We are Back

Hey - we had a little vacation but we are back and ready to .....eat out !!!!

So stay tuned for more reviews of the restaurants and bars in Tulum!!

ZAMA's

Zama’s

You cannot beat the setting for a tropical evening by the sea and under the stars. ZAMA's has it all. The location is direct beach with your feet in the sand. The stars are easily visible from about every seat and the breeze is cool on even the hottest of nights. Morning and afternoon, there is plenty of shade and if there is any wind at all, you will find it at Zama’s. Most nights they have live music that is often great but always fun. And the food? The pizza's are the best on the beach. But then again, they are the only pizza's on the beach. Still, we crave them regularly and the setting makes them even tastier. The rest of the menu offers a wide variety of Mexican food, Italian food and Seafood. They also have a complete breakfast menu and good coffee.
Such a variety often makes us little piggies nervous - how many things can they cook well? But ZAMA's seems to have the turnover and the staff to keep just about everything fresh, most dishes are good and only a few are mediocre. We little piggies like the pizza - each one is good and if you are there after 6pm the oven is on and oink oink oink. The spagetti bolognese is surprisingly good too, but for big hungry gringos the portion may be small. For lunch we like the mexican vegetarian dish and the empanadas. Unfortunately, the green salad is a lot of romaine lettuce with shredded carrots, not much to write home about. The grilled vegetable plate is too boring for our tastes: we can grill carrots and zucchini at home. Guacamole is good and the house salsa is generally fresh and excellent. The house wines are unimpressive and if you plan on having one or two you should go for a bottle rather than the glasses. They have a decent selection by the bottle. The margaritas are tastey and generally right on. And the cuba libres are delicious.
Overall, we little piggies enjoy dining at ZAMA's, ambiance is 3 pigs especially if you are up for a fun night of music, dining and dancing. Service is always friendly and often quicker than you would think, so we say 2.5 pigs. The food is a healthy 2 pigs - oink oink!! And the pizzas as we said before oink oink oink!

Cesiak

If you are willing to go just a little farther up the road and through the arch into the biosphere, you won't be sorry you did. Keep driving about 4 kilometers and you will come upon Cesiak. This is an eco hotel in the truest sense of the word. But the restaurant is more than just natural. The food is basic Mexican, good and hearty. Prices are a little high but the view is really what you are paying for. We have been there for breakfast and lunch and we prefer lunch. Although, coffee there and then a walk on the beach is a great way to start your trip farther south toward the bridge or Punta Allen. Breakfast is just 1.5 pigs. The coffee is hot but too much chickory for these little piggies. Plus, coffee is by the cup with no refills. Eggs were good but not delicious. The fruit salad was fresh but not special. And if you cannot get a good fruit salad in the Caribbean you are in trouble. Lunch received 2.5 pigs. We like the shrimp tacos - spicey and fresh. The guacamole rivals the best of them and you get a small side of it with your tacos. The spinach salads are another hit, 2.5 pigs for that. Served with bacon and a balsamic based dressing, it is a veggie lovers delight. The club sandwich is good but doesn't compare to Ocho's but the view certainly does. We enjoyed every bite of our food. The margaritas en las rocas con sal are excellant - just make sure you can navigate the road back. Sunset here is spectacular. You see the sun sink into the lagoon while feeling the cool breeze from the sea. Cesiak: overall 2 pigs for food, 3 pigs for ambiance and 2.5 for friendly service. It is certainly worth the trip.

Garden Grill

Garden Grill

Down the beach road before Zama’s, in what some people like to call “Pueblo Pequeno” is a sweet garden restaurant with glowing resin lights that hang gently from the trees over a few big, loosely designed tables and chairs. It is the Garden Grill. And while we didn’t really see any grill, we wandered in one night out of curiosity. Actually, we wanted to go to Akin but they were having a wedding, so was Esmeralda K, and so was Zulum so we opted for the Garden Grill, yet another reason to cross the street from the beach: fewer weddings. It is sheltered from both the beach and the street, nestled into that side of the road and numerous palms, sea grapes and ceiba trees. The lighting actually caught our fancy and we strolled into an empty courtyard to check it out. Once there, we were greeted by the neighbor from Trece Luna, the cozy restaurant next door (stay tuned for that review) and offered a choice of Sangria or Mojitos for drinks. That made it refreshingly easy and we ordered 3 Sangrias. We’ll save the mojitos for next time. The sangria was perfect: lightly chilled with lots of small pieces of fruit and just the right combination of wine and brandy, perhaps a little sugar in there somewhere but we couldn’t say it bothered us. The menu seems to be a combination of Mexican, local fish specialties and almost Thai but not quite. Entrées range from 80 pesos for Fried Rice to 240 for Fajitas for 2. We ordered the chicken teriaki to share. It came in a unexpectedly heaping portion loaded with chicken and vegetables in a tasty soy sauce. Rice came on the side and they brought enough for all of us. As well, they served us a starter of very good garlic bread. So perhaps you can throw Italian into that description above. Eclectic, delicious and certainly a large enough portion to share, we gave the meal 2.5 oinks. Their desert menu looked great but we just weren’t in the mood and preferred another Sangria instead. The service was slow but we are used to that. The ambiance was nice but, when we said loosely designed we didn’t realize how on the mark we were. At one point, one piggy leaned on the table and it collapsed and hurt that little piggy in the toe. No apologies from the staff as we hefted the plank off that pig foot and were warned to “take care”. We lost a sangria in the process that they did not replace or take off our “cuenta”. We were disappointed and really couldn’t even oink in pain – service was a diver. Even if, after all, it was an accident, we little piggies like a little sympathy. Nothing is more sympathetic than replacing a spilled drink for free. Over all, the Garden Grill has nice ambiance, not too helpful service, and good food even if it has an identity crisis. Oink, oink for the Garden Grill.

El Tabano

A “tabano” is a small biting insect common here on the beach in the spring and summer months. As such, it is a cute but unfit name for this lovely and charming roadside garden restaurant on the other side of the beach road. Historically, this side of the beach road has had very little to offer in terms of food and entertainment. Recently opened, this eclectic and open air restaurant challenges beach combers to see for themselves that that there is life on the jungle side of the road.

The Guineapigs stopped in for a drink but ended up staying for dinner. El Tabano is so brand spanking new that the liquor license still has not arrived so tea it was. They have a nice selection and the non alcoholic evening was actually welcomed. The chalk board menu offers a wide selection of mouth watering dishes. The Guineapigs shared a mango and jicama salad with sesame seed soy and honey dressing. 3 little piggies for that! One Guinea pig ordered fish filet in its own broth. The fish was very fresh, refreshing and clean. It was so healthy and light the Guineapigs considered adding a little more seasoning for taste. 1.5 little pigs for that entre. Another Guineapig tried Chile Relleno, Poblano chile filled with chicken and cheese. No need to describe....we just oinked three times and what one piggey couldn’t finish, the other was happy to snort.

Service? Although very slow it was very attentive and heart warming, 2 and a half pigs for that one. The generator was out that night so the entire garden, including the kitchen, was lit up with candles. Poor little chef-lady in the kitchen could hardly see what she was stirring in the pot. But all the candles made the whole place look even more like a magic garden, romantic enough for flirtatious conversations and cozy enough for a group of friends to stay a while. And the stars added that glimmer of light that makes Tulum evenings so special. All the dishes are served in unique vintage plates and silverware that reminds you of your grandma's kitchen.

Overall the Guineapigs added up 2.5 little piggies for this whimsical new hang. And don't worry there were none of those tabanos when we dined there. Although you would be wise to bring mosquito repellent there with you. Who knows when those, orange horse flies that sting like bees, might make an appearance.

Don’t miss the ice cream man!!!

There is a little cart pulled by a moto that drives the beach road and rings a bell ba ba ba ba ba bop bop bop. It has a green canopy top, with a red and white vehicle with a big fridge for ICE CREAM!! Ice cream in Mexico? Si, si. Helados y Raspados - Ice Cream and Italian Ices in Mexico. If you have a sweet tooth on a nice hot day, there is nothing better. The Ice Cream Man routinely drives this road making his rounds between 12 and 3 and you can hear him coming as he rings his bell. “Helados, Raspados, Ice Cream” reads the sign on the side of his cart. He normally has coco, platano and then one special flavor of the day – that is coconut, banana and a special. The last time I tried the special was Uva or grape and I ordered a little scoop of all three. It was a delicious concoction served in a fresh sugar cone. Often he drives with his son but he is always on the road in the afternoon and after a few times the ba ba ba ba ba bop bop bop will start to call you when you hear it. The ice cream is not rich but icey and cold and flavorful. The raspados are made with several flavors of syrup put onto shaved ice. Piggies give this guy three pigs for quality, even if the selection is limited. Service, again, oink oink oink – come on he comes right to your door and if you whistle he will turn and come back! The ambiance varies but it is, well, hopefully when he drives by you are exactly where you want to be – so oink oink oink once again.

for now - The No Name - for now -closed for the season

There is a little tienda on the beach road by Amansala, just up from the famous el Viejo tienda that hosts a rocking breakfast and lunch. Rocking for the food and rocking for the music. Most likely you will happen upon it by chance since the hours are erratic. But the food is not. Great breakfasts and lunches, piggies like to stop here for a chicken sandwich served on the Mexican equivalent of a bagette (whiter and softer than the Italian version) with a fresh side salad. For 50 pesos, it doesn’t get much better than this. They grill vegetables as an accompaniment and if you like, they will add cheese. Take one of these to the beach with a cold beer and you are in heaven. Or sit at their tables with a fresh oj and enjoy the company of Miguel, his gringa girl and make some new friends in the cozy restaurant. Until we discover their name, this is the best little no name lunch place on the beach road so far. Service is slow but they cook everything to order and they are sooo happy to see you. Piggies give it a three pigs for food, ambiance and even the service.

Apapacho - lonely little hut on the beach in front of Parayso

The night we visited Apapacho, it was empty although a group followed us carrying their own wine. For some reason, Apapacho was not serving any alcohol. When we inquired, they only divulged that they were having problems with the alcohol. Maybe they have an alcoholic cook who drank everything but we think the fiscales were there earlier in the week. Other favorite watering holes were closed as well.

They have a full menu with entres ranging from 95 – 150 pesos, appetizers from 65-95, and ceviche is 120 pesos. They make a point of telling you they are closed Mondays on a big black board that looked like it needed a “special” but that only said the hours. Service was sloooooow. It took us an hour to get our meal but once it came the waiter was very fast on returning with the mustard. Granted they had only one waiter but …at least say something. We were left to sit and wonder as people who arrived after us were served their meal. The waiter told us they had called it in earlier in the day. Does that tell you something?

One piggy had the hamburger and it was great if you like onions blended into your hamburger – that little piggy didn’t - with fries that came cold and don’t stand up to Ocho or Tita’s. Another piggy ordered fish tacos. This piggy’s recommendation: forget them – go to town and get tastier and more authentic tacos for 30 pesos instead of 100.
And another pig had the grilled tuna. She was one happy pig when she got it. It was a nicely grilled piece of fish served with rice and sliced tomatoes. But the rice had a taste as if it had been made the day before, or the day before that. Overall, this is a hamburger joint. The guineapigs recommend you go during the day and once they square their liquor license away so you can enjoy the wait with a cold drink and people watch while escaping the afternoon sun. Guineapigs give it one pig – the burger saved it, the staff could have but they didn’t even try.

La Zebra

Signs of La Zebra are everywhere in Tulum. From the moment you cross the town line to driving and passing the La Zebra striped Volkswagon to the sexy Salsa Sunday signs along the beach road and in most of the kiosks in town, signs of La Zebra are all over the place. From the crucero until you get there, just follow the orange striped signs. When you see the Zebra on the road take a wander through what appears to be a wooden sculpture park. Large wooden Aztec head sculptures line the sandy path that leads from the road to the palapa bar and restaurant. By day it offers a peaceful view of the beach and by night, the candles accentuate either the moon or the stars.

The place is famous on Sunday. It hosts Salsa lessons from 6 to 8 and then a live band with dancing from 8 to 10 pm. It is the place to be on the beach and half the pueblo and most of the tourists are there. They also have free salsa lessons Thursday, Friday, and Saturday as well for those who want to be expert by Sunday when the live band kicks in. But, what about the food? The guinepigs love to salsa but the place is packed for people looking for barbeque as well. La Zebra hosts a wonderful barbeque featuring Yucatecan barbeque pulled pork for tacos. You can eat and dance the night away. Guineapigs give Sundays at La Zebra a whopping 3 pigs – appropriate with the pulled pork, oink oink oink!!

On a quieter night, guineapigs love to sit at the bar where the ambiance is friendly and the seats are Alice in Wonderland oversized sort of comfortable. From their polished wooden seatbacks and surprisingly comfortable wooden seats, the guineapigs think the bar stools are the place to be to enjoy the scene. La Zebra has a large selection of tequilas but we had white wine that was only a little more than adequate. Getting great wine here in the Yucatan seems to be a challenge, but theirs was nicely chilled. The pour from the La Zebra barman is more than fair, one of the better pours we have had on the beach. Ocho’s barman could certainly take a lesson or two. We tried the spinach salad with chicken (100 pesos). It was full of everything except spinach and while we appreciate the bounty of chevre cheese and bacon and apple slices, a little more spinach would have been welcome. The green salad with chicken had plenty of lettuce (100 pesos) and was only adequate. The quesadillas with chicken were perfectly toasted and served with a spicey salsa and small green salad. Thank goodness because we are in Mexico after all. For entres we tried the “pescado en papel”, a delicious local white fish served with pineapple salsa and rice. The presentation was beautiful with the fish arriving wrapped in tinfoil that was shaped like a fish, tail and all. The salads and dinner are served with a beautiful plate of totopos (chips) and a variety of spicy and delicious salsa’s in small white leaf shaped dishes. For desert we tried the sugar cane mojitos – wow!! – and poached apples. Both were refreshing and perfectly sweetened. The mojitos had plenty of mint, rum and of course sugar cane that was squeezed right in front of us. On a quiet night the guineapigs give La Zebra two pigs. One of the nicer places to enjoy the magnificent beach, a good drink, good friendly service and decent food.

Mezzanine

On lazy Sundays the Guineapigs like to spend our late morning hours on a wide stretch of public beach next to Tulum’s unique Thai restaurant, the Mezzanine. And every Sunday between 2pm and 4pm when the Guineapigs have had enough of the sun we are lured up the stony steps to see Guadaloop play their funky music live, poolside at the Mezzanine. The architecture at the Mezzanine is simple and chic. There is something about this little restaurant that feels big. It reminds us of being on the Italian Riviera. Perhaps it is the curvy stone staircase that leads up from the sandy beach and puts you directly in front of an emerald green swimming pool. Or perhaps it is the wooden deck extending over the rocky patch of beach that takes us far away. That is until their 2x1 margaritas (every day from 2–4 pm) beam us back. But with Chicken Sate in our tummy and Pad Thai on our forks we feel that we landed somewhere that is not exactly in Mexico. The Sate was fragrant and juicy and spiced to perfection. The Pad Thai, however, was too sweet, and at $150 pesos a plate The Guineapigs know that we definitely did not land in Thailand either. The mezzanine offers about six or seven different kinds of margaritas and the Guinea Pigs have tried them all. The Guineapigs recommend rasberry mint margarita for those who would like to try something other than the classic margarita. Mezzanine is also known for their great late Fiesta Fridays, the only late party in Tulum happening every Friday night. Over all a 3 little pigs for service, which may be best in Tulum. 2 little pigs for margaritas and 2 little pigs for food and presentation.

Cocktails at Luna Maya

Luna Maya is easier to miss than other hotels on the south beach road of Tulum. Marked with a small sign in black hosting a crescent moon in yellow, this petit hotel with its orange and cream mexicana facade is worth searching out. It is a wonderful hideaway with a rocky cove beach, a swing bar and tables and chairs that are nestled into the palms. The dining area is under a separate palapa raised slightly above the sand to make the best of the sea breeze and sea view. The guineapigs visited Luna Maya for a cocktail hour that turned into 3 - 3 hours and 3 cocktails. We couldn’t seem to leave since with each moment there was more to captivate our interest. The first round was one Spanish red wine, (no doubt more than palatable since that little piggy had two), a margarita, en las rocas con sal that had enough tequila but too zesty a mix for the little piggy and one order of sex on the beach, that left that piggy looking for a cigarette and a change in drinks. The service was friendly, the setting was comfortable, the drinks were refreshing and the wine came in an appropriate crystal glass. The company and the band were interesting and so we stayed to enjoy both. Luna Maya has musica en vivo (live music) on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday nights from 8 to approximately 10 pm. During our first round the band warmed up with some reggae rifs and canned music and at 8 they began to play. We had to have another round, more red wine, another margarita just to give it another chance and a vodka and pineapple (enough sex on the beach, the place was getting crowded). The music was as good as the drinks, if you could ignore the political overtones, and just enjoy the latin rythm. We managed since they were talented musicians and we found ourselves dancing under the palms with plenty of company. After a round of cold beers, we headed off to find a late dinner. Stay tuned for that review but at this moment, Luna Maya gets two and one half pigs for a place to go for cocktail hour..

Ocho

This spacious semi-circular restaurant perched above the beach on the southern end of Tulum playa is decorated in simple, elegant, warm, white. Hints of natural tones and lots of wood make you feel relaxed and at home. Ocho's reception was prompt and friendly and the service was timely throughout our meal. Lighting was a little brighter than we thought necessary but it was a refreshing change from some of the darker, candlelit places here on the beach. To start, we ordered a bottle of chardonnay from South Africa which was nicely chilled and delicious, 3 little pigs for the wine. However, the Guineapigs were disappointed when they brought slices of toasted white bread with butter to the table. The hungry little pigs prayed the bread was not an indication of what was to follow. Thankfully, the tuna carpaccio was fresh and delicate, lightly dressed to perfection with a sesame soy dressing. We also tried the coconut shrimp wich was tastey. The batter was light and they were toasted to perfection, just like the guineapigs after that bottle of wine. We ordered the Ocho salad as a postre of sorts. It was a beautiful plate of tomoatoes and avocado over a bed of fresh greens. Served with a light cream based dressing it hit the spot. If you happen to be in the area for lunch, it is hard to beat the Ocho club sandwichi which is overstuffed with bacon cooked to perfection if you like it crispy like we do, and fresh tomoatoe, avocado and chicken. The club sandwich comes with fries that are some of the best we have had on the beach, rivalling Tita Tulum. (stay tuned for that review) Having lunch at Ocho, we found the ambiance by day to be warmer and actually more elegant than by night, Overall, day or night, Ocho has friendly, efficient service, nice ambiance, comfortable dining and a view that is worth paying a little too much for. The Guinea Pigs gave them two and a half pigs.

Casa Violeta

Casa Violeta is a small and charming restaurant on the beach offering a basic Italian menu. The ambiance is warm and light with a glass and coconut chandalier suspended above the approximately 8-table dining area. They have a full bar with a variety of wines to offer diners. Our first night there we ordered the house wine, a Chilean red and white. The red recieved 2 pigs for taste but the pour was meager. The taste for the white was 1 pig but the glasses were at least full. The bread was not Italian and was cold (1 pig) and no butter or olive oil served as accompaniment. Appetizer and main course came out at the same time but we were sharing (come on - - we live here!!). The carpaccio was excellant with pine nuts, roasted zucchini and goat cheese. A snorting 3 pigs although there was some sand in our lettuce. The price we pay for eating on the beach. The pasta was..,que rico... how delicious. We ordered the penne with gorgonzola and pistachios. It was perfectly al dente and melted in your mouth. Food presentation was beautiful. And the service was attentive, warm and, like the clientele, beautiful. Desert, unfortunetly was a diver! The apple streudel was served cold and tasted as if it had been store bought. It was served with unplumped raisins and garnished with chocolate instead of vanilla ice cream. It was a sorry let down to such a scrumptious salad and pasta. Such an anomoly that we returned. The second time around we tried all three of the red wines and two of the whites. All were adequate but, again, meager pours. However, the GuineaPig's experience was redeemed by the delicious entres and the beautiful service. That evening we tried the fish and it was stupendous. All in all, great ambiance, meager but satisfactory glasses of wine and delicious food, Casa Violeta is a 2 and one half pigs of gastrointestinal delight at Tulum Playa!!

Puerta del Cielo

"Sorry, we are open" reads the sign at the main entrance. That should have clued us in on the fact that Puerta del Cielo isn't quite ready for the public. They have a limited menu and we were unable to find much that fit our pallete. The bar is well done and spacious but the dining room lacks a cozy charm. The plates for appetizers look cool in triangular shapes that fit together but they disappiont when you see they are melamine. There is just something about plastic dishes that takes away from the flavor and beauty of the food. The GuineaPigs tried their salad del cielo. Tiny pieces of salami garnished the side not to mention that the brocoli, cauliflower and green beans were still frozen and difficult to eat, to say the least. The dressing was typical of any Thousand Island dressing you could buy in any supermarket, even in Mexico. We were not offered any chips, bread or accompaniment with the salad and were left alone to finish our nicely chilled but mediocre chardonnay. We said no to a second cup and second course and wandered up the road to find something more substantial. Before we left we took a quick tour around the property. The brand new swimming pool looked inviting and the bungalows looked spacious and beautiful. The landscaping is well done and they have allowed for lots of space between bungalows creating privacy and breathing room for their guests. Give the place until May and the GuineaPigs will check back to see if they have beefed up the menu.