Restaurants in Quintana Roo
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Restaurante Natura
Styled after the successful 100% Natural chain, this little bistro offers up a good mix of natural and vegetarian Mexican cuisine.
reviewed
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A
Aluxes Coffee House
Aluxes serves bagels with cream cheese, sandwiches, muffins, and hot and iced coffee. Between Guerrero and Hidalgo.
reviewed
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Mama’s Bakery
At Mama’s try the kiwi-raisin muffins, great carrot cake or the signature sticky buns. Yum! It also offers egg dishes and wonderful smoothies. This intimate, friendly place is a bit hard to find, but don’t give up. Heading north along Gómez, go about four blocks and look on your left for the bamboo wind chimes under the palapa. The small sign is easy to overlook.
reviewed
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Pizza Rolandi
Below the Hotel Belmar, between Abasolo and Madero, it bakes very good thin-crust pizzas and calzones in a wood-fired oven. The menu also includes pasta, fresh salads, fish, good coffee and some Italian specialties – definitely don’t come here looking for Mexican.
reviewed
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C
Irori
Enjoy the show as the chef slices and dices the night away at this Japanese-run restaurant serving sushi and many other Japanese favorites in an intimate and nicely decorated setting. There’s even a kids menu if you’ve got sushi-scoffing rugrats in tow.
reviewed
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K Sadillas del Jalisco
For a cheap lunch on this side of town, head over to the palapa-shaded K Sadillas, where the friendly owner, Javier, serves up super-cheap lunches and, you guessed it…quesadillas.
reviewed
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Alux
About three blocks west of Hwy 307, the Alux is an amazing must-visit. It’s a restaurant-lounge situated in a cavern: stalactites, stalagmites, pools and all.
reviewed
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Los Pelícanos
This friendly eatery is lauded by locals as the best restaurant in town.
reviewed
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E
La Habichuela
An elegant restaurant with a lovely courtyard dining area, just off Parque Las Palapas. The specialty is shrimp and lobster in curry sauce served inside a coconut with tropical fruit, but almost anything on the menu is delicious. The seafood ceviche and tapa al ajillo (potatoes in garlic) are mouthwatering. The gorgeous aquarium in the lobby makes for a very attractive wait (reservations are advised). Finish with lime sorbet splashed with xtabentún, a Yucatecan anise-flavored liqueur.
reviewed
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Señor Frog's
The Zona Hotelera is a vast swath of mainly Tex Mex-style places catering to the just-flew-in crowd. Prices are higher and quality is generally lower than what you'll find in Ciudad Cancún. A number of places cater to a young crowd, with conga lines where waiters cheer and pour watery tequila down dancers' throats as they weave by. So you'll either want to head for or away from Señor Frog's and Carlos 'n Charlie's for that kind of dining experience.
reviewed
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Carlos 'n Charlie's
The Zona Hotelera is a vast swath of mainly Tex Mex-style places catering to the just-flew-in crowd. Prices are higher and quality is generally lower than what you'll find in Ciudad Cancún. A number of places cater to a young crowd, with conga lines where waiters cheer and pour watery tequila down dancers' throats as they weave by. So you'll either want to head for or away from Señor Frog's and Carlos 'n Charlie's for that kind of dining experience.
reviewed
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Checándole
If you can only eat at one restaurant in Cancún, then you should eat here. It’s a bit away from the city center but well worth the extra effort. Dressed up with a palapa roof, Checándole specializes in Chilango (Mexico City) cuisine. The menú del día (fixed three-course meal) is just M$45 – great value. If it’s offering pollo en mole poblano (chicken smothered in a handmade chocolate and chili sauce), you should definitely go for it.
reviewed
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Restaurant 100% Natural
Vegetarians and health-food nuts delight at this health-food chain near Avenida Yaxchilán, which serves juice blends (try the ‘Crazy Yog’ or the ‘Vampiro’), a wide selection of yogurt-fruit-vegetable combinations, and brown rice, pasta, fish and chicken dishes. The onsite bakery turns out whole-wheat products, and the entire place is very nicely decorated and landscaped. Service is excellent – at times even too attentive.
reviewed
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Mañana
A good-vibe place with colorful hand-painted tables, superfriendly service and some excellent veggie options - the hummus and veggie baguette is the restaurant's signature dish - Mañana is perhaps the best lunch spot on the island. It also has coffee, licuados (blends of fruit or juice with water or milk, and sugar) and some Middle Eastern dishes. There's a book exchange, too.
reviewed
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John Gray’s Place
The sister restaurant to John Gray’s Kitchen in Puerto Morelos, it has a dark-wood bar downstairs, and the same spectacular food. Crab cakes melt on the tongue, set off by a dash of Asian vinaigrette and a few cilantro leaves. Chicken with cilantro pesto is a favorite. Norah Jones croons in the background as you polish off your glass of wine. Calle Corazón is between Calles 12 and 14.
reviewed
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Mexican Food Stalls
Inexpensive Mexican food can be found at the food stalls in the northeast corner of Parque Las Palapas, and at two good taco carts operating in the evening - one at the north edge of the Comercial Mexicana parking lot (across Avenida Tulum from the bus terminal) and the other at the southeast edge of the Plaza de Toros (Bullring) parking lot, at Avenidas Sayil and Bonampak.
reviewed
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Restaurante Bucaneros
Below the Hotel Mesón del Bucanero between Abasolo and Madero, this is a fan-cooled, mostly outdoor restaurant with a pleasing ambience and a variety of alcoholic and nonalcoholic tropical shakes and drinks. The best deal is the menú especial (set menu), which gives you a choice of several mains accompanied by soup or salad and a dessert.
reviewed
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K
Viva Cuba Libre
Its decibel levels compete with neighboring restaurants, but really, we all like Cuban son (a type of dance) more than bad disco remixes, don’t we? Apart from that, you get a well-deserved break from Mexican fare with ropa vieja (slow-cooked shredded beef), Cuban lobster and other Caribbean favorites. Viva Cuba, indeed!
reviewed
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Restaurant Río Nizuc
About as close to sea level as a restaurant can be, this breezy hole in the wall, er, wharf is at the end of a short, nameless road at the edge of a mangrove-flanked channel. Octopus, conch and fish are served in various ways - fried with garlic or ceviche (raw)- and the beer is cheap. Get there early; it closes when the fish is gone.
reviewed
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La Dolce Vita
One of Cancún’s fanciest Italian restaurants, it offers white wicker chairs and soft, romantic lighting, plus great lagoon views and attentive staff. Try the chicken with sun-dried tomatoes and finish with crêpes suzette (for two). With a bottle of red, white or rosé this could be the start or the finish of a wonderful day.
reviewed
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Salsalito Taco Shop
Far enough removed from the main strip that you won’t be sucking exhaust fumes, this palapa-thatched eatery has great fish and shrimp tacos – prepared just the way we like them with loads of cabbage and freshly chopped carrots on top. The fresh chips with just a hint of lime are the best in all of Quintana Roo.
reviewed
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El Fenicio
Come here at 11pm and you’ll feel like you’ve stepped into a Hopper painting: the yellow light, the few solitary diners hunched over a meal. The food, a selection of mainly Mexican fare, is tasty and served promptly. Flan and decent American-style coffee are a tasty way to finish the day.
reviewed
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El Rincón Yucateco
A reasonably priced Yucatecan place that's across from Hotel Cotty, serving a nice variety of favorites along with very weak 'American'-style coffee. Sopa de lima ('lime soup'; chicken soup with lime) is light: a good option for anyone nursing a stomach problem (or a hangover).
reviewed
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Carrillo’s Lobster House
Try Carrillo’s Plato Cozumel if you’re looking for something a bit special. This somewhat formal restaurant has air-con indoors and is fan-cooled outdoors, and entertainment is provided by mariachis. Follow the good smells leading to the blue building and you’ll be in the right place.
reviewed
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Q
Sunset Grill
This is a romantic spot for sunset cocktails and maybe even a beachside meal. While the menu runs the gamut from seafood to pasta, the Caribbean black grouper is especially tasty. There’s a smattering of vegetarian options on offer here, too, like crispy tofu with sautéed veggies.
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