Dona Celia Lobster House

Over the years, I've come to the opinion that the best, most consistent restaurants are those where the owner is always present. This is one of those restaurants. It's usually our first meal on arrival and one of the last before we leave. This year for our last meal, I decided to try the coconut shrimp. I've had this dish in many place..this was the best I've had. Another good sign of a good restaurant in a tourist destination is locals. Doña Celia's is almost always full of locals. This time seated nearby were a batch of local politicians entertaining visiting dignitaries. Considering that they were spending public funds, price was no object, yet Doña Celia's prices are very reasonable...she wouldn't be full of locals otherwise.

Just excelent food The view of the beach is very nice , service is great, such warm people. We had very good breakfast

Late night dining on the sea side patio was fun. The sea food meals were tasty and plentiful. The margaritas were so cold and full of tequila, that one was enough, but no we had to have more. Great location and great food and drinks. Walk in and sit right down , you won't regret the experience.

Went here because the reviews were good and we wanted to sit on the beach. We had a couple of beer and then decided to try their Margarita. We really enjoyed them. We then had a shrimp cocktail and it was delicious. The waitress came and told us she was going home and needed to be PAID. No problem. We wanted to sit for awhile longer. We decided to move off the sand and sit at another table to have dinner. We each had a glass of wine while deciding what to eat. Hubby ordered a steak and I ordered fish. We asked about a bottle of wine. They brought 2 bottles to our table for us to choose but didn't give us a price even when we asked in Spanish. The waitress just opened it and poured into our glasses. My fish was delicious but hubby's steak was tough. Our real shock was when they brought the bill. 700 pesos for the bottle of wine. We hardly ever pay more than that for a meal. Hubby asked to talk to the manager and suddenly our waitress came back with 200 marked off the bill. Management never came to talk to us. We paid the bill and left with a really bad taste in our mouth. What could have been a wonderful time turned sour. We will not return.

Used this as our base twice in Santa Cruz after an unpleasant experience at another place on this beach a few years ago. I like that it is at the end of the beach, less crowded. Had lunch one day, queso with chorizo and a burger, very good. Margaritas are also very good here.