El Corralito, the Margarita House, Established 1966

How would you like to visit a local restaurant that has Ensenada’s finest Cadillac Margaritas and 24-hour food service too! Welcome to El Corralito! The restaurant and bar are distinguished by the green glass enclosed structure on the curb that sandwiches the sidewalk in between the outdoor seating area and the main bar and galley. This results in everyone that is passing on the walkway to walk through the establishment. Wherever you are seated, the color of the day is vividly on display, and in this reporter’s book, this eatery and bar rivals even France’s sidewalk cafés for an interesting menagerie of passing town traffic. On cruise ship in-port days you will find Ensenada’s streets filled to overflow with a melting pot of locals, partying and shopping gringos, strolling mariachi minstrels, and the town’s many enterprising street vendors.


Eduardo Escobedo has owned the El Corralito for the entire 42 years of its existence. You will see the same employee faces every time you visit, creating a warm and friendly ambiance for you and your party. The food is excellent, as witnessed by a party of 20 that was visiting last week from San Francisco. They had just arrived from Cabo San Lucas by cruise ship and said the El Corralito food was the best yet on their trip. Loren and Michelle had a day in Ensenada to kill during a 13 hour lay-over fresh from Catalina by cruise ship and said, “great tunes, good food, good beer, and a great atmosphere”. They had spent 2 hours watching 3 of the 5 big screens featuring a live Beijing Olympic satellite dish broadcast, a U-2 concert and Baja off-road racing. The place does have a unique interior look, the walls and ceiling are covered with Baja racing memorabilia, signed dollar bills and Polaroid camera shots that date back many years. By the way, all those hundreds of dollars of US dinero are rendered non-negotiable in Mexico after being defaced by the act of personalizing that bill with an ink marker before it is stapled to the wall.

The menu has changed little over the years. The last time the menu was changed was for design purposes only, 2 years ago. Now the El Corralito is expecting a new menu in coming weeks reflecting the new food prices caused by the weakening dollar against the peso. One dollar tacos will now be a little more, as will the most expensive dish, steak and lobster. You will still get a huge serving of local Mexican fare for just over 6 bucks. The specialty of the house is the huge fishbowl Cadillac Margarita, still priced reasonably, containing an interesting and tasty mix of spirits. The best brands of tequila will be found here, if you want to splurge, try a shot of one of the many preeminent brands of Mexican tequila the bar has to offer! Curbside enclosed and indoor eating 24 hours a day, the bar is closed from 2am to 10am.

Calling fishing a hobby is like calling brain surgery a job.
Paul Schullery