54 Best Restaurants in The Riviera Maya, Mexico

The name means "unexpected," and—thanks to the international dishes created by executive chef Juan Diego Solombrino—this place is truly a surprise. At breakfast, you can order hangover-healing eggs Benedict, Belgian waffles, or old-fashioned French toast; later, Imprevist pulls out all the stops with a hint of molecular gastronomy in the tuna tartare with lime and sake foam, and the chilled beetroot soup with goat cheese croquettes, truffle oil, and thyme cream. Risotto choices include a seafood number with squid ink and shaved fennel. The fish cooked in parchment is unbelievably moist, and the beef fillet with foie gras mousse practically melts in your mouth. Seating is available at sidewalk tables and in an intimate underground dining room.

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 (shepherd-style) seared tuna as the main course, and don't leave without trying the tribute to cacao as dessert.

Rub shoulders with cab drivers, local government officials, and expat regulars over coffee at Tulum's favorite family-owned and -run coffee shop, where espresso drinks are made with 100% Mexican-grown coffee from places like Oaxaca and Veracruz. Upstairs you'll find a small bakery, out back a quiet jungle garden, and up front a relaxed beachy bar space, all serving up coffee, baked goods, and Mexican dishes like molletes—spiced toast over black-bean puree with pico de gallo (pro tip: add a fried egg for something special). Eco-friendliness is important here, and the plumbing is a composting system.

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.

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.

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.

Dig your toes in the sand floor and enjoy the catch of the day at La Cueva del Pescador. A crowd of easygoing expats hunkers down for the afternoon to feast on octopus, shrimp, or conch ceviche prepared with lime juice and flavored with cilantro—usually with a generous helping of beer on the side. Great grilled garlic shrimp and simple quesadillas are also served. Portions are sizeable, and prices are moderate. There’s a pool table here plus a TV that's typically tuned to sports.

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.

Two blocks north of the town square, the "dining room" room of this family-run eatery consists of plastic tables and chairs beneath mini palapas and tarps. What it lacks in charm it more than makes up for with food and prices—this is where locals go for seafood soup, fried fish, shrimp tacos, ceviche, and fresh guacamole. Plan to either practice your Spanish or use sign language, and 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.

This Tulum outpost of the Playa hipster cantina has a light take on traditional tacos and seafood, which are served with lots of lime and creativity. Batter-fried shrimp on a bed of hydroponic lettuce, grouper with avocado and cucumber, and tacos de pescado are all good bets. Salsa lovers will find eight types on the table and more on the menu. The setting is simple (picture plastic plates, paper napkins, and silverware in buckets), so you can justifiably eat everything with your fingers. After lunch, you can try your hand at the foosball table in back, but you can't while the night away here—it's only open from 12:30 to 7:30.

This upscale seafood taquería is an anchor of Playa's alternative culinary scene, an in-the-know spot for lunch or dinner that reimagines 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. You'll find a second location on Avenida Constituyentes; there's also one in Tulum and another in Cancún.

Abutting the plaza at the beach, Pangea has it all—breakfast, lunch, and dinner served on an umbrella-shaded terrace overlooking the sea, plus live music and entertainment until late. Daily menus—all prepared with organic ingredients and without preservatives—may include grilled fresh tuna, vegetarian lasagna, or shrimp kebabs, and there's fresh ginger-lemongrass tea and pancakes for breakfast. Evening menus are themed according to the show: expect Middle Eastern food for belly-dancing night and Spanish tapas for flamenco. The owners came from Mexico City in the early 1990s and are a great source for tourist tips and local gossip.

This oceanfront, thatched-roof, palapa restaurant serves simple but tasty food. The Tex-Mex shrimp tacos accompanied with a cool beer are perfect for lunch, while dealing with the midday heat, and, for dinner, try the Poc Chuc pork or the traditional chicken with mole.

Perched on the rim of the 300-foot-deep cenote, this palapa restaurant charges a MX$50 entrance fee to access the site. Busloads of tourists come to dine on chicken, pork, and fish dishes, as well as house specialties like the seafood platter and shrimp kebab. Although the setting surpasses food, it's still worth lingering over a meal to gaze out over the deep blue waters. After your food digests, enjoy a swim off the dock. There's also a souvenir shop.

Locals rave about the grilled steaks and garlic shrimp at Sergio's—one of the nicest restaurants in Chetumal. The barbecued chicken (made with the owner's special sauce) and smoked-oyster or seafood pizzas are equally tasty. When you order the delicious Caesar salad for two, a waiter prepares it at your table. This place also offers a huge breakfast menu plus a variety of lunchtime pasta dishes. You can order takeout or have food delivered, but the gracious staff and free Wi-Fi give you an added incentive to eat in.

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.

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 pork or vegetarian options 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.

Unlike most restaurants in Xcalak, this beachside eatery is open daily for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Start the morning with a ham-and-cheese O'Mayaletes (omelet) served with beans and potatoes. The child-friendly lunch menu offers everything from tacos and nachos to hot dogs and quesadillas. For something a bit more gourmet, drop by at night for delectable dishes like fresh lobster, shrimp brochettes, or chicken stuffed with poblano and cheese. Dinner prices include an appetizer, soup, entrée, and dessert. The open-air palapa, right on the water's edge, is a great place to spend the day.

This Italian restaurant stands out for its elegance, excellent service, extraordinary steaks, and noteworthy pizzas and cocktails. There's a great brunch on weekends and live music every night.

This funky café, where expats and locals congregate, serves up smoothies, baked goods, tacos, homemade ice cream, and everything in between. The breakfast menu spans acai bowls, eggs Benedict, pancakes, and fruit plates, and for lunch and dinner you'll find blackened fish tacos, coconut shrimp, burgers, and vegetable wraps. Set back from the little plaza, the colorful garden is a pleasant place to have a coffee, and its location by the ecological center makes it the closest thing Akumal has to a downtown. If you fall in love with a local stray, the owner will help you get the paperwork to take your new pet home. The restaurant is open until 10 pm and has free Wi-Fi. This is the only place in town where happy-hour specials include food. Stop by between 4 and 6 pm any day of the week for pizza, taco, and drink specials.

As competitive as the culinary scene has become in Tulum, this restaurant by chef Brian Sernatinger truly is único (unique), with an eclectic menu that covers everything from pasta to cheeseburgers to seafood. Stars of the international menu include the well-prepared white truffle souffle, Unico's cheeseburger (a beef-and-spice-blend ground and mixed in-house), and the purple basil pappardelle. The chef's special sangria is also a treat. The second-story space in the heart of the pueblo looks down over the main road and can be a bit noisy, but interesting murals, soulful Spanish music, and an intimate 10-table setting are pleasant backdrops for a meal. Save some calories and skip dessert: it's the one thing in the restaurant that's clearly not homemade.

With tables under a palapa on the beach, this restaurant is a perfect place to sink your toes in the sand while dining. Chef Sandra offers understated appetizers like tuna nachos (tuna tartare and avocado with tortilla strips) or shrimp and chipotle sopes (corn flour "disks" with different toppings). Veggie fans will love salads made with cooked potatoes, peach, avocado, and sunflower seeds. 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. 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 Caribbean Latin Rhythms on Saturday.