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.