If you’re taking a vacation in Catalina, you are most likely going to need to eat. And unless you decide to pack your own food, you are likely in the need of a decent albeit expensive meal in this small island paradise.
So to satisfy our cravings, we asked our tour guide what she would recommend, and she mentioned that the people who live on the island usually have their gatherings at a place called Buffalo Nickel.
Though this restaurant isn’t in the heart of Avalon, it wasn’t difficult to get there. You can call them up and they will pick you up from the dock for free. Or if you’ve rented a golf cart or bicycles for the day, it’s quite easy to get there. Or you can take the 15 to 20 minute walk to get there. We personally took the shuttle to the restaurant and decided to have a beautiful after dinner walk back to our hotel. The walk was nice since you pass by a few different spots where people go for snorkeling and where the glass bottom boats sail to so that you can see the fish in the area.
But even if it’s a little troublesome to get to Buffalo Nickel, it is well worth the trip.
We started off with the appetizer with a little bit of everything and was more tasty than most of the food we’ve had in Catalina. Taquitos, nachos, buffalo wings and cheese quesadilla. You can have this as a meal for yourself or share it as an appetizer and the flavors of each item were above average.
The Buffalo Burger we ordered was different from the standard beef burgers as they are a little less greasy but still full of flavor. If you are looking for a burger, this one comes with all the fixings and has a fine flavor.
Personally, I found the fish and chips amazing. The fish was flaky and the coating was very crispy with a nice tartar sauce that was quite dill forward. We were very impressed with both the flavor and crispiness of the fish and the tartar sauce.
We also ordered the Catalina Phili. I was disappointed that they were out of the pastrami and only had the thinly sliced beef but the missing flavors were compensated by the jack, jalapenos, peppers and onions. Not as good as I was hoping, so you might decide to avoid this dish but do NOT avoid the final dish we ordered:
Ceviche. The fish were quite fresh and zesty with the added benefit of having avocado slices. A fine flavor combination and the best Ceviche I’ve had in California. The flavors come close to rivaling the home made ceviche I got in Cancun. In addition, the spicy cucumber side to the ceviche added a nice crisp and tangy flavor to offset the vibrant citrusy flavor in the ceviche.
So when we come back to Catalina for our next vacation, we will certainly hit up Buffalo Nickel again.
