BeachDude
21st May 2005, 05:47 AM
During my 10 day stay at Cabanas Copal, I ate at many restaurants in the Tulum hotel zone and in the town itself. Here are some brief reviews...
Tulum Hotel Zone:
El Mirador
Beach restaurant located just south of the ruins. Ate there for lunch and had the shrimp fajitas for about 100 pesos. Food was great, but the service was kind of bad even though I was the only one there at 12 noon. Waiters were a little on the "weird" side, but I would recommend it anyways.
Cabanas Copal Restaurant
Overpriced and mediocre food with a limited menu. The "Mexican" food was not very authentic and seemed as if it was more catered to "gringo" tastes. However, both the service and fish dishes were excellent, I had the Garlic Fish filet which was great. Average cost of dinner for 1 person (with a beer and coffe) was around 200 pesos. But I would say to try it at least once.
Zahra Restaurant
A bit more of a selection with more "Mexican" dishes, but basically the same menu as Copal's and also overpriced. The beef and steak are really not that good, and the fish tacos were horrible. Again, go with the fish filets if you eat here. Service was mediocre.
Zamas
Very overpriced and mediocre food with horrible service. I sat there and the waiters ignored me, yet fawned over two young blonde women at the table next to me (as if they even had a chance, lol). They also automatically include the tip with your bill - which explains the bad service. Avoid this place! :mad:
La Perla
This was interesting, kind of a Mexican/Italian fusion. Very nice decor, ocean view, with excellent service. It was also a little overpriced, but the food was excellent! I had the Veracruz style fish filet and it was soooo good! Really great coffee too, the best in the hotel zone. Just note that they only accept cash, no credit cards. This was definitely my favorite.
Highly recommended! :)
Tulum Town:
The town is the best place to eat, come here instead of the hotel zone! Even with the round-trip cab far, you will still save money and get better food! There are many restaurants to choose from here... But my suggestion is to walk around and find a place with a mix of BOTH locals and tourists eating there. If you see a place with only tourists, then most likely the food is "gringo'ed down" - and a place with only locals might have a menu that you're not familiar with - just my advice. ;)
El Mariachi
Ok, so much for being adventureous, but the food was so excellent, I ate here FOUR times, lol. Very inexpensive prices and great service. A good dinner with generous portions with a beer and a coffee was only 85 pesos (about $8.00 US)! I ate there twice for lunch and both times had the fish tacos and the shrimp tacos. It was soooo good!
For dinner, I had the mixed fajitas (steak and chicken) one night which was excellent. The other night, I had one of their specialties which was recommended by the waiter and was called something like "Alambre" I believe. This was a grilled mix of peppers, onions, ham, bacon, steak, and melted cheese which was covered with small corn tortillas. It was really good!! They also have a "salsa bar" which has about 4 different types of salsa along with raw onions, rice, tomatoes, and peppers. I think it was some of the best Mexican food I've ever had in my life! Highly recommended! :)
Tulum Hotel Zone:
El Mirador
Beach restaurant located just south of the ruins. Ate there for lunch and had the shrimp fajitas for about 100 pesos. Food was great, but the service was kind of bad even though I was the only one there at 12 noon. Waiters were a little on the "weird" side, but I would recommend it anyways.
Cabanas Copal Restaurant
Overpriced and mediocre food with a limited menu. The "Mexican" food was not very authentic and seemed as if it was more catered to "gringo" tastes. However, both the service and fish dishes were excellent, I had the Garlic Fish filet which was great. Average cost of dinner for 1 person (with a beer and coffe) was around 200 pesos. But I would say to try it at least once.
Zahra Restaurant
A bit more of a selection with more "Mexican" dishes, but basically the same menu as Copal's and also overpriced. The beef and steak are really not that good, and the fish tacos were horrible. Again, go with the fish filets if you eat here. Service was mediocre.
Zamas
Very overpriced and mediocre food with horrible service. I sat there and the waiters ignored me, yet fawned over two young blonde women at the table next to me (as if they even had a chance, lol). They also automatically include the tip with your bill - which explains the bad service. Avoid this place! :mad:
La Perla
This was interesting, kind of a Mexican/Italian fusion. Very nice decor, ocean view, with excellent service. It was also a little overpriced, but the food was excellent! I had the Veracruz style fish filet and it was soooo good! Really great coffee too, the best in the hotel zone. Just note that they only accept cash, no credit cards. This was definitely my favorite.
Highly recommended! :)
Tulum Town:
The town is the best place to eat, come here instead of the hotel zone! Even with the round-trip cab far, you will still save money and get better food! There are many restaurants to choose from here... But my suggestion is to walk around and find a place with a mix of BOTH locals and tourists eating there. If you see a place with only tourists, then most likely the food is "gringo'ed down" - and a place with only locals might have a menu that you're not familiar with - just my advice. ;)
El Mariachi
Ok, so much for being adventureous, but the food was so excellent, I ate here FOUR times, lol. Very inexpensive prices and great service. A good dinner with generous portions with a beer and a coffee was only 85 pesos (about $8.00 US)! I ate there twice for lunch and both times had the fish tacos and the shrimp tacos. It was soooo good!
For dinner, I had the mixed fajitas (steak and chicken) one night which was excellent. The other night, I had one of their specialties which was recommended by the waiter and was called something like "Alambre" I believe. This was a grilled mix of peppers, onions, ham, bacon, steak, and melted cheese which was covered with small corn tortillas. It was really good!! They also have a "salsa bar" which has about 4 different types of salsa along with raw onions, rice, tomatoes, and peppers. I think it was some of the best Mexican food I've ever had in my life! Highly recommended! :)