Playa Del Carmen

[bhoward]

Looking for suggestions re: Playa Del Carmen. All suggestions welcome, especially recommendations for fine dining. Thanks.

[pete ganz]

Definitely do not miss Oasis on Quinta Avenida and 12th. Get the shrimp tacos and fresh guacamole and you will not be disappointed. The higher end places are not worth it in PDC, but that's just my opinion. You will find tons of info about PDC on this site Playa Del Carmen Info. Have a great trip!

[zora]

I was just there in May. I had pretty nice Italian at Osteria La Rucola up in the "north beach" section--north of Av Constituyentes--around C 24, maybe? Good arugula and octopus salad.

On Av 5 one block north of Constituyentes, there's a stylish little Argie cafe called Carmencita--that looked tasty, but I didn't have a chance to eat there. Hipster outside, but a really friendly down-to-earth woman in the kitchen.

Also ate at Yaxche following recommendations on this board--I did really like it, though the whole tableside flambe theater always puts me off (in fact, I saw one poor waiter totally flub it at a neighboring table--turned his back for a few seconds too long, and had to toss the scorched mess and start over). BUT what I had was good (though just now I'm blanking on what it actually was...not a good sign), and if you're interested to see high-end Yucatecan, it's a good place to start because the waiters are happy to explain everything.

There's a great breakfast/lunch place a ways north called La Cueva del Chango--by about C 36? Where the Shangri-La Caribe resort is... Groovy garden, and they roast their own coffee.

Also, if you're mobile at all (actually, there's a super-frequent bus up the highway, and then you can grab a cab into town proper), you should head up to Puerto Morelos, which has a ridiculously huge number of good restaurants for being such a tiny town. John Gray's Kitchen is quite posh (friendly American chef who helped open the Ritz-Carlton in Cancun), and he changes the menu daily--all kinds of tasty things...I remember something about duck and chipotle. Or head down to Tulum--on the main drag in town is a sophisticated (but tiny) Mexican place called Cetli, in L'Hotelito. The chef here trained at the big culinary academy in Mexico City, and she's great.

And shrimp tacos must be eaten, every chance you get. Oasis is good, and so is Floresta, out on the highway about a block north of Av Juarez (there's another Oasis out there too). Just deep-fried shrimp, mayo and some pico de gallo. Goes great with Coke. I had to drive through Playa about five times on my trip--I think I was able to work it out so it was lunchtime at Floresta four of those times.

[AzianBrewer]

Definitely do not miss Oasis on Quinta Avenida and 12th. Get the shrimp tacos and fresh guacamole and you will not be disappointed. The higher end places are not worth it in PDC, but that's just my opinion. You will find tons of info about PDC on this site Playa Del Carmen Info. Have a great trip!

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Oasis is a tourist trap. Try La Loncheria on 24th and 5th, their shrimp and fish tacos are slamming!

[AzianBrewer]

Another place for reasonable grubs on La Quinta is La Parilla. No too bad for the price but certainly not the best.

Edited October 25, 2005 by AzianBrewer (log)

[AzianBrewer]

Fish and Shrimp Tacos at La Loncheria.

12 pesos for Shrimp

10 pesos for Fish

[jscarbor]

Oasis is a tourist trap? Then you go on to rec La Parilla which is one of the top 2-3 tourist traps in Playa?

The taco's at Oasis are good and the food at la Parilla is good. Both are excellent locations.

[LarsTheo]

It's been over 20 years since I was in Playa Del Carmen, and from the website, it looks like I would not recognize the place. I remember eating at a beach restaurant that only had thatched palapas on the beach and no building for interior seating. I had pescado a la parilla, and it was extremely good, but simple. Back then it was very rustic, but still beautiful. I first went in 1978 or 1977, and QR was still just a territory instead of a state and the roads were a bit primitive. Cancun was under construction at that time and there were no open hotels there. I guess I'm overdue to go back!

[Fay Jai]

Yay! I won a contest at work, and will be spending a fun filled week in mid February in lovely Playa del Carmen. We will probably be eating the majority of our meals with the group that we will be travelling with, but we WILL have some free time. I plan to spend most of this free time stuffing my face and trying AS MUCH Mexican/Mayan food as possible.

We may also be going to Chichen Itza, Tulum, Cozumel, (maybe) and basically anywhere there is Archaeology. My wife will do the archaeology, I'll be looking for tasty morsels to eat.

I'm looking for tasty, local, preferably cheap, local, traditional, local, (ok, I'll stop,) that won't make me sick.

Taco stand? A stand in one of the Archaeological parts that has a can't miss offering? Breakfast in Playa de Carmen? The Best place to get our morning coffee? Lunch? What is something I absolutely MUST have before I leave? This may be sacrilege, but tell me the places you would tell Anthony Bourdain!

(And....do I really need to worry about the Ice in the margaritas? I'll be majorly bummed if I can't have a margarita while I am there...)

Can't wait to read your suggestions! Thanks!

~Jason

[plantdetective]

too late for your trip, but for others that might find this thread.

check out locogringo.com good site about riviera maya, including food and drink.