Shrimp-Stuffed Avocado The Seafarer

Identity is a funny thing. For a restaurant, it’s crucial, and in a market glutted with cookie-cutter eateries targeted at tourists, a new, chic identity is hard to come by and even harder to stick to.

We should be thankful, then, that The Seafarer (El Faro, the lighthouse) has come into its own after almost a year of operation. Make no mistake: this is not a carbon copy of its older sibling, Pedro y Lola in the Plaza Machado – quite the contrary. Partnering with Nautica Costa Bonita, owner Alfredo Gomez Rubio has succeeded in creating an elegant oasis, upping the ante with a gorgeous menu infused with Pacific Rim-inspired dishes, both for lunch and for dinner.

On a recent visit, Quick-Flashed Yellow-Fin Tuna with ginger and soy atop rice cakes, encrusted with toasty sesame seeds, still pink in the middle, was absolutely perfect, lovely to look at and reminding me of the best eatery in NY or San Francisco - at ¼ of the price. Filet Medallions in Green Peppercorn Sauce were equally scrumptious, morsels of melt-in-your-mouth beef cooked – correctly - to order. Even the appetizers impressed: how were the Portobello Mushrooms with Artichoke (yum) and Mozzarella so juicy, I wondered, a trick I have yet to master in my own kitchen. A refreshing Green Leaves with Seared Scallops & Shrimp surprised with its bounty, tidbits of grapefruit and orange tucked in amidst grilled shrimp, tiny tender scallops, and a smattering of other fresh vegetables, with a light, almost transparent dressing, a sweet and tangy veil of flavor.

Lunch, too, pleases, with rounds of tender Grujillo Octopus, fresh oysters on the half shell, a glass of chilled Chardonnay, and then, the arrival of Capt. Chalio with his catch-of-the-day at exactly 1:15 (the staff swears you can set your clock by him). Sea bass, red snapper, white snapper and even, sometimes, the tender and elusive grouper – a rarity in these waters – are unloaded, and the resulting dishes are as fresh as they can possibly be. Pescado Zarandeado, anyone? You can also purchase fish from Chalio to take home and cook yourself.

The restaurant must be challenging to operate, with its circular, open-air layout surrounded by fresh and saltwater lagoons, ponds, waterfalls and trickling streams. Tables fan out from the center “donut-hole” pond, where tropical fish meander lazily, and to one side a path leads onto a literal island where a Mayan spa offers a temazacal sauna, massage and other treatments. Upstairs one finds a “Widow’s Walk,” tropical style, replete with a row of comfy rockers to watch the sunset. The effect is quite magical, especially at night, when the smooth lines, underwater lights and candlelit tables combine to create a tranquil hide-away.

Ladies should take note of The Seafarer for lunch, with its reasonable prices, nice wines and peaceful locale. The menu includes an eye-catching Caesar Salad, served upright in a hollowed-out baguette, frosted with slivers of Parmesano Reggiano; Mazatlán’s famous stand-by, Cocoanut Shrimp, arrives piled on a glass block with a swirl of golden sauce for dipping. And since when has a salad gone vertical, as the Shrimp-Stuffed Avocado does here?

Kudos to Alfredo Gomez Rubio for being the visionary that he is; in opening The Seafarer he’s birthing not just a business, but a community center for Mazatlán’s newest neighborhood, Nuevo Marina Mazatlán.