Headed for about 5 days soon…would love to explore town a bit one day outside of lounging at the resort. Any must eat local dives?

Here's a list and map we got from a taco walking tour we took. El Carboncito and Julio's Churros were the best.

I know no one goes to Mexico for pizza, but if you need a breather from Mexican food, the pizza and beer at Los Muertos Brewery was top notch.

Rooftop dinner at Barcelona Tapas with the sun setting is a must. I think you'll need a reservation.

Head to La Palapa at 8:00 for a great sunset dinner. Gaby's was great. We were there last week.

There's a Michelin star rated restaurant in town - romantica zone I believe. We had some friends go there and said it was a top 5 meal all time for them (big foodies).

Not sure the name but yelp or Google should be able to get you there.

Edit: Cafe des Artistes

Agreed with this about Los Muertos Brewery. Also, we had an Airbnb right above Pancho's Takos, and it was always a really good, really cheap meal.

My partner and I spent two months in Puerto Vallarta this past fall. We cooked at home a few nights a week, but still managed to eat out quite a bit. We wanted to try as many places as possible. I honestly don't remember any bad meals, but these are my favorites based on neighborhood:

Zona Romantica

This is the liveliest neighborhood with the most variety of eating options. Be prepared to see lots of gay men.

• Pancho's Takos - a couple of people above also recommended this place, for good reason. Try the tacos al pastor and the frozen margarita.

• Don Chava - very good tacos (I tried all of them, and did not have a clear favorite). Good margaritas, too.

• El Santo Tacos
• La Palapa - decent food and drinks, excellent views - it's right on the beach
• Mole de Jovita Vallarta - If you like mole, go here. They have three house-made mole sauces and they bring out little dishes of each to sample before you order. I got the chicken enchiladas and the 2:1 margarita, which was my favorite margarita of the trip (I lost count, but I tried a lot ).

• Cafe de Olla - I love their fish tacos and their breakfast.
• Lix - really good ice cream. They also have chocobananas, which are frozen bananas dipped in chocolate with lots of topping options like coconut, nuts, etc. Yummy.
• Los Muertos Brewing - Very good pizza. I'm in the minority, but I thought the beer tasted watered down.
• La Romantica - churros
• Azul Bistro - get the chicken enchiladas

Emiliano Zapata
This is a more residential neighborhood to the east of Zone Romantica.

• La Fina - We had the lamb quesadilla and crab enchiladas. This was my favorite meal of the trip.
• Birria stand by church at corner of Lazaro Cardenas & Aguacate. I hear the churros at the next stand over are good, but I did not get to try them.

Centro
Old part of the city north of the river.

• Puro Peru - most memorable meal by far. Chef Fernando converted the first floor of his house to a restaurant with only 2-3 tables. He sat down and talked to us for about ten minutes as soon as we were seated. We did not order from the menu, and he just started bringing food out. It was all outstanding: vegetable egg roll, lomo saltado, fish fillet, Pisco ice cream. The cool thing is that he has a camera feed to the kitchen and we could watch him cook on a tv near the table.
• Cafe des Artistes - Expensive, foodie type restaurant (as mentioned by someone above). The sea bass was out of this world. My only advice is to sit in the garden if they offer you a choice. We opted to sit inside, which was nice, but we walked around the garden on the way out and it was breathtakingly beautiful.

5 de Diciembre
Working class neighborhood north of Centro.

• Barcelona - Really good tapas, amazing view, mediocre sangria. They'll take your photo (with the gorgeous ocean backdrop) and give it to you at the end of the meal, no charge. I don't even think they were angling for a tip.
• Layla - Go for breakfast and get the rancheritos.
• Mama Caguamas - Delicious fish tacos and cold beer. They also show NFL games.
• Menos Place - Really good brunch. They have a girl that comes by your table with a basket of sweet bread you can choose from. The migas were perfect. It's mostly locals at this place, so I hate to mention it.

Versalles
Neighborhood to the east of the hotel zone. There's not a lot to see here. We only came here to go to Costco.

• Cha - This place reminds me of an American hipster joint. The brunch is outstanding. Be sure to get there when they open, because it gets busy. Try the chilaquiles with mole and the avocado toast.