Where is the best destination for food NEAR Cancun?

I have tickets to Cancun for this winter. I don't want to stay IN Cancun or Playa del Carmen. I am looking for a destination that's an easy drive/boat commute from the Cancun airport (less than 2-3 hours). I've read through previous posts. Tulum and Isla Mujeres are on the list, as is Isla Holbox (lower though, it's a little far and I haven't found enough evidence that the food is good there). We are looking to go some place a little off the beaten path, not TOO touristy with good food options. Any ideas?

There are two Cancun's: the hotel zone populated, primarily, by visitors from the USA . . . and then there is the Cancun town, centro, where people who live/work in the area shop, eat, find hotels, etc. Cancun has drawn hotel industry workers from throughout the country and though I don't have a specific recommendation for you I think if you wander the centro area of the city - away from the hotel zone - you'll find places where the "locals" eat, and if this were my trip that's the area I'd head for. I haven't heard one good thing about Tulum - other than the archaeological site (which would probably be largely ignored if it were not for the location by the water) - that would tempt me to visit. Sometimes, there can be good, local information posted to the Trip Advisor Cancun travel forum, so you might want to check there and/or cross-post your question to the forum.

I've been to cancun, there are a number of simple places around town that are great. don't ask anybody for a recomendation, they will all suggest that you go to a theme resteraunt in town.

take a taxi around town, the whole town isn't very big. you'll see the places that you want to eat in.

Tulum can be fantastic... the food in the puebla is very good (Pollo Branco, Taqueria Diaz) and there is a phenomenal fine dining joint right on the coast, Hechizo. One of the highlights on the beach near all the cabanas is Mayan Grill (aka Nachos). Really laid-back area, great beaches, much more relaxed and welcoming than cancun.

Thanks for all the advice. I think we are leaning towards Tulum. I know there are places to get great food in Cancun, but we want this to be a low-key beach vacation (i.e. no cruise ships) and that is harder in Cancun. We will have a car though, so we will probably hit Cancun for food a few times.

We've stayed in Akumal, which is about 70 minutes away from Cancun on the way to Tulum. There are a handful of restaurants in the Akumal area, my favorite being the counter at the grocery. I know there was a whole other world across the highway, but we didn't venture there that trip.

I've stayed in Playa Del Carmen at Don Julio's on the strip on the cheap and just wandered. Decent food, but touristy. I've stayed in Akumal near Tulum. Gran Bahia Principe for a wedding. I don't know, I really think trying to seek out places outside of the touristy areas isn't worth it IMO. We went to the actual Tulum ruins and there's just nothing out there in places other than tourist areas. I know it's not "foodie elite" to say that, but I really feel it's true. Most of Mexico is pretty desolate other than where the tourists are spending money.

Chitown B wrote:Most of Mexico is pretty desolate other than where the tourists are spending money.

I haven't found that to be the case at all on numerous trips to Mexico. But, I guess it depends on what you're looking for and where you've been. Definitely parts of the USA that people might think are 'desolate' if you didn't know what to look for. I just haven't spent a ton of time on the Riviera Maya. I think the plan, at this point, is stay in Tulum with a rental car and make several day trips (Akumal will be one, prob Chichen Itza another).

I'm sure that's true too.

I've heard Chichen Itza is hours away from anything in the middle of nowhere. I wouldn't expect to find much out there food wise.

Actually, I have some good tips on restaurants between Tulum and Chichen Itza. Apparently the town of Valladolid has a terrific restaurant that features Yucatan specialties. I'll report back after my trip (not for a few months)

Chitown B wrote:Most of Mexico is pretty desolate other than where the tourists are spending money.

I've found the opposite to be true: the places I've liked the best are the places that offer food prepared by and for the local residents, areas that are usually (but not always) found away from the touristy cities/towns/areas. "desolate" isn't a word I'd use to describe the food scene - but I recognize most of us don't share the same likes/dislikes. If you can communicate in Spanish, the possibilities are almost limitless.



Some of my photos of Mexico: http://tinyurl.com/7tt2s

great pics!

I can communicate in Spanish decently. I guess I just never saw anything worth checking out on our trips through other areas.

Sometimes places worth spending time to get to and check-out are reasonably well-known fixed spots (buildings) and easy to locate, but some of my most memorable meals have been in the kitchen of women who fix lunch only for people in their colonias which you stumble upon when wandering through a town, or at a roadside BBQ set-up for the day to feed construction or other workers, or one of the fondas inside local market buildings, or at a town's weekly tianguis at a table next to a pot of pozole someone's prepared at home and brought to sell to market-goers, at some of the night-time taco and torta stands that spring-up all over the country for a few hours a day, at the desolate beachfront enramada restaurants families operate at which you may be the only person eating and where someone goes out into the water to catch your meal, etc. Oftentimes, the opportunities are so close we could trip over them - and we'd find them more easily if we were only paying attention to our surroundings . . . instead of worrying about where we were going next!

That's awesome Bill. But you're much more adventurous than me. For the most part rural Mexico somewhat frightens me, especially with the recent killings. Personally I stick to "safe" areas - I guess that's just me.

Amazing pics Bill, thanks for posting the address. Veracruz is on my destination list, so I particularly enjoyed those albums.

I have gone to Isla Mujeres for two years and I think the food there was excellent. There is not a chain type place to be seen. In this area, don't go without the Map Chick Maps or the Can-Do maps. These contain mini reviews of the dining establishments.

I just booked my third consecutive vacation to Isla Mujeres. I love both the laid back nature of the island and the 70+ restaurants that are available on the small item.

I did a post on eating my way through Isla Mujeres last fall.

viewtopic.php?f=15&t=21639&p=226059&hilit=isla+mujeres#p226059

Just last Sunday morning, I woke up wishing I was in Isla Mujeres so that I could go to the village's carnicierias on a Sunday morning for the wonderful conchinita pibil that is served and sells out early each week.

Its a wonderful, simple, inexpensive and interesting excursion for the culinarian.

I'll be there again in January.

We just booked a room in Tulum (on the beach). But I think we will take some day trips. I really want to go to Merida (ambitious, I know) and Isla Mujeres for a day and maybe spend 1-2 days in Akumal, but I was made to promise I wouldn't plan an overly ambitious itinerary (which I've been known to do). We will have a car so I think Isla and Akumal are very doable. YPW--loved your Isla Mujeres post (that was actually a big motivator for putting Isla on the list).

Coba is also a reasonable day-trip w/ a car (we took the bus, also easy)... There is the Sian-Kan (spelling?) right next to Tulum as well for the nature side of things w/ Cenotes etc...

Tulum Food Thread

I love Merida and if you have a car, you could drive to Chichen Itza and stay overnight so that you can visit the ruins in the morning before the tourist busses arrive. Then drive to Merida in the afternoon.

I did this trip by bus from Cancun and had the driver drop us off at the Hotel Delores Alba. We had no reservations and at the time (1990) the hotel had no phone. Then we took the bus from Chichen to Merida and stayed in the Delores Alba Merida. We found a lot of great places to eat by just wandering around the streets and sitting in the squares.

In "real" Cancun, vs. tourist Cancun, there are some great restaurants, including the legendary La Habichuela and, nearby (and with the same owners) Labná, which focuses entirely on traditional Yucatecan/Mayan cuisine.

I actually found a private guide who picked a friend and me up in Cancun and drove us across the peninsula. We visited Chichen Itza, spent the night in Vallodalid (famous for its sausage), visited Celestun Bioreserve (where all the flamingos winter), toured a sisal plantation and climbed down into cenotes, deep caves with underground lakes and rivers, and ended up in Merida, where we spent a few more days, exploring. (So I agree with Diannie that it's a good destination.) If you go to Merida, definitely dine at Restaurant Los Almendros -- the place locals will send you for authentic Yucatecan (which is not much like other Mexican food). The service was wonderful, especially when they discovered that I was really interested in the local specialties. Must tries of the local specialties include stuffed cheese and venison soup, plus salbutes, panuchos and papadzules, cochinita pibil, and poc chuc.

Because few Americans visit Merida, even the breakfast buffet in the hotel was a thing of beauty.

I'd recommend a bit of a wander about the Yucatan, if you can manage it.

Cynthia wrote:Because few Americans visit Merida, even the breakfast buffet in the hotel was a thing of beauty.

Merida has become much more popular with North American tourists in recent years, and there's also a sizeable population of people from the USA who live there and in the adjacent communities now (some "informed" sources claim as many as 10,000 - though I think that projection is a bit high). I like Merida and it's a "do not miss" destination for people visiting the Yucatan, IMO. Valladolid, also, can be enjoyable.

If you're considering going through Akumal;, theis website provides a lot of insight to the general area, including PDC and Tulum. There are a lot of different places to eat in Akumal but I've not been there for a couple years so I'll not comment on my experiences. When we do go to that side of Mexico, we generally stay at an all inclusive in Akumal and wander around. We tend to hit the Pacific side of Mexico now.

http://www.bill-in-tulsa.com/phpBB2_Bill_in_Tulsa_10-9-05/index.php

You may have to register to post but I think you can read without registration.

There are two restaurants by the same guy--John called John Gray's Kitchen and John's Place. He's a former chef that traveled internationally opening restaurants for Ritz Carlton, then settled down in the area to start a restaurant. the food is upscale using local ingredients, but it's not over the top and not expensive. John Gray's Kitchen is in Puerto Morelos, and the other Playa. I've been to the one in Puerto Morelos (and closed out shop with him debating life stories). it was he who introduced us to the after dinner Xtabentún ... puerto morelos is a cool little town worth visiting either way, it's a good reason to visit! it's halfway between playa and cancun, but it seems tourists skip right over it. i think people go to the area specifically to find this restaurant, though, there are signs off the main road pointing the direction (though it's easy to find either way)

Chitown B wrote: Most of Mexico is pretty desolate other than where the tourists are spending money.

Ever been to Veracruz? Xalapa? Mexico City? Morelia? Guadalajara? Saltillo? Guanajuato? That's one of the silliest things I ever heard. You can eat your way from one end of that country to the other and find great food/people/places to see everywhere. Well, the border towns generally ain't that nice, but still.

trpt2345 wrote:

Chitown B wrote: Most of Mexico is pretty desolate other than where the tourists are spending money.

Ever been to Veracruz? Xalapa? Mexico City? Morelia? Guadalajara? Saltillo? Guanajuato? That's one of the silliest things I ever heard. You can eat your way from one end of that country to the other and find great food/people/places to see everywhere. Well, the border towns generally ain't that nice, but still.

you think those places aren't touristy? If I've even heard of them, which I have, that means people visit there.

Chitown B wrote:

trpt2345 wrote:

Chitown B wrote: Most of Mexico is pretty desolate other than where the tourists are spending money.

Ever been to Veracruz? Xalapa? Mexico City? Morelia? Guadalajara? Saltillo? Guanajuato? That's one of the silliest things I ever heard. You can eat your way from one end of that country to the other and find great food/people/places to see everywhere. Well, the border towns generally ain't that nice, but still.

you think those places aren't touristy? If I've even heard of them, which I have, that means people visit there.

Yeah, man, Darfur is really touristy.

gleam wrote:

Chitown B wrote:

trpt2345 wrote:Ever been to Veracruz? Xalapa? Mexico City? Morelia? Guadalajara? Saltillo? Guanajuato? That's one of the silliest things I ever heard. You can eat your way from one end of that country to the other and find great food/people/places to see everywhere. Well, the border towns generally ain't that nice, but still.

you think those places aren't touristy? If I've even heard of them, which I have, that means people visit there.

Yeah, man, Darfur is really touristy.

I didn't see Darfur on the list. Hmmm.....

whatever, i'm out of this thread. tired of arguing.

Chitown B wrote:

trpt2345 wrote:

Chitown B wrote: Most of Mexico is pretty desolate other than where the tourists are spending money.

Ever been to Veracruz? Xalapa? Mexico City? Morelia? Guadalajara? Saltillo? Guanajuato? That's one of the silliest things I ever heard. You can eat your way from one end of that country to the other and find great food/people/places to see everywhere. Well, the border towns generally ain't that nice, but still.

you think those places aren't touristy? If I've even heard of them, which I have, that means people visit there.

The only American I ever ran into in Veracruz was curiously enough Rick Bayless. Mexico City is certainly extremely cosmopolitan but not a place most Americans go for vacation, more often business. I never met an American in in Xalapa except for one expat who's married to a Mexican and has lived there thirty years. It's a college town, quite pretty and cultured. No tourists to speak of. You can hear about a lot of places that you've never been to but it hardly qualifies as knowledge. I stick by my original statement that "Most of Mexico is pretty desolate other than where the tourists are spending money" is one of the silliest statements I have ever heard.