Oso (Ángel) presents tantalizing dishes at Oso’s ‘Restaurant del Mercado de Mar’ in La Cruz!
Oso in La Cruz de Huanacxatle
When we first met Ángel, my hubby and I were enjoying our daily walk on the Malecon at the marina, just down the beach from Villa Amor del Mar. Finally, there was some action inside one of the spaces designated for restaurants. The place was abuzz with construction activity! Living a hop, skip and a jump down the beach, we had been keen to know when the new restaurant would open.
Ángel greeted us with his ever-present smile that exudes his passion for people, for food and for our village of La Cruz. He told us that he would open soon and that the restaurant would be called Oso’s; the specialties of the house would be seafood dishes, with a particular focus on oysters.
Forever the interior designer, my eyes scanned the space, taking in the great swaths of color on every wall ~ orange, turquoise, and blue. After chatting with Ángel for only a few moments, it’s no surprise to me that his restaurant has turned out to be as colorful as its owner!
Ángel tells his story…
Since I was a kid in Guadalajara city, where I grew up, part of my life was involved in the hotel and restaurant business. My dad used to run the “Fenix Hotel” and he owned a very well known restaurant in Guadalajara, Le Trianon. I helped him at the restaurant since I was a kid of 13 years old. Washing dishes, haha, that was what my dad had me do on my first day at work. I was a dishwasher for all summer vacations and weekends. When I grew a little more I worked in the kitchen, then in service, bar, cashier… in every position for a few years. I learned to value the hard work people do to offer a service and make the costumers happy. I like to cook and serve. Then I worked in a couple of other restaurants in Guadalajara and learned a lot.
We use to come for vacations to Puerto Vallarta since I was 5 years old. I always loved Vallarta, the ocean and the seafood. I got a job offer in a hotel so I came to the Bay (Bahía de Banderas /Banderas Bay) as a young adult. On my days off I use to come to La Cruz de Huanacaxtle, Destiladeras beach, Punta Mita, etc. The prettiest beaches are on this side of the bay! I worked at the hotel and in various restaurants in Vallarta, Le Bistro, River Cafe and Lindo Mar. Twenty-two years later, after I watched Vallarta grow and grow I decided to open my own restaurant but I thought Vallarta was full of restaurants and was growing too fast. I always loved La Cruz de Huanacaxtle. When I felt it was time to put a restaurant in this area I opened in Destiladeras beach and tried it for a year but I was always thinking I’d like a restaurant in La Cruz. I needed to find the right location. La Cruz is the hidden diamond of Bahía de Banderas. The geographic location is perfect and the town has a charming atmosphere. All the people are very friendly; locals and foreigners. The mix of cultures is having a great positive impact in La Cruz, for the locals and the community. I see a great future in this area. The town is beautiful, the spectacular trees in the plaza, the mountains, the jungle, the ocean, the marina… we have everything!!! Everything fits perfectly to make La Cruz the prettiest town on Banderas Bay.
The fact that we have the fisherman’s cooperative and the fish market with the freshest fish every day was perfect for what I like to do… serve good food in a cool place… I love seafood… so when I saw the marina and walked around I find this fresh nice palapa, with a great view, right next to the fish market. I thought it was the right spot to invest and put my restaurant.
Everything was in the right place so I decided to open the fish market restaurant ~ Oso‘s. I called it Oso’s because my dad was a big guy and he was called Oso (“bear”) as a nickname. When I was born my cousins called me Oso and I grew up with many friends calling me Oso.
It was a very difficult start because the world economy and the low season is very slow. The first year I closed in the low season and reopened in November. Now we stayed open all year for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. We have a great team and Oso’s and we are one of the favorite restaurants for locals and tourists… thanks to all of them!!!! We have live music even in the low season. Starting in November, we have live music many nights per week and on Sunday at 2 pm after the Artisan market finishes.
With other restaurants we started the Restaurant association of Banderas Bay; together we are promoting La Cruz restaurants and making the experience better for tourists and locals.
About my food… I think cooking is like painting, mixing textures, aromas, colors and as a result, wonderful flavors. I’m always creating and inventing new dishes. We have a lot of variety of local vegetables, fruit herbs and food from the ocean.
I asked Ángel: “If you could preserve something from when he opened in La Cruz, what would it be?” and “If I gave you a magic wand, what would you create in La Cruz?”
I would like to keep the town with a Mexican town spirit, to feel the real, magical, México. If I could create that magic, I would paint all the houses in La Cruz, put lights in all the streets, make everything clean and pretty, similar to San Miguel de Allende.
I love Ángel’s prediction… “I believe in a few more years la Cruz will be the number one spot in Banderas Bay”. The secret is out…
The last four (4) photos with thanks to Photographer Tiana Noelle ~ Photography!
Saludos!
Cindy
