Good, no-frills fare at Tacos Gardenias in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico

The problem with many restaurants in Mexican resorts is they try too hard to tart up basic street food. When all you want is good, simple food, expertly prepared, for a handful of pesos. Welcome to Tacos Gardenias, an unpretentious taqueria a couple of blocks from Cabo San Lucas’s main, Medano Beach.

It’s a long, windowless space, open at both ends to provide a cooling mid-day breeze. Friendly women move casually but efficiently through the space, taking orders in Spanish. Within minutes, they return with, not chips and salsa, but meals hot from the grill, accompanied by all manner of toppings in little steel containers.

Casual, efficient service

The staples here are the tacos, ranging from popular fresh fish and shrimp—grilled or, even better, fried—to more exotic choices like cactus and pork rind. But it’s well worth straying further from the same old to sample a coctele (a large goblet stuffed with, say, spicy shrimp, scallops and octopus) or an architectural masterpiece of a grilled fish and avocado salad.

You’re on the ocean, so you have to go with the fresh seafood tacos

If you’re there in the morning, you might spot Doña Olga, who owns this 35-year-old Cabo institution with son Guillermo.

Doll the tacos up any way you want

Tacos Gardenias Paseo de la Marina, Cabo San Lucas, Mexico Daily 8 am-10 pm