Nowadays, Valle de Guadalupe is known for its wineries and farm-to-table restaurants, but no trip to the region is complete without breakfast at MICHELIN Bib Gourmand La Cocina de Doña Esthela.
At 8:00 a.m., there’s a line waiting to eat. At 5:00 p.m., the last crowd finishes up breakfast.
A cheesemaker by trade, Blanca Esthela Martínez Bueno (“Doña Esthela”) moved to Ensenada 28 years ago to wash clothes. Humble and hardworking, she then began preparing burritos for local students and for workers who were building the wineries. Her delicious meals quickly spread by word of mouth, and La Cocina de Doña Esthela was born.
Mouthwatering aromas permeate the room – machaca (shredded dried meat), corn hotcakes, and gorditas made with corn and filled with peppers and nopal (Mexican cactus). Borrego tatemado (slow-cooked lamb) is another star. Esthela explains, “Borrego is lamb. It's prepared in a very old way where you put the lamb in a Mexican clay oven, cooked underground. It's surrounded by the heat, cooked in its own juices. Once it's very tender, it falls off the bone and is then put on the skillet again, so it's crispy and tender at the same time.”
Complementing the savory dishes are classic Mexican drinks like café de olla (coffee made with cinnamon and piloncillo sugar), aguas frescas (fruit drinks) made with cucumber and pineapple, agua de Jamaica (hibiscus tea), and freshly squeezed orange juice.
Doña Esthela proudly pours love into her home-cooked Mexican food. With roots from Sinaloa, she honors that culinary tradition while using fresh Baja ingredients. Corn and cattle are from her own ranch, cheese is made in-house, and other produce is sourced locally. To further reduce her carbon footprint, she installed solar panels across her restaurant’s roof.
The decor brings diners a feel for ranch life. Occasionally, Las Mañanitas (the Happy Birthday song) plays, but otherwise, there is no music. Just the hustle and bustle of people cooking and eating: 370 guests at a time, who wait hours for a seat.
Esthela doesn't remember a moment where she wasn't around the kitchen. Her now 84-year-old mother gave her all of her knowledge, and today, she works with her daughter, son, husband, and anyone who exhibits an “innate need to help others with caring service and give their best with love.”
She feels most satisfied when her food transports diners to happy moments at grandma’s house. One particularly memorable guest was the late Anthony Bourdain, with whom she felt a very strong connection. “He took the time to look into my eyes, and he said to me that he wanted to see [me] grow.” Recently, she felt touched by Gordon Ramsay (of Three MICHELIN Star Restaurant Gordon Ramsay), who spent a whole day with her learning how she flips tortillas.
At the end of the day, Esthela feels honored to serve breakfast, showcasing “the freshest ingredients made with the utmost love.”
Esthela smiles, “I’m no chef, but I love cooking.”
Hero image: All Images courtesy of Noelia Loya
