So here's a good bet for an enjoyable, reasonably priced meal at one of gay Puerto Vallarta's best restaurants and lounges: the Kit Kat. It's right in the heart of Zona Romantica, Puerto Vallarta's charming "gayborhood", within a short walk of several excellent hotels, including such gay faves as Casa Cupula and Hotel Mercurio.
The Puerto Vallarta restaurant occupies a chic but casual contemporary space that's known equally as a spot to sip colorful cocktails and munch on eclectic, world-beat food. Front the drinks menu, you'll find a wide range of flavored martinis and festively fruity concoctions. The food borrows from Indian, Southeast Asia, the Mediterranean, and Latin America. There's a savory starter of olives marinated in three different styles, and also a delicious marinated goat-cheese app. Among the starters, you won't go wrong with the Bombay chicken (served in a coconut curry) with sauteed veggies and biryani rice, or the robust Greek salad topped with a healthful grilled salmon. This isn't necessarily the most memorable food you'll sample in town, but it's fairly priced and filling - quite decent for the most part.
Other positives here include a playful interior with a glittery disco ball and a wall of huge, round mirrors, and a row of open-air patio seating along cruisy Pulpito Street. Here you can dine at burnished-metal talbes beneath strings of white holiday lights. It's a bit more romantic outside, a bit more social in. The staff is low-keyed, efficient, and polite - and some of the servers here, as well as the patrons, are quite flirtatious. Later in the evening, the Kit Kat morphs into more of a lounge (it's open nightly until until 2 a.m.
The Kit Kat is at Pulpito 120, just a block from the beach and along a block of gay-popular establishments. You rarely need a reservation (except on the busiest evenings), but call ahead at 223-0093 if you're concerned. Dinner entrees run about 800 to 1,800 pesos (roughly $8 to $18 U.S.), and don't worry if you haven't changed over yet to local currency. As is the case at most restaurants and other businesses in Puerto Vallarta's more tourism-driven areas, both U.S. and Mexican currency are widely accepted, and Kit Kat also takes plastic.
After a light meal here, you can easily head back to your hotel for a good first night's sleep (if you're zonked), or stroll within a few blocks to discover a slew of lively nightclubs and bars, from Manana to Garbo Piano Bar. Also, keep in mind that Kit Kat is a fine option in the morning for breakfast, when such hearty fare as pancakes and huevos rancheros are featured. The Kit Kat may not be one of PV's most dazzling culinary options, but it's always a reliable bet for a fairly tasty meal and a convivial experience. I've also heard rumors that the building may be converted to condos eventually, but for the time being, the Kit Kat remains a fine first-night-in-town choice.
