Forget all the stereotypes about resort-town food

If you felt like it, you could walk five steps from your palm tree-shaded communal table, mezcal negroni still in hand, and build the dopest sand castle the world has ever seen. Not that you’d necessarily want to, but still, that’s the luxury afforded to you when you’re basically eating dinner on a beach. Chef Maya grew up in Baja, honed her skills in the fine dining-forward kitchens of San Francisco, and now channels those life experiences into the modern Mexican flavor bombs on Arca’s menu. Forget all the stereotypes about resort-town food—this is culinary creativity at the highest level. If you want overpriced shrimp cocktails, you can find them elsewhere. We’ll stick with the charred octopus in cascabel adobo.