Steph C.
Yelp
We took a family trip to Zihuatanejo last month, and though we mostly stayed at our hotel, we hired a guide for an afternoon, and he brought us to Restaurante Any for a spectacular lunch. The ambiance and service were great, and the food was absolutely delicious. We have a lot of good Mexican restaurants in L.A., where we're from, but if Any were to open up a second location there, it would instantly be in the top tier.
Any is in what seems to be Zihuatanejo's main downtown stretch, a large, colorful restaurant with a lot of big tables and a merciful level of ventilation. The space was friendly and vibrant, and we were able to walk in with nine adults and two children without a reservation. Service was excellent, fast and attentive, and between my shitty Spanish and our waiter's more serviceable understanding of English, we were able to communicate without a hitch.
There was a wide variety of margaritas on offer and I could not resist a frozen strawberry margarita, pink and slushy and vacation perfect. Neither, unfortunately, could my two-year-old son, who saw it and said, "I want to drink that." Fair is fair, so I got him a virgin version, which he loved. It's been over a month, and he still requests his own cocktail when he sees us drinking anything cold and colorful.
The food was outstanding. We put in a large family style order and there wasn't a single miss. There were complimentary tortilla chips with green and red salsas, and we got the guacamole "Any," fresh and chunky-creamy, served with cucumber, jicama, chicharrones, and more chips. The only other smallish dish was the Mexican-style shrimp cocktail, with plump shrimp in a zippy cold tomato sauce.
Everything else was very much entrée sized, including the single tamales. These were amazing. I guess Any is known for these tamales, and I would recommend getting at least one each of the pork in red sauce and the chicken in green sauce, both steamed and served in plantain leaves. I'm not sure I've ever had tamales this good anywhere else. The masa was so fine and soft, and the meat and sauce were fantastic. The other non-negotiable must-get dish was the pozolero platter (though if you don't have a giant family, you can just get the pozole). We got the green pozole with chicken and it was superb, fragrant and homey, rich with flavor and swimming with tender meat and hominy. The platter came with chicharron, tortilla chips, radish, green peppers, chopped onion, lemons, oregano, chile piquin, fresh cheese, avocado, and a chalupita, which was a little boat of fried masa with beans and cheese. As if that weren't enough, it also included a round of mezcal, served in tiny clay cups.
I'd recommend everything else we got, too, if you have space on your table. The red mole enchiladas were utterly satisfying, stuffed with chicken and covered with mole, sour cream, and fresh cheese, with sides of rice and beans on the side. The giant arrachera tacos were excellent, handmade tortillas with flavorful grilled beef skirt, served with refried beans and nopales salad. The garlic fish fillet was good too, if not the reason you're here. A nice piece of fish with a green salad, rice, salsas, and tortillas.
If you're visiting Zihuatanejo (or if you live there and read Yelp reviews written by Americans for some reason), Any is well worth leaving your hotel and wandering away from the beach. I don't live anywhere near this restaurant, but I intend to go back one day.