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Restaurants here vary from quirky beachside affairs with outdoor tables and palapas to more elaborate and sophisticated establishments. Dress is casual at most places, so leave your tie and jacket at home. Smaller eateries may not accept credit cards, especially in remote beach villages. Bigger ones and those in hotels normally
Restaurants here vary from quirky beachside affairs with outdoor tables and palapas to more elaborate and sophisticated establishments. Dress is casual at most places, so leave your tie and jacket at home. Smaller eateries may not accept credit cards, especially in remo
Restaurants here vary from quirky beachside affairs with outdoor tables and palapas to more elaborate and sophisticated
Restaurants here vary from quirky beachside affairs with outdoor tables and palapas to more elaborate and sophisticated establishments. Dress is casual at most places, so leave your tie and jacket at home. Smaller eateries may not accept credit cards, especially in remote beach villages. Bigger ones and those in hotels normally accept plastic. Many restaurants add propinas (tips) to the bill; look for a charge for "servicio." If tips aren’t included, a 15% gratuity is standard. It's best to order fresh local fish—grouper, dorado, red snapper, and sea bass—rather than shellfish like shrimp, lobster, and oysters, since the latter are often flown in frozen from the Gulf. Playa del Carmen has the largest selection of restaurants.
The mystical jungle atmosphere of this sophisticated restaurant is only beaten by its exquisite blend of Mexican and Mayan traditional cuisines. Dine to the tune of indigenous drums and the tenuous shapes formed by candlelight, while enjoying delicious cocktails prepared with local and organic ingredients. Try the octopus in black recado or the duck in black mole and, either way, you'll thank me later.
Although this restaurant is a 10-minute drive from downtown, its location in an underground cavern makes it extremely popular. A candlelit rock stairway leads to a setting that's part Carlsbad Caverns, part The Flintstones. Some of the "cavernous" rooms are for lounging, some for drinking, some for eating, some for dancing. Creative lighting casts the stalactites and stalagmites in pale shades of violet, blue, and pink. Although the setting is the highlight, the food—including the cenote duck, chile Mexico lindo, lobster, and steak—is also quite good. With a packed house, this place can get rather musty and humid.
Av. Juárez between Calles 65 and 70, Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo, 77710, Mexico
New York chefs cooking New York food for New York prices—in a wood-fired jungle lot, open to the night sky—that's Hartwood. Try slow-roasted pork ribs marinated in agave honey or a light, fresh ceviche and finish up with homemade ice cream in flavors like peanut brittle, sweet corn, and cream cheese. Big-city transplants Mya Henry and Eric Werner opened this solar-powered restaurant in 2011, and it has been drawing a full house ever since. Chef Werner has added farming to his list of talents and the rabbit on the menu comes from his farm. The setting of dark-wood tables on a white pebble floor is remarkably charming, though mosquito-repellent smoke can get heavy at times. The open kitchen and massive oven make for a dramatic, fiery show when the sun goes down. In high season, book ahead by email or get here when the restaurant opens at 6, or risk a New York–style wait.
Carretera Tulum–Boca Paila, Km 7.6, Tulum, Quintana Roo, 77780, Mexico
From the street-level bistro, a dramatic staircase leads up to a small cocktail bar and dining room overlooking 5th Avenue. A stone waterfall is the focal point of the latter, and an open layout provides nearly every table with a breeze from the water. Start with a savory-sweet fig salad or a portabella mushroom slow baked and served on country bread with a truffle spread and a cheese coulis, then follow up with favorite mains like tangy poblano chicken or duck carnitas served with flavorful (though not spicy) green salsa. If a cocktail sounds nice at the end of the day, the mojitos here are excellent.
Av. 5 and Calle 2, Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo, 77710, Mexico
Focusing on food from the Pampas region of Argentina, this trendy corner spot has tables on 5th Avenue and second-story seating overlooking the action below. Entrées come with four sauces, including a fiery habanero sauce for the brave spice lover and a smooth chimichurri, made with oil, vinegar, and finely chopped herbs. Start off with warm, just-out-of-the-oven rosemary bread, baked empanadas, or beef carpaccio. Follow up with a sizzling steak cooked perfectly to order. Then finish your meal with the popular, traditional carajillo—espresso and liquor on ice, prepared right at your table.
Health-conscious travelers rejoice: the menu at The Real Coconut features as much organic produce and free-range meat as possible and is entirely dairy-, gluten-, and refined-sugar-free. Stop by for lunch in the bright, modern beachfront dining room and order up some tacos with shrimp al pastor (served on tortillas made with coconut flour), a nacho bowl with organic chile, free-range chicken, or a light soup with a healthy bone-broth base. For dessert, try the giant chocolate chip cookie (it's hard to believe something so decadent is gluten- and dairy-free) or order up a thick, cold choco-nutty smoothie.
Carretera Cobá-Boca Paila, Km 8.2, Tulum, Quintana Roo, Mexico
With tables under a palapa roof and on the beach, this restaurant is a perfect place to sink your toes in the sand while dining. Chef Hidalgo offers understated appetizers like tuna nachos (tuna tartare and avocado with tortilla strips) or guacamole on a bed of fried cheese. Veggie fans will love salads made with soft cheese, fresh greens, caramelized almonds, and Jamaica sauce. The fish is about as fresh as it gets—if you’re an angler, the kitchen will even cook up your catch. By day, the menu focuses on sandwiches and wraps; by night the attention turns to ribs and surf and turf. A pleasant background of live, local music will have you swaying in your seat from 7:30 to 9:30. And the bar, where they've traded in bar stools for swings, is just as nice as the table seating. Service can be slow, but it's worth the wait. There's Mexican wine tasting on Thursday and flamenco on Monday.
Carretera Tulum-Boca Paila, Km 7.5, Tulum, Quintana Roo, 77780, Mexico
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