Ve El Mar

Visited after an excursion from Royal Caribbean. Amazing food, amazing view. Yes there was peddlers, but it was dining in paradise.

We discovered this restaurant on the recommendation of our dive instructor, Alejandro, and it exceeded our expectations in every way. Food and Beverages • The grilled camarones with garlic were outstanding, full of flavor and perfectly cooked. • The NY steak was equally impressive, tender and expertly prepared. • The restaurant features a stone oven—an offering we’re eager to explore on our next visit. • The cooled red wine was a delightful complement to our meal. Service • The staff were extremely welcoming, offering thoughtful recommendations on food, wine, and local attractions, which enriched our overall experience. This spot delivers not only delicious food but also an inviting atmosphere and exceptional service. It’s a must-visit!

Good food on a beautiful location. It's on the beach! We had a local singing and playing the accordion at our table. The real mexican experience. Simply lovely!

Excellent meal, ambience and service. We had the fresh fish of the day (Red Snapper) cooked in a wood oven with mesquite wood and it was delicious. I read mostly good reviews on this restaurant and some bad but for us I honestly we had a fantastic experience.

April 2025 update: Our second visit, and we were seated at the edge of the beach. Ava looked after us. We got a guacamole to start and we ordered a particular bottle of Malbec, which was out of stock, so instead we got one at 600 pesos, 100 pesos less. I ordered spaghetti, with about 5 shrimp , some pieces of octopus, and a small lobster tail, partially in the shell. My wife had the 5 coconut shrimp served in a coconut shell, as in the past. Dessert, we shared a mamey helado in the fruit skin. This was really good ice cream, and a great choice, as recommended by the gentleman that greeted us upon our arrival. A Saxophone player provided music. Our total was 1665 before tip ( including the 600 pesos wine ). Always a good choice for dinner in Santa Cruz. March 2023 update: Great meal tonight on the beach. Great quality once again. Very nice server as well. A group of 10 of us blossomed to 17 and the staff rearranged the tables to accommodate us without issue. The mojitos were very good. The meals were excellent. My wife had octopus, said it was the best she had anywhere except in Greece. I had a pasta with shrimp and octopus, and it was excellent as well. Very nice spot for a meal in Santa Cruz and attentive staff.

Ve El Mar restaurant was recommended by a sales person at the Mercado. Since it was minutes away, we took the short walk over. The restaurant appeared small when we walked into the entrance, but later noticed that more tables were available towards the beach. We ended up sitting there, under the palapa dining area. Our server, Ana, took our drink order first. Some of us were still indecisive, nonetheless, orders were placed and ready to eat I always have to remind myself, every city in Mexico prepares their dishes differently. I love my shrimp ceviche, but last nights order was not the taste I’m use to. It was good, not awful, but it lacked umph. I had to squeeze multiple lime wedges to get it up to my par. I usually don’t use salt on my food, but I did this time, on my shrimp ceviche. Also, the shrimps were served in full size and not cut into pieces. Another dish we had taste issues with was the aqua chile. Couldn't figure out what it was-either need to add or lacked something - it just didn’t taste right. According to server Ana, Worcester sauce was added. Still not convinced, but the dish was consumed anyway, with several shrimps left over. The others liked their red snapper and carne asada tacos dish. Our overall experience at Ve El Mar was good. No major issues. Would like to come back again and try the daytime. Recommend👍🏼

Delicious whole fish “huachinago al ajillo”, fresh catch of the day, enough for our party of 5. Friendly service - hope to be back again!

Great service, beach front, romantic restaurant. Prices reflect the location and the town. Generally a nice menu, some things seem very expensive, but some are more reasonable. Great fish options. A lovely spot for a beer :)

Food was good, we ordered grilled octopus and the flavor was great, but it was not tender at all. Though the staff was very friendly, it took them 50 minutes to service our food. The view is amazing, you're sitting literally next to the beach, but it just took forever. Would come back, but having in mind that it's going to be a while.

Everything here is absolutely delicious and fresh beyond description. I cannot laid them enough for their top-notch service and customer care. We tried at least half the menu and were ecstatic with the outcome. The views from the outside dining are are incredible. Prices were a bit steep--but we'll worth it. What a great place for seafood!

Our cruise ship docked in sight of the restaurant on the beach. It looked more substantial than others with TripAdvisor recommendations. Server spoke enough English and we got the recommended coconut shrimp and mahi-mahi for lunch. OMG the coconut shrimp! 5 huge ones served on a coconut shell. The baked real coconut has spoiled me forever! The added orangy lemon butter sauce put it over the top! DH couldn't finish the large portion of perfectly grilled fish. With a couple beers and coke lights overlooking the beach and bay, it was great. Our bill with tip by credit card was $55 US or $1110 pesos. Wandering peddlers come by but are easily put off. Many local families as well as tourists.

Economico. Delicioso. Y una gran vista. Recomendado para cenar. Ubicado en Santa Cruz. Pidan su langosta.

This place is way over priced with poor service. The quality of the food is 3.5 not bad but ridiculously priced. Charged us $80 USD for a kg of giant white prawns. Old school over charge tourist place. Stay away.

Great food and service. I came in late but they gave me a nice table on the beach. Alejandro was my server and was excellent. I ordered the filet almondrado and shrimps a la plancha. Everything was delicious and presented nicely.

This place has great food but very pricey. One waiter spoke English. He told us that the coconut shrimp appetizer was good so we ordered it. Then we got charged for it as an entree and the restaurant refused to fix the check. It didn't come with any rice or salad like entrees do so be careful of pricing when ordering and double check the price with them before agreeing to anything. They also over charged us for the red snapper.

Would be 5 stars all day long for food and location/view. However, WATCH THE BILL. We charged almost double on exchange rate. The menu is in pesos but the bill was in dollars at a 14 peso to $1 usd instead of market rate of 18-20 peso to usd. The bill is dollars was $44 usd. When we payed in peso on credit card, charge was $26 usd.

Excellent location and service. There are seats that are just a few steps from the beach. The food was not complex and it was tourist friendly. For example, there were no mole dishes on the menu. But it was fresh, tasty, and well prepared. The whole fish cooked in foil was delicious. In terms of Oaxacan gastronomy, the food was not on the level of a place that you can't miss. But, compared to other beachfront restaurants that are ground zero for picky tourists, the food was pretty amazing. I would definitely eat here again.

Cute little place overlooking the marina. Food was great! Highly recommend. We had a fish cooked in the oven with some 4x4 shrimp. All delicious. Will definitely be back!

The Parrillada for 2 is excellent. Lots of food. The service was excellent. Alejandro, out waiter was always on top of thkngs. I highly recommended.

delicious food but BEWARE they apparently will tell you stuff is appetizer but charge you an entree without the sides that come with entree. Also when ordering fish they have the smallest size for the price so if you say you want a medium the price is doubled. When ordering just know how much it is upfront!

The Coconut Shrimp entree for the four of us was unanimously considered Awesome. The Size of the Shrimp was incredibly huge and the sauce was excellent, And we were very impressed with the service. To top it off, the beach atmosphere added so much to our experience. What more could anyone want. Wow!!!! Ask for Pedro!

Great view Wonderful service Food is good felt it has room for improvement. But over all happy !!!'they always kept my glass full of booze