in my father’s footsteps” she said. “His restaurant was in Michoacan so I learned that style of cooking, too. From an early age I loved working in the restaurant.” Michoacán cuisine can best be described as soulful and simple, but flavorful. According to chef Pati Jinich, dishes in Michoacán are typically made with fewer ingredients than those from other Mexican regions, though the end result is typically more complex. As with most recipes, each chef has his or her interpretation of the ingredients and seasonings. El Gomez cerviche is is tasty, light and perfect on hot days.
Cerviche Gomez style. Mexican cerviche is a fresh seafood salad that is loaded with shrimp, avocado, tomatoes, cucumber, and cilantro; all marinated in fresh lime juice. While the ingredients tend to be the same all around the bay, it’s how it’s put together that makes the difference. You can use raw shrimp or cooked fish meat for this Mexican cocktail. Yum, yum, yum, super healthy and tastes good! Whether you choose cerviche as an appetizer or to make it a full meal, the El Gomez recipe is a stand out! Of course, adding a cold Pacifico or Margarita is a perfect accompaniment.
Another house favorite is Horencia’s original tuna steak meal. The tuna is smothered in a delectible cheese sauce. On the menu it is listed as Pescado Empapelado, or Fish in Foil Packets. This fish entre will make you wish for more! One of Gomez most popular entres is the Tuna Pack/ Atun Empapelado with cream cheese dinner option. Excellent presentation for tuna fans!
A must try dinner is the Huachinango Pescado. Huachinango pescado is not a recipe for fish fillte (as I orignally thought when first coming to Mexico but it is Spanish for Red snapper. This species of salt water fish has a firm texture and a sweet, nutty flavor that lends itself well to everything from hot chilies to subtle herbs. Whole red snapper can be broiled, grilled, pan-fried, steamed, baked or deep-fried and the El Gomez family recipe is very tasty. Many people consider Red Snapper to be one of the most delicious deep-sea delicacies available. Its brilliant coloring and attractive appearance is only exceeded by the juicy, white, fine -flavored flesh.
The next dish is one that I had not seen NOTB so I was reluctant to try at first. But, once I got over the eat with your fingers it is so delicious! Pescado a la Zarandeados- literally translated to shaken or disarranged- is a grilled whole fish that is a healthy meal with tons of flavor that typically includes capers, olives, tomatoes and chile seasonings. The fish is seasoned with a flavorful wet rub before being cooked and is absolutely delicious. It is served with rice, salsa and add on toppings plus tortillas. The size of the fish determines how many people share the meal.You will see entire families sharing a sheet size fish dinner. Waiter Gilberto explained “all of our fish comes right off the boat. It is fresh from the ocean to your table.”
Another Gomez don’t miss-dish is Mojarra. Mojarra is Spanish that is also commonly used in Latin American countries as a name for various species of the cichlid family, including tilapia according to Slice of Mexico. It’s much more fun to eat a whole fish at a Mexican restaurant, where you can use your fingers, crunch the eyeballs, and even suck the head if you are adventurous. With a whole fried tilapia at El Gomez the goal is to eat all of the meat in every nook and cranny, including the head and tail, until you are left with nothing but bones. Eating the meat directly from the bones is perfectly acceptable as is smothering the meat in hot sauce. El Gomez serves the tilapia with salad and tortillas, should you choose to make your own fish tacos.
In addition to the featured menu items, El Gomez offers chicken and hamburgers for the non-fishing lover in the group. There is a full bar with 24 cocktails and 9 brands of beer for your enjoyment. There are daily dinner specials, happy hour margaritas for $40 pesos and various holiday dinner packages available. You can reserve for large groups, dine in or take out. Best of all El Gomez accepts credit cards besides cash. There is live music several days a week; Hortencia is working on a performance schedule that will be posted to FB soon.
Let El Gomez be your new beach hangout! As Hortencia said, “We are doing everything so that the customers feel satisfied and have a good time.”
