TalkBaja.com » Baja Mexico Forums » Fish Tacos, Lobster & Prime Rib

*re-posted* with permission from BajaNomad

Many of you have probably driven past the huge brown building that sits just off the Highway at the Entrance to El Socorro, well We just opened for Business. The name is Romans Bistro, we are discovering that many don't know that Bistro is just another name for restaurant.

We are open 7 days a week from 7 AM - 8 PM and we serve Italian & American style food.

We have an Italian Espresso Machine that takes a real barista to run, not just a push button kind that you find in most places here in Baja. We use whole bean coffee & grind it fresh for the best flavor. We have Torani Syrups & of course Hershey's chocolate for the best Mocha's south of the border. We also make blended Mochas, blended Chai & Fruit Smoothies. A fresh hot cup of coffee is 10 pesos & Latte's, Cappuccino's, Chai Tea & Mochas are 30 pesos

Breakfast starts at 30 pesos for hotcakes, 35 pesos if you add eggs. Homestyle hashbrowns are made fresh when you order & we have REAL Sausage not just chorizo. Homemade Biscuits & Sausage gravy is 35 pesos, Egg scrambles with hashbrowns & cheese are just 40 pesos.

For lunch we can make individual pizzas or Calzones; pepperoni, sausage, chorizo, ham, combos we have many toppings that we can add, the pizzas start at 50 pesos. We also have several salads, Chicken Breast Salad, Chef Salad, Caesar Salad and of course typical cold sandwiches (tuna, chicken salad). Have you ever had a Pannini?? It's an Italian Hot sandwich that is grilled, our newest is chicken & Bruschetta (we make our own Bruschetta fresh!!) Of course we have pasta for lunch & dinner Spaghetti, Fettuccini, Chicken Marsala & Lasagna.

Dinners include salad & Fresh Homemade Sourdough Bread and there are nightly dinner specials from 4-6 PM

We make our own Cinnamon Rolls $20 pesos, (Cinnabon style), Apple Pies (mini's or slice $30 pesos), Cookies (10 pesos) & Cakes, all from scratch. I have a speciality dessert that I've called a "Baja Bar" (30 pesos) it's like a cheesecake cookie bar, oh I also make Traditional & Key Lime Cheesecake 50 pesos/slice. If you need a special dessert for a special occassion, we can help with that too, special orders are available with 24 hour notice.

We can make just about anything, if you don't see it on the menu please ask, if we can accommodate your request we will. We also have room for large parties or events if you need the space.

We are still putting the finishing touches on the inside, but we have Wi-Fi for our customers, flushable toilets (sometimes we have water pressure issues but we are working on that) We only use Double Osmosis bottled water for the Espresso machine, coffee maker, drinking and of course cooking. Tap water is for toilets & hand washing. We are old-school when it comes to dishwashing, HOT water, rinse & Sanitize everything (we had a restaurant in the states, so everything is still ingrained on food safety & sanitation)

We've been open for 1 Month and the last 2 weeks have been a little slow with all the road damage from the storm but we weathered it well, except for power outage. Even that didn't stop us, we can still do everything on the gas stove, takes a little longer but we can always cook & make coffee.

We also have appetizers that you won't find in many restaurants in Baja; Fresh Crostinis with Olive Tapenade or Fresh Bruschetta, Steamer clams with Garlic & Wine. One of our recent guests suggested we specalize in a local seafood and since Crab is a favorite of mine and available fresh daily, expect to see new items added to our menu from crabcakes to crab quesidillas (we don't have many mexican dishes because you can get those at just about every other place along the highway. We wanted to specalize in something that you can't find here in Baja.

We invite you all to stop by for a taste, we're always sampling something to our customers. If you mention that you are a NOMAD, you'll even get a discount. Currently we are offering discounts to Nomads & Discover Baja members.

We are located at KM 24.2 South of San Quintin on Hwy 1, just about 1/2 mile from the beach & the surfing and clamming is great here.

Did I mention that we have free wi-fi for our customers, the view of the ocean from the dining room is beautiful, sunsets are amazing.

Nightly Dinner Specials are:
Monday - Lasagna Dinner with Salad & Sourdough Bread $85
Tues - Fettuccini Alfredo w/chicken & Zuchinni, salad & Bread $75
Wed - Spaghetti w/meat sauce, salad & Bread $75
Thurs - Chicken Fettuccini Florentine w/salad & Bread $75
Fri - Personal Pizza or Calzone w/salad $65
Sat - Chef's choice - each week will be different
Sun - Spaghetti w/meat sauce, salad & Bread $75
If you join us between 4-6 PM, dessert & coffee are included with your dinner. That's just about the time the sunsets over the pacific!! We are open until 8 PM, most traffic on the highway dwindles by then. As the days get longer.....

If you love good coffee & food stop by for a visit.

Romans Italian Bistro - KM 24.2 South of San Quintin.
email us at Romansbistro@gmail.com or Skype: Romansbistro you can also call us at (619)567-6277 we use Skype

One of the local residents offers fishing trips for about $200 USD per day and you can also rent one of the homes in the beach community for $65 USD/night for the entire house which sleeps 6-7 and has a fully equipped kitchen (bring your own provisions) Ask about discounts for longer stays or multi-day fishing.

We hope we see you soon!!:bounce:

BajaNomad Forums - "Peace, Love & Fish Tacos"

Did I mention that we also serve many vegetarian dishes?

We make a vegetarian Fritatta, which is a Quiche without the crust, made with Eggs & Cheese & Fresh sauteed veggies. Depends on what is available from the local farmers & stores but we use fresh local produce, except Apples, Washington State Apples are world famous & the best for pies!!

Also our Homemade Marinara is vegetarian and so is the Pizza Sauce. We use that as the base for the Marinara with Meat Sauce & Lasagna but it starts as fresh veggies, simmered for hours, pureed to a nice sauce for those who don't need or want meat in their entree's.

As soon as possible we will be adding a special Soup of the Day to the menu, didn't bring any bowls with me so I need to search for some, maybe I'll try making bread bowls instead, we'll see.

Just where is El Socorro?

wessongroup,

El Socorro is just south of San Quintin, west side of highway. You need to take a road trip!!


Ken

I have seen the place and was wondering what they were going to do there. Will definitely go try it out on my next trip down to El Rosario...

Stopped by for breakfast this morning and had a very nice time with Mike and Conchita. Nice people, warm, casual, family style atmosphere and with a very friendly dog (Casey or KC?) to boot.

I thought the food was delicious, plenty and at a very reasonable price. Really looking forward to going back and trying the dinner menu.

Conchita remarked that I look exactly like my avatar except younger...

How far past the military base is El Socorro. In miles please

Looks to be around 18 miles or so south of the 67th.

Count me in on my next visit to Baja.

Carlos

Originally Posted by tripledigitken

wessongroup,

El Socorro is just south of San Quintin, west side of highway. You need to take a road trip!!


Ken

Been trying to get down there for two months.. feeling better and hoping to go this month?

As I have put up, used to go down there a very long time ago.. would still like to see it..

Have been using Google Earth to check it out... and can not believe how much it has grown

There was really nothing down there in the late 50's and even into the late 60's have not been down in that long.. want to take the wife to see .....

From the pictures, there is a bit more folks, I don't mind that at all.. but, the beach and the Ocean looks the same.. and from what BG it has not changed all that much

It was "alive" with stuff back then as it is today.. which is really good to hear..

I'm keeping a list of places to stay, and to eat.. as we will not be camping in a tent anymore at my age and condition.. we keep one in the car, along with backup stuff, but would prefer a bed and bathroom in my old age.. don't think I can do one of those trips to the dunes anymore

Geez. From the first post, for a minute I thought it was Marty's place. I see that Ron has been there. I wish them good fortune. However, I still have to wonder about the location. Being 15 miles South of San Quintin, it would seem rather doubtful to me that the locals in San Quintin, given all the available choices in town, would take that trip. As I said, best of luck to them.

Sounds really great! Yum.
Sheesh Wiley, at my not so old age I prefer a bed and a bath myself. Isn't that why I work?

Originally Posted by Bajahowodd

Geez. From the first post, for a minute I thought it was Marty's place...

I got re-post permission retroactively from Conchita, and edited the original post to make it clearer.

Sorry bout that.

We forgot why we came to Baja and that was to relax and enjoy this beautiful place. We decided that we needed at least 1 day off a week so.... The Restaurant will be Closed on Tuesdays. We are open at 7 AM.

We are Open Sun & Mon Until 7 PM and Wed, Thurs, Fri & Sat until at least 8 PM and with the days getting longer .....

Thanks to all of you that have joined us for Breakfast &/or Espresso, Lunch & Dinner, we really enjoyed meeting you and appreciate your patronage.

Just a reminder, we have flushable toilets, we use bottled water, everything is Homemade & Fresh when you order it, we use real utensils & plates & glassware, oh and we have free Wi-Fi for our customers. I can make vegetarian dishes also if anyone requests them (Frittata, Vegetariano Platter, Veggie Pizza, Caprese' or Bruschetta) The marinara sauce is Vegetarian until I add meat, when you order.

We are offering 10% off for Baja Nomads & Discover Baja members, no you don't have to mention it first or bring in a coupon, just mention it!!

We hope you'll join us soon for great Coffee & Espresso, Breakfast, Pizza, Pasta or Dessert (Apple Pie, Cheesecake, Carrot Cake & Baja Bars (kinda like a cheesecake cookie bar) are some of our speciatles. We also feature fresh Crab Louie with Homemade Louis Dressing & Fresh Bread (no, not Bimbo), we also have Caesar Salads, Chicken & Artichoke Salad or Chef Salad all served with fresh bread.

Drive by and see our new traffic control device, give us your opinion on whether it works or not. Look forward to hearing your opinions.

Lovin' every day in Beautiful Baja!!

-Conchita

If it isn't raining, we will stop by on Sunday to see what the dinner menu looks like...

Buena suerte. Verdad.

It is to bad they closed a few weeks ago. It did not have enough business form the locals and my friends from Socorro said even at Socorro there just isn't enough of them to support a restaurant.
It is hard these days for most restaurant to stay open and even harder for a new one with little around them. I am sure with what they needed for inventory all they way down there was I am sure hard to get.
I was looking forward to eating when we went out to visit our friends. We were there last Wednesday and all closed up
Sorry for them and any employees they may have had.

Originally Posted by irenemm

It is to bad they closed a few weeks ago. It did not have enough business form the locals and my friends from Socorro said even at Socorro there just isn't enough of them to support a restaurant.
It is hard these days for most restaurant to stay open and even harder for a new one with little around them. I am sure with what they needed for inventory all they way down there was I am sure hard to get.
I was looking forward to eating when we went out to visit our friends. We were there last Wednesday and all closed up
Sorry for them and any employees they may have had.

Exactly. When they first posted, I thought they would need a miracle, given the location, the current economy, and the lack of tourism. It's upsetting enough to see old-time favorites closing due to these circumstances. Here's hoping times will improve soon.

We Are lucky our restaurant has been open 40 years this year. I really though we would not make it through last year. When all the Caravans stopped I though oh well the ride was fun while it lasted. I came to see that we lived off the locals and all the tourist was all our extra. don't get me wrong we need the tourist too. We were able to make many changes here of the years with the tourist money. We added a banquet room and build some motel rooms.
Locals I mean from all gringo and Mexican that live here. Tourist is the guy that is here for once and never coming back.
Of course our ride was lots more fun before everyone jumped on the band wagon and opened lots of restaurants here.
In the old days we were pretty much the only guys in town. Hunters would stay with us and hunt in San Quintin same with fishermen they stayed here and would go out to the bay and find someone. Our park would be full all 100 spaces full of hunter and fishermen. They went by the wayside when the government made it hard for the hunters. To much work to much hassle.
Oh will
sorry just need to talk a little
thanks for listen
Irene

Someone should write a primer for those contemplating ownership of a restaurant. Without experience, it can look just like an automatic success and who in this world could resist Gramma's recipes.
Unfortunatly, that isn't the way it is in too many instances.
I was in that business for years and know first hand what it takes to make a go of it. It takes a large population of young to middle age patrons with a pocket full of money and a desire to mix socially with people in that catagory.
The bar is more than a watering hole...it's the setting for the mating game and old folks don't play that as much as they used to.

I'll use my neighborhood for an example. We have here in the Punta Banda area a couple of restaurants that, in another setting such as Newport Beach, Ca., would be filled nightly with dining partys and trolling singles. These are clients that are in abundance there and have the stamina to go out more often than once a month. They can also afford it.
Here, the customer base is the expat and they don't get out as often as they did a hundred years ago and they don't drink like they did then and the last thing on their mind is to hook up with a one-nite-stand. That's a good thing 'cause they don't exist here.
What we end up with is a few good restaurants that have depended too heavily on the gasping expat community to fill their coffers and it isn't happening. It won't in the future either.

Punta Banda isn't Newport Beach and the expat community, the only community out here with disposable income, won't support a local restaurant industry. That's clear and evident when one sees that the few restaurants here have to give the joint away to get customers through the door. 2x1..........2 TACOS FOR A BUCK.......ALL THE SPAGHETTI YOU CAN SWALLOW [real inviting for a seventy year old]......DOLLAR BEERS. It goes on and on.

It hurts to see these restaurant owners beating their heads against a wall. They try everything, but they can't see the obvious....there are no customers that will sustain their dreams. Only old folks with digestion issues.
The owners would be well served to convert their kitchens to crematoriums. There's a viable customer base for that.

I'm thinking that Cecelia's closed last year and would be emblematic of what you are saying. With the downturn in tourist traffic, all the Bufadora folks have to look forward to is the buses from the dwindling number of cruise ships. That said, restaurants along the highway from Mex 1 to La Buf would not be having any customers from the cruise ships, anyway. So, how is La Bufadora restaurant doing these days? Obviously, you are the expert on Sharkey's. How is Sharkey's doing these days?