Soco’s Place is a Family Run Mexican Breakfast and Lunch Restaurant in Puerto Vallarta Mexico
From Sweet to Savory, The Menu at Soco’s Place Will Satisfy Your Breakfast and Lunch Cravings with Mexican and North of The Border Dishes
Brewmasters Festival Featuring Mexican Craft Brews at Parque Parota November 15th and 16th
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Hello fellow travelers, welcome to this episode of the Puerto Vallarta Travel show. I am your host Barry Kessler, and I am just so happy to be introducing you to my favorite vacation destination, and maybe even yours too and that’s Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.
That music you were just listening to is performed by Alberto Perez, the owner of the La Palapa Group of Restaurants. La Palapa, Puerto Vallarta’s Oldest Restaurant on the famous Los Muertos Beach, and The El Dorado Restaurant and Beach Club
right next door so you can enjoy that fantastic view of the Los Muertos Pier all lit up at night in beautiful colors, or during the day in its grand splendor for breakfast, lunch or dinner, seated with your toes in the sand right at the water’s edge. Or riverside at the
newest addition to the grupo, The Le Bistro Jazz Café, overlooking the Rio Cuale on beautiful Isla Cuale. La Palapa, El Dorado and Le Bistro Jazz Café. They are so romantic, they’re so, Puerto Vallarta my friends.
This week we are going to visit a sweet breakfast and lunch restaurant in Colonia Emiliano Zapata, The Romantic Zone as it’s
nicknamed. The restaurant is called Soco’s Place. And at Soco’s, they serve good old fashioned traditional Mexican breakfast dishes as well as some north of the border favorites. It’s a family affair at Soco’s. We’ll be talking with Socoro, Soco for short as well as her son, Sergio about their very popular restaurant.
Contact Information For Soco’s Place in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
- Address: Fco. I. Madero #453 Col. Emiliano Zapata. 48380 Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
- Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/socosplace
- Phone: 322 352 6038
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/socos.place/
We have my friend Edgar Rivas coming on to talk about Mexican beer and this weekend’s 8th edition of the Brewmasters Festival. Vallarta news and more so let’s see what’s happening this week the 14th of November 2025
The weather in Vallarta has at last changed. We felt it the other day. We’re finally having cooler mornings, and you can actually feel a gentle breeze. It’s been a very hot and humid summer in paradise.
And high season is finally here. Dia de Los Muertos, the Day of the Dead celebrations have come and gone, and Revolution Day is the 20th, just a few days away. Then it’s time to get ready for the Christmas celebrations. It’s hard to believe right?
Happily, the destruction on the Malecon that we saw a couple of weeks ago from those high waves caused by a passing hurricane, Pricilla has been cleaned up, and construction continues on the Malecon Extension from the Navel Museum to the pedestrian bridge that crosses the Cuale, that area too, has been cleaned up, and work has resumed there as well. I have photos of the work being done down there as I speak, in the show notes.
Destruction and construction have begun on the other side of the Malecon. This is the North side I guess you would call it. This was originally part of the plan they had to build a pier in Cinco de Diciembre at Camerones Beach. That plan was scrubbed due to
lack of funds. But the Malecon extension part of that plan is well under way. They ripped up the street from McDonalds across from the Hotel Rosita, two blocks north, past the Rosita past the Starbucks, and Parque Hidalgo. They rerouted traffic to turn
left two blocks sooner, on Argentina, past the entrance to the underground parking lot for Parque Hidalgo and then right on Calle Peru, past the church which is the regular bus route, and Peru then turns into Morelos, and continues into downtown as usual.
They had to move the taxi stand for the Hotel Rosita just a little bit. It’s now along the McDonalds and the casino on Calle 31 de Octubre, just a few feet away from where it was, so those surly taxistas from my least favorite sitio didn’t have to move very far,
and the guests at the Hotel Rosita won’t be inconvenienced much at all. I do see possible problems with large tour buses pulling up and dropping off large groups of vacationers at the Rosita. We’ll see how that all shakes out but the merchants along that
two-block construction area are very excited. I asked them. And they are. And that area opposite Parque Hidalgo is going to be really pretty. It will of course be pedestrian friendly as it will be part of the new section of the Malecon, and it ties the park,
Parque Hidalgo, the church, Parroquia Nuestra Señora del Refugio it’s called, together in a really beautiful way. I have pictures in the show notes of the construction underway. They are moving at breakneck speed. We’ll see how long it takes to finish the project. I say, at least 2 more months.
All the Local Farmers Markets are Open Again For High Season in Puerto Vallarta
All the local Markets are open again. The Saturday Morning Olas Altas Market, the Three Hens and a Rooster one on Rio Cuale on Saturday’s as well. The Thursday night Market at The Marina is Huge. While you are at the Thursday market you might think of looking up some fancy new restaurants that have just opened up at the Marina. Both of them, Guadalajara based restaurants. One is called Cristina and Cristina is right in the Marina. Just look through their windows and see how beautiful it looks. The other new kid on the block is just up the road right on the golf course near Velas Vallarta, it’s called Santo Coyote, and apparently, it’s another stunning location. Both of these restaurants are newly opened and I’m sure, reading the reviews, having some growing pains. Now a favorite of ours in the Marina is Natureza. Natureza also has another restaurant in their chain in Versalles. Debra and I have never had a bad meal at Natureza. Breakfast, lunch or dinner. Soups, salads, sandwiches, paninis, crepes. A solid 5 stars every time.
But getting back to the markets, they are all up and down the bay all the way up to the Marina at La Cruz de Huanaxuaxtle.
Then there’s the Vallarta Art Walk every Wednesday from 6 to 10 in the Centro Art District. It’s a self-guided tour of participating local art galleries. I have a map and a link to their website as well in the show notes.
Brewmasters Festival 8th Edition in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
Speaking of things to do in paradise one of my best friends in Vallarta, Edgar Rivas, puts on a long list of great things to do including this weekend’s 8th edition of the Brewmasters Festival. Edgar has a great lineup of Mexican beers to tell you about, let’s see what Edgar has in store.
Brewmasters PV Facebook Page
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Thank you Edgar. Remember that’s this weekend November 15th and 16th. I have a link to the Brewmasters Facebook Page or go there yourself and order your pint glass, then get thee to the festival.
Cuale Island is Set to Celebrate 100 Years October 25th – the 27th
From the Banderas News…
Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco – The heart of Puerto Vallarta will celebrate a major milestone as Cuale River Island commemorates its 100th anniversary with three days of festivities, taking place October 25–27 from 2:00 pm to 8:00 pm at the Cuale River Esplanade. The event invites residents and visitors to honor a landmark that has shaped the city’s cultural and artistic identity for a century.
The island’s unique history is a testament to Puerto Vallarta’s evolution. Formed in 1926 when the Cuale River naturally split, it was initially a temporary landmass. Over time, it became a central part of daily life, particularly in the late 1960s when it was a gathering spot for lavanderas, or washerwomen, who used the river to wash clothes. As the city grew, the island transformed, becoming a public park in the 1970s, known as Isla de Santa Clara or Isla de Los Niños.
“The centennial celebration promises a wide array of activities designed to honor the island’s rich heritage. Attendees can enjoy a Verbena Popular, or community fair, along with various cultural activities, historical exhibitions, workshops, and film screenings. The event will also feature traditional music and a variety of artistic performances.”
The article from the Banderas News continues, and I have a link to it in the show notes.
Vallarta to Celebrate Cuale River Island’s Centennial October 25–27
The Isla is looking especially stunning these days thanks in large part to the efforts of The Vallarta Garden Club. You can
volunteer to weed, water and paint while visiting or living in paradise. Just get in touch with the Vallarta Garden Club via their Facebook page and pitch in. Get some Isla Cuale dirt under your fingernails.
Vallarta Garden Club Facebook Page
All the bands are back in town. And all of them are doing their rounds between a half dozen venues. La Huerta BBQ and Rancho Santiago, both on the Rio Cuale. There’s Captain Don’s in Cinco de Diciembre. Pour Favor Saloon and Cookhouse, Awaysis, Nacho Daddy and Gringo Loco, Circle Bar, Roxy Rock House, Casita and Garden in Zona Romanitca and Café Roma and Monkey Business in the hotel zone. Just took up their Facebook pages to get their lineups and schedules. See some live bands and entertainment when you are visiting paradise. I’ll link up all those locations with their Facebook pages for you in the show notes.
Speaking of Gringo Loco, Larry and Monica, owners of Gringo Loco just celebrated Gringo Loco’s 17th anniversary. I caught up with Larry on that special night, and I asked him to share his feelings with us. Let’s hear from him right now….
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Thank you, Larry. You have the coldest beer in Puerto Vallarta my friend!
Vallarta Historian Paco Ojeda Passes Away Suddenly at age 63
Last week the local expat community was hit with some very sad news. Paco Ojeda, long-time resident, historian and communicator, died unexpectantly in his sleep. Paco was prolific in his coverage of local events. He did a daily Facebook Live show from Vallarta, about Vallarta. He was a great cheer leader for local charities and causes and for restauranters and artists. And his thousands of followers were shocked at the news and to be honest, the absence of his daily broadcast.
Paco and I knew each other. I would occasionally see him relaxing in front of a coffee shop enjoying a conversation with friends. And that’s when we’d talk about me having him on the podcast, but it never did come to pass. I’m very sorry for that, and for his passing. Too young to go. Vallarta lost a good one.
I Really Enjoyed Taking a Cooking Class at Restaurant Gaby’s in Puerto Vallarta
Cooking Class with Chef Julio
A couple shows back we visited Chef Julio from Restaurant Gaby’s in downtown Puerto Vallarta, near the Big church in town, where we talked about, among other things, his cooking class.
My friends Chad and Trish wanted to know if I wanted to join them in the class they signed up for, the Taco Tuesday cooking class, and I said yes, of course. He started us off with a history lesson of Vallarta and of the restaurant. Then we walked to the Emiliano Zapata Market and along the way we were introduced to a fish monger, and several interesting merchants who Chef Julio was friends with. Julio knew a lot of people and visa versa. At the Mercado Emiliano Zapata we shopped for all the veggies and meats we would be using to make our tacos and salsas, shopping at different many different stores visiting grocers and butchers and spreading the wealth as chef Julio would say among all his shopping connections. He gave us a chance to meet and get to know personally, these suppliers of all the parts and pieces of the feast we were about to prepare. And I have to say that even though My wife and I have been shopping for a year now at the Mercado Emiliano Zapata several times a week for our groceries, it was this shopping adventure that gave me even more confidence.
Once we returned to the restaurant, we got to work preparing all the ingredients to make a full on salsa and taco bar, from scratch.
The whole experience will take some time. We went from 9 in the morning till about 2 or 3. So be ready for about 5 hours in total. It’s totally worth it! If you have the time, and the energy, go for it! I have a link to the cooking classes at Gaby’s, in the show notes.
Don’t Bring Your Pot to Mexico
What’s with the Tourists Bringing Weed into Mexico?
Debbie and I since we’ve arrived to live here full time have met several people now who have told us stories of how they got in trouble bringing their own weed down from the US to Puerto Vallarta. And they were shocked to find that wasn’t a good idea. Not as shocked as we were that they’d bring their own. But here we are. One occasion we ran into a guy from Oklahoma who said the guys at customs found his THC vape pens and his medical marijuana in his luggage and they wouldn’t listen to him trying to explain his disability and his medical marijuana card.
On another occasion, we invited a couple of guys to join us at our oversized table during happy hour one afternoon at Los Muertos Brewery. These guys were from Cincinnati Ohio, and one of them pipes up and says that he got shaken down at the airport for bringing his medical marijuana in his luggage. I’m all, what? He says yeah, they found my pot, all packaged from my dispensary, and I showed them my medical marijuana card and I insisted it was my human right to have this, and I’m like, what? I’m like, What did they do to you.
I’ll say this. In both cases, the situations and scenarios were almost identical. They were separated from their travel companions, interrogated, fined and released.
I won’t get into the specifics just to play it safe. You come up with your own conclusions but why on earth would anyone think that this is a good idea? A simple Google search would answer any question you might have as to whether or not you should bring your own weed into Mexico.
Now with that being said, can I make a simple suggestion to all you stoners out there. You need to stop this entitlement crap. The “but I have my human rights card right here in my wallet. The one that I paid my doctor to print out for me” doesn’t fly here. Stop it already. Hasn’t everyone seen The Midnight Express by now? Whatever happened to the fear of drug smuggling?
Listen, you can buy your weed right in paradise from the locally approved growers and sellers. They are everywhere where tourists hang out. I’ve seen these young men ask grannies and grandpas if they want to buy weed. There are parts of this town where if you aren’t being wheeled around in an iron lung, they will ask you, I promise. Just stop bringing in your own weed. They’ll find it. Okay?
Return to Los Angeles to Pay Respects to my Father
Last time we talked I had just visited my father in Los Angeles. At 94 years of age, he had just been put in Hospice care, and then a week before Dia de Los Muertos, he passed away. So, we hopped back on a plane for the funeral.
I’d like to tell a couple of stories about my dad and about the part he played in my love affair with Puerto Vallarta. He and my mom had an occasion to rub shoulders with Elizabeth Taylor. I’ll share it with you soon, in an upcoming episode.
So far Debbie and I have made the trip back and forth to California 4 times through the Mexican Resident line and we just renewed our temporary residency with the help from our friends and facilitators at Green Go 4 Gringo for 3 more years this morning. And then the plan after the 4 years is for permanent Resident.
What Happens When You Die in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico?
Speaking of death and dying, I had several people suggest I should do a show about what to do if you die in Puerto Vallarta. And as a matter of fact, I did an episode about that 8 years ago back in November of 2017. So, it’s time to dust that one off and update it for you and me. It’s important information to know. We talked about flying home a body to the US or Canada, Burials, cremation, ash scattering. Shooting your remains up in a firework show for your mourning friends and family. I get into it, So, coming soon to a podcast near you, death and dying in paradise….Stay tuned.
Enough of this morbid talk. Let’s get to our interview, shall we?
Soco’s Place a Mexican Style Breakfast and Lunch Restaurant in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.
This restaurant we are about to visit is one of my favorite breakfast spots in Vallarta. It’s in the middle of Colonia Emiliano Zapata on a street that still has the old Vallarta Charm. So far, the condos have remained at arms length and when you sit down in Soco’s Place, you get to enjoy just that. The restaurant has big openings. No windows really. They roll up their doors when they are open. Soco’s sits on a corner, and that corner of I. Madero and Jacarandes that it sits on, still looks like Vallarta did, 40 years ago.
The inside of the restaurant is spacious, it has comfortable tables and chairs with some tables set outside on the street. The colorful walls are painted white, green and orange with thoughtful Vallarta style artwork on those colorful walls and lovely wicker lighting fixtures dropping down from the ceiling. It’s a pretty spot for sure.
After a year of sampling their menu, I decided to finally ask if anyone in the family spoke English and would be interested in sharing with my listeners their story, and Sergio popped up and said yes, he would be happy to. So we made a plan to do the interview at the restaurant, and I even got an extra added bonus, Sergio’s mom… Socorro, Soco.
So, let’s go right now to one of my favorite breakfast and lunch places in Puerto Vallarta. To Fco. I. Madero #453 Col. Emiliano Zapata and let’s meet Sergio and Soco, Soco’s Place, in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.
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Thank you so much Soco and Sergio. I really like that family and that wonderful team they have at Soco’s Place. They really do make you feel like family and take care of you. And the food is homemade, authentic every dish I’ve had the pleasure to eat has been delightful.
I love how Soco said I know how restaurants run, and I always wanted my own, she found the space and you know what? Her dream came true. I have all the contact information for Soco’s Place in the show notes including a google map that will take you to the front door of Soco’s Place.
Contact Information For Soco’s Place in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
- Address: Fco. I. Madero #453 Col. Emiliano Zapata. 48380 Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
- Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/socosplace
- Phone: 322 352 6038
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/socos.place/
Ok, that should do it for this week, next week, stay tuned for more on the ground reports from Puerto Vallarta Mexico, with travel tips, great restaurant and excursion ideas and more. Until then, remember, this is an interactive show where I depend on your questions and suggestions about all things Puerto Vallarta. If you think of something I should be talking about, please reach out to me by clicking on the Contact us tab and sending us your message.
And remember, if you are considering booking any type of tour while you are in Puerto Vallarta, you must go to Vallartainfo.com, JR’s website and reserve your tour through him, right from his website. JR is experiencing a bit of the Septi Hambre hardship himself so if you are planning on taking a tour when you come to Vallarta, maybe buy your ticket now to help him out. Remember this is a value for value proposition. His experience and on the ground knowledge of everything Puerto Vallarta in exchange for your making a purchase of a tour that you would do anyway, you’re just doing it through him as a way of saying thank you. It costs no more than if you were to use someone else so do it. Really. And when you do take one of these tours, email me about your experiences. Maybe you can come on board and share with others what you liked or didn’t like about the tour. Again, contact me by clicking on the Contact us tab and sending off a message. Don’t forget his maps, his DIY tours and I have links to all of those in the show notes.
And once again, if you like this podcast, please take the time and subscribe and follow share with a lover of Puerto Vallarta or give me a good review wherever or however you happen to be listening. That way we can get the word out to more and more people about the magic of this place. Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Remember I made it easy for you to do just that with each episode I create. But if you haven’t been to my website, you really need to have a look there. I have the links to the places we talk about, interesting pictures and the more all right there in my blogposts and show-notes for each episode of the show so check them out for sure if you haven’t already all-right? All right.
Thanks to Edgar Rivas for sharing about the 8th Edition of the Brewmasters Festival. I have all the information in the show notes. Get there this weekend and have some great Mexican craft beers.
Thanks to Sergio Araiza and his mom Socorro, Soco for short, for sharing their stories about their lovely Family Style Mexican Restaurant, Soco’s Place. Thanks so much for sharing your Puerto Vallarta history and knowledge with all of us. Get over to Soco’s Place if you haven’t yet, and enjoy some delicious food. I have pictures of some of those plated dishes in the show notes atwww.puertovallartatravelshow.com.
And thanks to all of you for listening all the way through this episode of the Puerto Vallarta Travel Show. This is Barry Kessler signing off with a wish for you all to slow down, be kind and live the Vallarta lifestyle. Nos Vemos amigos.