Fine Dining: As part of the ultra chic and stylish ME by Meliá beach and spa resort located in the action epicenter of Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, Nikki Beach restaurant is itself an esteemed destination among resort guests and visitors alike for world-class international dining al fresco.

Close enough for diners to hear the waves crashing onto the Médano beach shore and to smell the fresh sea air from the Sea of Cortez just beyond, Nikki Beach restaurant overlook's ME Cabo's stunning decorative cobblestone terrace, Opium day sunbeds, and two swimming pools also with a direct sightline to the swim-up bar situated therein.

Although breakfast is also served at Nikki Beach restaurant, I recently visited the eatery for both lunch and dinner. By day, the outdoor restaurant is shaded from the tropical sun with cream-colored linen drapes while at night the canopy is pulled back to reveal the evening sky, with lanterns rendering a luminescent ambiance. As with most of the furnishings throughout ME Cabo's outdoor spaces, the restaurant's rustic yet contemporary décor, largely comprised of a teak deck and lovely weathered wood furnishings, blends perfectly with the nature that surrounds it.

Praised both for its culinary interpretations of Asian and Mediterranean dishes and attentive service, the restaurant offers an eclectic array of dishes that pay homage to its seaside locale and the discerning palates of its patrons.

Nikki Beach restaurant offers a full lunch menu of appetizers, salads, sushi, Panini sandwiches and entrees. To start, my party ordered the extremely tasty shrimp cocktail served marinated in cocktail sauce and skewered in a slice of grilled pineapple. We also enjoyed the bufala salad with fabulously fresh buffalo mozzarella cheese accompanied by heirloom tomatoes, basil and a pesto drizzle. Other starter and salad standouts include the crispy pita bread stuffed with white fish and scallop ceviche, and the grilled fresh pear, pineapple and goat cheese salad served atop a bed of lettuce.

The restaurant's lunchtime sushi selections were surprisingly bountiful, with many of the inventive seafood, vegetarian and fruit rolls incorporating local flavors. Ever a sushi fanatic, I could not resist. My party ordered, a la carte, the Maine lobster roll with roasted fennel, mango, avocado and masago; the spicy tuna roll with diced tuna, avocado and asparagus; the dragon roll with salmon, avocado, cucumber, green onion, cream cheese, and coated with ginger oil; the caprese roll with sundried tomato, fresh cheese, basil and pinion; and a few pieces of desperately fresh and flavorful scallop sushi.

All of the sushi, delivered on a beautiful hand carved wooden reptilian platter with rich aioli and spicy saracha accompaniments, was extremely fresh, the fish was nicely cut, and the rolls were well constructed. Nikki Beach also offers an array of sushi and sashimi platters, including the "Nikki Beach Special" that comes with seven sushi rolls -- vegetable, eel, shrimp, crab, salmon, tuna and spicy tuna -- along with twelve pieces of chef's choice sashimi.

If sushi is not your thing, don't fear as Nikki Beach offers many exciting lunch entrees. Highlights include the leg of lamb panini with centeno bread served and with fresh vegetables; fried Asian salmon accompanied with chambray potato, rosemary, papaya and kiwi relish; beef filet provolone served with linguini and red wine syrup; and Mandorla style Milanese fish covered with almonds and served with ratatouille and an organic lettuce salad.

Posted On: Thursday Aug. 13th, 2009