Retire Early Lifestyle
Retirement; like your parents, but way cooler

In 1991 Billy and Akaisha Kaderli retired at the age of 38. Now, into their 4th decade of this financially independent lifestyle, they invite you to take advantage of their wisdom and experience.

Chico's Beach Bar and Restaurant

A Fish Tale...

Chacala, Nayarit, Mexico

Billy and Akaisha Kaderli

Currency Exchange

Chacala - both the town and the beach - isn't that big. You can walk the full beach from one end to the other in about 20-30 minutes.

Restaurants, bars, cafes and individual vendor stands line the beach, facing the ocean.

We tried several, but found that Chico's became our daily hangout, for lots of reasons. It's been there serving the locals and tourists for 30 years and is a mainstay in this town.

Enjoy our Fish Tale below!

The entrance to Chico's from the town

From our hotel, Chico's was located one block parallel to the ocean and one block towards the ocean in an "L" configuration.

Every morning about 9:30 or 10, we'd make the short walk down the dusty lanes and through Chico's arches that you see here.

The tiny yellow tienda on the left is a sundry store, and further to the left outside this photo is the campground - which is awesome.

We'll tell you about Camping Chacala Jose in another pictorial, because if you are considering camping along the beach, you definitely want to come to this campground.

Every morning Chico's employees would wash down the working areas, clean the bathrooms, and set up the grill. Walking through this entrance, we would see them preparing for the "invasion" of tourists yet to come for the delicious meals they served here.

Entrance to Chico's from the beach side

It's early in the morning, so the 100+ chairs at Chico's are momentarily empty. When this place gets full - and it does - the place is hoppin'!

For the most part, service is attentive. So long as you order something from the restaurant, you can sit and enjoy the shade of the palapa, going in and out of the ocean at your leisure.

Being at the beach, seafood is THE thing to order.

Local fishermen with their boat and net

Previously, on our way to and from our table at Chico's, we'd see handsome fish on the open fire grill that were very tempting.

These are some of the fishermen who brought those fish to the fire.

These guys have our fish!!

Oh my. Can you say FRESH?!

Right from the sea, walked in by hand by the fishermen themselves and delivered to Chico's Restaurant.

On. The. Grill.

The local name for this red snapper is huachinango (pronounced wha-cheen-AN-goh).

Here you see the grill chef has sliced a whole fish down its back, giving two large sections of the fish to sear. One can order a kilo of fish or a half-kilo of fish, as you choose. The kilo will easily feed two people, having left overs to take home.

This style of preparation is called zaranteado (pronounced sar-ahn-te-AH-doh) - over the open flame with gobs of garlic butter and other seasonings brushed over the fish as it cooks.

The sizzle!!

This photo gives you a good look at the open grill with the wood aflame.

Fish are cooked beginning at the front of the chef and as they are ready, he moves them away towards the back of the grill so that the waiters can put them on the plate and deliver them to the tables.

You can see the pan full of garlic butter with the handle of the brush sticking out.

On the table!

The portion you see here is the full kilo of fish, served with two plates of rice, beans, salad and hot tortillas.

At current pricing, this ran 230 Pesos (for two people) or about $12.50USD.

Just so you know, down the beach at Chac Mool (the Gringo hangout with Gringo pricing) this same amount of fish with the same preparation ran 600 Pesos, or about $33USD.

We can't tell you how moist and delicious this fish was.

The first bite was mind-boggling!

The menu

On the lower left of the menu, under FISH and just above FISH CEVICHE, you will see this item listed: Fish Zarandeado (kg.)

Pacifico beer runs 25 Pesos or about $1.35USD.

The menu was offered in both English and Spanish.

People are friendly

This lady and her family are from Guadalajara, about 50 minutes from Chapala where we live. We are having a grand ol' time together discussing her daughter learning Mandarin and English in school, and her hopes for her future. She shared her philosophy of life with me, which was to choose happiness, to choose peace, even with day-to-day stresses of raising a family and financial challenges.

She was fun and lively and had the most beautiful face! She was simply radiant, and I could understand why her husband was in love with her.

You can see that I'm stuffing a slice of lime down the neck of my beer, a common practice in Mexico. The couple of bottles stacked up in front of me were purchased by this woman and her husband for Billy and me, a very obvious sign of their generosity.

The next time you are in Chacala, stop by Chico's.

You will be welcomed, and there is fun, music and delicious food!

Chico’s Restaurante de Mariscos

Playa Chacala, Nayarit Cel: 327. 219. 4019 OR 327. 978. 8554

Full restaurant and Bar

For more stories and photos about Mexico, click here

Retire Early Lifestyle appeals to a different kind of person – the person who prizes their independence, values their time, and who doesn’t want to mindlessly follow the crowd.

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