5 Restaurants You Need to Try in La Quinta, California
Recently, my family took a trip to the La Quinta Resort & Spa in majestic La Quinta, California. La Quinta, Palm Springs, Palm Desert and Indio (home to Coachella!) are all gorgeous areas in the desert, each offering a large variety of things to do during a vacation. I don’t know about you, but one of my favorite things to do on vacation is eat! On this trip, I was lucky enough to try out some different restaurants, and have shared them here. Hopefully it gets you daydreaming about your own trip to the desert…or at least your next meal!
Twenty6 Restaurant- This dog-friendly restaurant has amazing food and was a great spot for people watching. We ate breakfast here almost everyday, and were always started off with a delicious smoothie in a shooter glass. Everything tasted super fresh and my fave item on the menu was the avocado toast. My nieces loved the french toast and pancakes, and my brother couldn’t get enough of the huevos rancheros. There is also an omelet bar with an impressive variety of pastries, colorful yogurt parfaits, and other breakfast sweets and goodies to fuel you up for whatever the day has in store. I had a wonderful dinner here one evening, where I ordered the beet salad with shrimp, which I asked to be served on the side. And wow, were they delicious. The salad was so good and I paired it with a glass of pinot grigio. I had a great vantage point of the restaurant, and saw people enjoying smoked cocktails, beautiful desserts and celebrating different occasions- it was a really enjoyable vibe. Menus linked here: Twenty6 Restaurant Menus
Guillermo’s- We ate at this fantastic Mexican restaurant twice during our stay. Guillermo’s creates a warm atmosphere with beautiful art, tablecloths and cloth napkins, and very friendly staff. Now, I love Mexican food and would probably say that it is my favorite. What I loved about Guillermo’s was that the menu offered some really unique items. Check out the menu here and see what I mean: Guillermo's Restaurante Dinner Menu. The first time we dined, my mother and I split the fajitas, which were outstanding and so flavorful. We had them with flour tortillas and they were served with rice and refried beans. I can be very finicky about refried beans and was pleased that Guillermo’s were some of the best I’ve ever had. The second time we ate there, I tried the tortilla soup- another one of my favorites. It was salty, tomato-y, fresh and yummy. Cadillac Margaritas and fresh guacamole rounded out our meal and again, I loved both. Guillermo’s is very family friendly, with kids’ menus and crayons, so add it to your list of spots to check out!
Cork & Fork- One of my favorite places we ate, Cork & Fork in nearby Indio has a lovely atmosphere that was enhanced by a musician during our dinner. I appreciated that the live music was the perfect volume level- sometimes it can be more invasive than enjoyable if it’s too loud! Cork and Fork specializes in small plates that are perfect for sharing, and we tried several. We had the cauliflower bites, bruschetta,and taquitos. My favorite was the Poke Nachos, which I wound up eating an entire plate of all by myself! We also had a few entrees, such as the filet tacos, beet salad and a cheeseburger. We enjoyed the lemon blueberry tart and the Ghirardelli Chocolate Brownie for dessert- yum! Check out the menu here: Cork & Fork Menu
Poke Nachos from Cork & Fork
Porta Vía- This restaurant will make you feel like a society “lady who lunches.” You almost can’t help but feel a little glamorous when dining in this beautifully decorated room. Located in the El Paseo shopping area, Porta Via has stunning gold and green decor. During our visit, it was still decorated for the holidays, which made it feel even more glitzy and cool. The green velvet chairs and patterned throw pillows add a luxe touch, and I felt that whoever designed the space has impeccable taste. This is a restaurant where I can imagine A-list celebrities flocking to, as it has a bit of an exclusive feel to it, but it is definitely not snobbish or elitist. The food was impressive, and for lunch our entrees were light and sooo fresh-tasting. I had the Chopped Tuscan Salad, which was chock full of olives, small bites of salami, mozzarella, red onion and more. My mom had a picture-perfect tuna salad sandwich and my sister in law had Chicken Paillard. I am always the dog lover, so I was happy to see a patron sitting at the bar with a pooch at her feet- ahhh California, I do love your dog-friendly ways! Here is the Porta Via menu: Porta Via Menu
Stuft Pizza- On a Friday night, Old Downtown La Quinta is the place to be! It is a gorgeous area filled with boutiques and restaurants. The Old Downtown area is also where the weekly Farmer’s Market is held. We had dinner at Stuft Pizza, and it was a delightfully lively place to enjoy some great food. We started with a cheesy bread appetizer and a beet salad (can you tell I love those?), and ordered two pizzas for the table. Stuft Pizza boasts a thick, doughy crust for their regular style pizza. It’s hard to eat more than a slice or two, and this is comfort food for sure! There were tv’s mounted around the restaurant playing various sports, but the presence of tv’s was not invasive at all to our meal. Stuft is a large restaurant that is great for families or groups, and if you still have room for dessert you can select from their menu, linked here or go down the street to Nitrinfusions, which is a liquid-nitrogen ice cream shop. Enjoy!
I already can’t wait to come back to this area and try out some more of the many wonderful restaurants here. I hope someday you get to check them out as well! In the meantime, make it a great day!
