Carao

The story

Crafted with passion, served with love

Perched on a cliffside above the Pacific coast of Nayarit, Carao occupies one of the more dramatic dining settings in Mexico. Part of One&Only Mandarina — a resort spread across jungle, cliff and beach between Tepic and Puerto Vallarta — the restaurant sits at altitude with sweeping views that become especially arresting after sundown, when dinner service begins.

The Chef Behind the Menu

Carao is curated by Enrique Olvera, the celebrated Mexican chef whose influence on contemporary Mexican cuisine has been felt far beyond his home country. At Carao, his approach is described as an artistic reinvention of Mexican flavours — drawing on years of travel and experience to produce dishes with a daring personality while remaining rooted in the traditions and ingredients of Mexico. The result is contemporary Mexican cuisine that feels both personal and precise.

The Setting

The restaurant opens each evening at six, with the last sitting at ten. Guests are encouraged to dress in elegant resort attire — tailored and considered, in keeping with the clifftop atmosphere. The outdoor setting means the environment itself is part of the experience: open air, elevated, and oriented toward the horizon.

Beyond the main dinner menu, Carao also offers a taco bar, a dessert menu, a pool bites and drinks selection, and a wine list that has earned the restaurant a Wine Spectator Award of Excellence for 2025 — recognition that reflects genuine depth and curation in the cellar.

Worth Knowing

Carao is one of several dining options within One&Only Mandarina, but it is clearly the flagship — the one shaped by a named culinary vision and positioned as the resort's most ambitious expression of Mexican cooking. For anyone staying on the Nayarit coast, or willing to make the drive along Federal Highway 200, it represents a serious and considered evening of food.