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Even though I was staying at Hotel El Capitan, I was a little hesitant to dine at the restaurant, as it gave the appearance of being too formal for the way I was dressed, and the last thing that I desire is to walk into a nice restaurant, wearing beach attire, and feel like a country bumpkin. But I'd been out wandering the streets of San Felipe on this Thursday morning, October 2, 2008 for the past three hours or so, and by 9:30 in the morning, I'd worked up an appetite. Since I was staying at the hotel, I really wanted to visit the restaurant, so I reasoned that when I walked in, if everybody was dressed in tuxedos, I could simply do an about face, and make tracks for the door.
Photo: Restaurant El Capitan is located above the office of the hotel. You go up the flight of stairs, illustrated in the photo to enter the restaurant. It turns out that I was very wrong, as Restaurante El Capitan is a very casual, informal, family-friendly restaurant, and they welcome guests to dine wearing beach attire. The town of San Felipe isn't formal, and neither is Restaurante El Capitan, much to my relief. Restaurant El Capitan is located on the second story, above the hotel office. To reach the restaurant, you take a flight of stairs, which are located at the front of the building. As you enter the restaurant, the first thing you'll notice is the full-service bar; it's small, but has everything, and is elegant furnished. The dining room is very clean and comfortable, and the white tables and chairs match, and the tables are covered with black and white checkered tablecloths, and place settings are already set. The floors are shiny tile, and the walls are tastefully painted in warm shades of burnt orange, and a brownish yellow. I knew I was at home in a Mexican restaurant, when I noticed a TV mounted high in a corner, turned to... what else? ... a Mexican soap opera. Even though I was wearing a tank top, shorts and thongs, I didn't feel out of place in the restaurant. As I walked into the dining room the waiter, Alfredo, give me a friendly smile, and greeted me with a cheery "Buenos Dias." Then, he lapsed into perfect English, and told me that I could sit any place of my choosing. I chose a table by the window, where I could look down into the courtyard.
Photo: El Capitan's dining room is tastefully decorated, and all of the tables and chairs match, which is a sign of a classy dining establishment in Mexico. Despite the tasteful, clean and comfortable decor, the prices are very reasonable, and the restaurant is quite informal. El Capitan offers sit-down dining in their comfortable, air conditioned dining room, but if the weather cooperates, you can dine outdoors, on a balcony overlooking the pool. It's quite a gorgeous setting for dining, but on this Thursday morning, the temperature was hovering at around 95 humid degrees, so dining outside wasn't an option. Alfredo placed a menu before me, and asked me if I wanted something from the bar. Gee, a Bloody Mary sounded good, but I ordered a cup of coffee instead. Restaurant El Capitan's breakfast menu features a good mix of traditional Mexican breakfasts, and American favorites. Yes, menudo and posole are on the menu, but only on weekends, and today was Thursday... so I ordered Breakfast #1 from the menu: Eggs, cooked to order, refried beans, hash brown potatoes, and a stack of corn tortillas. That's easy for me, as the aforementioned breakfast is one of my favorite Mexican breakfasts.
Photo: Restaurant El Capitan features outdoor dining, on a balcony overlooking the hotel pool. On this hot Thursday morning, outdoor dining wasn't an option, at least for me. El Capitan was not busy, and my order arrived in a very timely manner. As Alfredo was bringing my breakfast to me, I snapped his photo, and he jokingly remarked, "Hey, do you work for the F.B.I.?" Quickly thinking, I replied, "No, I work for the C.I.A.," and that brought a huge laugh out of both of us. We started chatting about all sorts of things; Alfredo is quite well-traveled in the U.S., and he's familiar with Fresno, my old stomping grounds. He'd noticed my truck, and made quite a few favorable comments about it (guys seem to like my truck,) and I told him about Coco's Corner, and the adventurous drive up the east side road from Bahia San Luis Gonzaga to San Felipe. He asked me if I'd eaten at any of the fish taco restaurants, and he seemed a bit surprised that I'm as uninhibited as I am when it comes to eating. I quite enjoyed my conversation with Alfredo, as he's friendly, very knowledgeable, and he's a nice guy.
Photo: Friendly waiter Alfredo poses by the full service bar. Note the bar menu; the prices are in pesos, and are quite reasonable. Speaking of nice, the food is in the WOW! category. My order arrived, hot from the kitchen, and the eggs over easy were cooked perfectly, which is a goal that sometimes easier to dream about than achieve, in many Mexican restaurants. I could tell that the beans were made in-house, and didn't come from a can, as I could taste the lard, yet the beans weren't greasy or heavy. The hash brown potatoes were delicious, and the tortillas were just the way I like them, soft, chewy, moist, and delicious. Alfredo pointed out that they make their own tortillas in-house, rather than purchase them at the nearby tortilleria.
Photo: Alfredo brings my delicious breakfast to the table. This guy was quite entertaining, and a real character. When I finished my delicious breakfast, I asked Alfredo if I could take a peek into the kitchen, and he did me one better, as he escorted me into the kitchen, and introduced me to Jorge, the morning cook, who was in the process of making corn tortillas when I invaded his domain. I couldn't help to notice how clean and orderly the kitchen is, which definitely sets El Capitan apart from the rank and file restaurants in San Felipe. I complimented Jorge, not only on the delicious breakfast that I'd just enjoyed, but the cleanliness and order of his kitchen. He thanked me, and genuinely seemed to appreciate my input. I also thanked both Jorge and Alfredo for the kitchen tour.
Photo: My delicious breakfast, of fried eggs, hash browns, refried beans, with a stack of corn tortillas, salsa verde and surprisingly good coffee. These items are among my favorites for breakfast, when I'm visiting Mexico. Breakfast at Restaurant El Capitan is priced a bit higher than the taco stands and taquerias, but at MEX $50.00 for the breakfast, and MEX $10.00 for the coffee, it still represented an excellent value, considering the quality of food, the elegant surroundings, and the friendly and efficient service. I rewarded Jorge with a tip of MEX $20.00, and his great service, can-do attitude, and friendly persona made the tip worth every peso of the outstanding service that he rendered.
Photo: I catch Jorge hard at work in the kitchen, hard at work making corn tortillas. I complimented him on his delicious breakfast. Note how clean and well organized the kitchen is. Restaurant El Capitan is one of the friendliest restaurants that I've ever had the pleasure to enjoy, as both Alfredo and Jorge made me feel at home, and provided wonderful, friendly service. The food is great too... I love this restaurant! Restaurant
El Capitan Copyright(c) 2008 eRench Productions, Inc. All rights reserved. This site has been on the web since January 19, 2005. Web page design has been created by eRench Productions, Inc., custom photography for any occasion...
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