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This Playa institution, in a funky jungle garden with fountains, palmettos, and a rambling koi pond, is a favorite breakfast spot. The well-prepared, authentic Mexican selections include multiple styles of chilaquiles, a tart mix of meat, sauce, and egg on a bed of tortillas that will have you skipping lunch. It's popular for lunch and dinner as well.
Calle 38, Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo, 77710, Mexico
Known For
- Chilaquiles, served spicy or mild
- Good coffee
- Enchiladas with mole
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: No dinner Sun
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$$$ | |
Playa's most dramatically sited restaurant sits atop a small cenote in a vast jungly garden full of strangler vines and Mayan ruins—right in the middle of Avenida 5. Designed in accordance with Maya building practices, it's a feast for the eyes, with living "green walls" covered with plants, a bar built on a stone wall, and a park in back that makes for a romantic setting at night (bring bug spray). The menu, full of dressed-up Playa standards—fresh fish, pork shank, guacamole—isn't as memorable (though the jicama tacos are worth a try), but it's a worthwhile meal nonetheless.
Av. 5 between Calles 14 and 16, Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo, 77710, Mexico
Known For
- Exotic jungle setting
- Bottled water filtered from the cenote
- Jicama tacos
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$$$ | |
The cheapest restaurant along Tankah's beachfront serves up fresh, simple, satisfying Mexican food from 8 am to 9 pm every day. Grab a table at the waterfront and order up beef fajitas or fish tacos, topped with a healthy helping of fresh-made salsa and fresh-squeezed lime juice. Margaritas are popular (and strong) here, and on Sunday you can join locals for a popular barbecue on the beachfront. Bring your own meat or order from the restaurant.
Interior Fracc. Tankah, Tulum, Quintana Roo, Mexico
Known For
- Beef and chicken fajitas
- Fish tacos
- Powerful margaritas
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$$$ | |
This jungle-side hangout is laid-back, casual, and comfortable, with an open kitchen and airy layout in a large, traditional palapa. Standout dishes include organic-chicken-stuffed jalapeños and organic chicken in red sauce (so tender that it practically falls off the bone). Paying tribute to local blends is the wine list, on which 80% of the bottles are from Mexico. An international crowd of expats and in-the-know vacationers makes for a lively scene, especially at night. For large parties or special events, book ahead.
Carretera Tulum-Boca Paila, Km 5.7, Tulum, Quintana Roo, 77780, Mexico
Known For
- Mexican wines
- Spicy margaritas
- Traditional Mexican dishes
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Sun. in Apr.–Sept
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Fernando's friendly, homey restaurant—which serves as a sort of visitors bureau—seems to change locations often but remains a Mahahual institution. The affordable menu features Mexican and Yucatecan specialties with a generous splash of gringo. Should you be in the market for a margarita, don't be shy; as the name suggests, this is the place for expert guidance on all things agave. You can even buy a bottle of Fernando's homemade tequila to go. If the indoor party scene isn't lively enough for you, head to the outside tables, where cruise passengers are known to do shots.
Plaza Martillo between Calles Coronado and Martillo, Mahahual, Quintana Roo, 77900, Mexico
Known For
- Homemade tequila
- Yucatecan specialties
- Good margaritas
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Mon.
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Recommended Fodor’s Video
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Follow your nose to this Mexican grill house, where locals gather for some of the best-tasting steak in town. Far from romantic, the open-air restaurant is filled with the sounds of mariachi music blaring from the radio; a mounted bull's head hangs above the plastic tables and chairs. The main draws are the huge cuts of beef, pork, and chicken served with baskets of corn tortillas, baked potatoes, and ripe avocados. This might just be the tastiest arrachera you'll find on your vacation. There is a second location on Constituyentes, between Avenidas 25 and 30.
Calle 1, Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo, 77710, Mexico
Known For
- The best-tasting steak in town
- Ample portions
- Tasty arrachera
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Mon
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$$$ | |
This lagoon shore restaurant serves gourmet Mexican dishes and exotic cocktails to enjoy with the best view in town and live music most days. Go for the al pastor seared tuna as the main course, and don't leave without trying the tribute to cacao as dessert.
Boulevard Costero Norte 1255, Bacalar, Quintana Roo, 77930, Mexico
Known For
- Organic cocktails
- Live music
- Outstanding location
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Mon. and Tues
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You can't get any closer to the ruins than this two-story restaurant in a palapa setting with Mexican blankets draped over wooden tables. Some of the more traditional selections include fish prepared Yucatán style, chicken in banana leaves, and cochinita pibil.
Cobá, Quintana Roo, 77740, Mexico
Known For
- Yucatán-style fish
- Cochinita pibil
- Fresh salads
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: No dinner
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$$$ | |
With driftwood tables overlooking Half Moon Bay, swings at the lively bar, and salsa music keeping things moving, this might be the perfect beach restaurant. The usual Mexican fare—quesadillas, empanadas, burritos, and fish tacos with handmade tortillas—is perfectly fine, but the food isn't the point. It's all about the location. Directly on the beach, this place takes full advantage with two big upstairs terraces that provide sweeping views of the water. Lounge chairs are scattered on the sand for customers' use, and there's a small pool to keep the kids busy while you have another margarita. Climb the ladder to the two-seater tower table, 15 feet above the sand, where your drinks are delivered in a bucket on a rope.
Akumal, Quintana Roo, 77729, Mexico
Known For
- Incredible beachfront location
- Sweeping waterfront views
- A two-seater tower table above the sand
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$$$ | Fracc. La Toscana |
If you want to try authentic Mexican and pre-Hispanic cuisine, La Perla Pixan is the place for you with its wide variety of traditional specialties such as pozole (and its vegetarian option), barbacoa, enchiladas, tlayudas, and more. Look for the weekend brunch buffet, and the extraordinary variety of mezcal cocktails. At night, live music and pre-Hispanic shows make La Perla one of the favorite spots of locals, expats, and visitors alike.
Calle 38, Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo, 77710, Mexico
Known For
- Pre-Hispanic cuisine
- Mezcal cocktails
- Vegetarian pozole (traditional Mexican stew)
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Mon
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Two blocks north of the town square, this "restaurant" is actually made up of plastic tables and chairs shaded by mini palapas and tarps. What it lacks in charm is more than made up for by the food and prices. La Petita en la Playita is where locals go for seafood soup, fried fish, shrimp tacos, ceviche, and fresh guacamole—but plan to either practice your Spanish or use sign language because this family-run business focuses more on quality cooking than customer service. You should plan to eat early, too, as it closes at 8. La Playita is the perfect place to sink your toes in the sand and enjoy a refreshing rice-milk horchata.
Av. Rafael Melgar, Sm 02, Puerto Morelos, Quintana Roo, 77580, Mexico
Known For
- Seafood soup
- Fried fish
- Shrimp tacos
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This upscale taquería is an anchor of Playa's alternative culinary scene, reimagining tacos sautéed in olive oil and topped with cucumber or strawberry-habanero salsa. Local favorites include shrimp tacos with "black gold" (beans), fish ceviche with green salsa, and fish tacos wrapped in your choice of corn tortilla, flour tortilla, or a giant leaf of Bibb lettuce. If you're not into spicy food, be careful with the house specialty aguachile. It's an in-the-know spot for lunch or dinner. You'll find another Los Aguachiles location on Avenida Constituyentes (and one in Tulum and another in Cancún).
Calle 34 at Av. 25, Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo, 77710, Mexico
Known For
- A new, modern take on tacos
- Unusual salsas
- Shrimp tacos with black gold (beans)
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This collection of plastic tables under a tarp may not look like much from the outside, but it's where the locals go for some of the best (and cheapest) tacos in town. Grab a seat and order up some pork or vegetarian tacos, priced at just MX$15 to MX$17 each, and a bottle of agua fresca (water mixed with fruit and sugar). Tables and salsas are shared, so get ready to make some new friends.
Av. Satélite Sur, Tulum, Quintana Roo, Mexico
Known For
- Cheap, flavorful tacos
- Aguas frescas
- Excellent salsas
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: No dinner
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If you're looking for the favorite expat and local hangout by the beach, look no further than Taqueria La Eufemia—a simple, come-as-you-are taco bar on a wooden deck under a palapa with beachfront views. Head here for cheap, simple, no-frills tacos, coffee made with coconut water (and served in recycled glass with eco-friendly straws), and tasty garlic shrimp with homemade ketchup (known as Shrimp Cesare).
Tulum-Boca Paila, Km 8, Tulum, Quintana Roo, Mexico
Known For
- Cheap tacos
- Local hangout
- Eco-friendly vibe
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$$$$ | Zona Hotelera |
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
Known For
- Live local music
- Tuna nachos
- Excellent beachfront location
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