Chef Thierry Blouet's flagship has been the city's anchor fine-dining restaurant since 1990, when he opened in a converted Centro house with a tropical garden out the back. The cooking is French technique applied to Mexican ingredients — duck with hibiscus mole, lobster tamales, huitlacoche bisque — and the wine list is the most serious in town.
The garden dining room with its outdoor tables under the trees is the obvious choice in cool weather; the Thierry Blouet Cocina de Autor private upstairs room offers a more formal tasting-menu experience. Expect to pay considerably more than at most Vallarta restaurants. Book a week ahead in high season.
Address: Guadalupe Sánchez 740, Centro, Puerto Vallarta. Tel: (322) 222 3228.