Where To Eat

Here are the best places to find outdoor grilling, street food, Mexican and Yucatan cuisine, and even a little bit of old Tulum.

Posada Margherita. This intimate, open-walled Italian restaurant forgoes menus and sticks with a consistent rotation of house-made pastas and two or three dishes built around fish caught that day. Each meal begins with an antipasto platter that includes bruschetta, focaccia, and cauliflower. The candlelit dining area, which has wooden tables and tile flooring that meets the white sand of the beach, can get crowded, especially at night, but the open walls and high thatched ceiling compensate for that. Décor includes modern takes on indigenous artwork, including wide-eyed ritual masks. The wine list includes a selection of Chianti and South American offerings. And make sure to bring cash, as the restaurant doesn’t accept credit cards.

Hartwood. Reservations at Tulum’s most famous restaurant are an absolute must. Even in low season, the restaurant is packed as soon as it opens, at 6 p.m. Start with one of their delightful house drinks, like the Supernova, with mezcal, hibiscus, and mandarin orange, or the Spicy Piña Habanero margarita, for those who like their drinks with a kick. The restaurant is completely outdoors (bring bug spray) and lit mostly with candles. The entire menu is written on a chalkboard, split into appetizers and entrées. The menu is seafood-heavy, as is expected in Tulum, with options like amberjack, snapper, and robalo. But don’t overlook the amazing pork that the kitchen turns out, like ribs, slow-cooked for 14 hours and glazed with agave and honey. If the papaya empanadas are on the menu, they’re a must-order as they show the versatility of this amazing fruit. At Hartwood, they’re mixed with Oaxacan cheese, wrapped in dough, fried, and served over a fruit salad of pineapple, watermelon, and more papaya. The roasted beets are another highlight—tender enough to be pierced by a fork, and proof that the often-overlooked beet skin can be absolutely delicious. The service is great, too—there’s no question why this cash-only restaurant continues to shine and why lines stretch out the door every single day.

Cetli. Inspired by the gastronomy of her home state of Puebla, chef Claudia Perez Rivas prepares moles and other regional dishes in an older style of Mexican haute cuisine that’s a rare treat these days. Her seasonal Pueblan classic, chiles en nogada, is perfectly balanced between savory meat, fruity picadillo, roasted poblano, and silky white walnut sauce. Local fish is plated similarly, but with a white mole thickened by almonds, and Perez prepares several moles with rolled chicken breast stuffed with local chaya as well. Enjoy all of it surrounded by the Mexican folk art that covers the white adobe walls and be sure to get some of the signature mole pastes to take back home.

Aca Tacos de Canasta. Among the street vendors on Avenida Satélite, look for a bright yellow banner, tan beach umbrella, and pair of bamboo tiki bars that serve as a taco stand. That’s where you’ll find the perfect midmorning snack: tacos de canasta (steamed tacos) filled with scrambled eggs with the spinachlike chaya, red mole with chicken, or chicharron prensado (intense pork marinated in adobo). As they steam, the tortillas absorb the flavors and colors of the fillings until they give off a sweaty, oily glow. Order five and a fresh squeezed juice to fuel up for shopping in downtown Tulum.

Taqueria Honorio. This trendy street stand became Tulum’s destination taqueria and a viral sensation during chef Rene Redzepi’s residency at Noma Mexico in 2017, when visiting foodies from the U.S. spilled over into Taqueria Honorio, filling Instagram with mouthwatering posts of Yucatán-style tortas de lechón (suckling pig), tacos de cochinita pibil (roasted marinated pork), and relleno negro de pavo (marinated turkey). These dishes offer a masterclass in recaudos of Maya cuisine: the acidic recado rojo on the cochinita pibil, the charred and smoky recado negro for the relleno negro, and the all-purpose spice blend, or recaudo blanco, that scents the slow roasted suckling pig. Join the crowd at this trendy street food stand and snack on the essential flavors and colors of the Yucatán.

La Hoja Verde. Tulum has long attracted the healthy-living crowd. This popular town is one of the easiest places in Mexico to be vegetarian or vegan and this cozy restaurant is proof of it. Located in the heart of Tulum Pueblo, offers all the vegetarian and vegan favorites, from juicy mushroom burgers to spicy soy tacos. For breakfast, start the day right with the banana pancakes and one of La Hoja Verde’s super smoothies. With an extensive drinks menu, there are lots of smoothie and juice combinations to choose from. Try the alegria, which is Spanish for ‘joy’ and is a refreshing mix of mango, coconut milk, amaranth and walnut.

Campanella Cremerie. With delicious gelato, high-quality coffee made with beans from Veracruz, and waffles, Tulum’s most inviting cafe is a crowd favorite any time of day. There’s a juice bar and paninis for lunch, double espresso to pick you up in the afternoon before another fun-filled evening of food and drink, and sweet gelato to end an evening after dinner and a stroll. With seasonal flavors like Argentine caramel, lemon pie with toasted coconut, and Sicilian pistachio, there’s something for every palate, and it’s all better as an affogato.

Encanto Cantina. Grab a seat in the enchanting backyard garden of this downtown bar for a serious dive into the universe of Mexican spirits: mezcal, raicilla, sotol made from dasylirion wheeleri, and pox, a Mayan corn distillate from Chiapas. The menu has plenty of tacos, ceviches, and botanas to nosh on, while you sip refreshing agave cocktails, like one that combines pox and licor de damiana (or a bright, tangy gin tonic, if you prefer). Be sure to try a flight of mezcal or, better yet, multiple Mexican spirits.

Sabor de Mar. For a taste of Mexican seafood in Tulum you can count on this Sinaloa-style mariscos restaurant downtown. The menu includes aguachiles, tostadas mixtas covered in fresh fish and seafood, and the latest trend in Sinaloa (and LA): several kinds of torres de mariscos (Mexican seafood towers). The towers come decoratively stacked with layers of avocado fans, diced vegetables, and seafood drowned in rich sauces and lime juice. The Escuinapense tower, for example, is loaded with dry shrimp from the town of Escuinapa, Sinaloa, while the Mazatleca comes with aguachile, raw tuna, and cooked shrimp.

Gitano. The vibe is the allure at this swank jungle getaway with an old-world feel that merges 17th century Mexican architecture, candlelit dinners, and overgrown palm trees and vines. The food is a blend of Meditteranean mezze, Mexican American tacos, and appetizers like quesadillas cut into acute triangles like the ones at American chain restaurants. Order a smoky, citrusy Gitano Swizzle or any of the delicious tropical mezcal cocktails, and snack away in this irresistibly hip setting.

Rosa Negra. If a clubby rainforest patio sounds like your kind of scene, head to Rosanegra, a wealthy playpen billed as a tribute to Latin America (that’s such a hit with chilangos that they opened one in Mexico City’s upscale Polanco neighborhood). Soft light emanates from hanging bamboo coche lampshades, as beautiful patrons wave sparklers and dine on ceviche served in terrariums, A5 wagyu tacos with excessively sauce-dotted plates, and giant churro hoops shooting out of martini glasses. Order the millionaire, a surf-and-turf combo of a Hyogo Prefecture 8-ounce New York Kobe cut, paired with lobster tail imported from the Mediterranean or a Nigerian U2 Tiger Shrimp. You’ve booked a Sea Villa at Azulik. You can afford it.

Arca. With its campsite kitchen and cozy, evening-picnic atmosphere, Arca should be at the top of your list for its artful, microseasonal cuisine, complete with ingredients that taste as if they were picked just beyond the fan palms surrounding the outdoor space. It’s the flagship restaurant of Mexican-American chef Jose Luis Hinostroza, whose resume includes Alinea, El Celler de Can Roca, De Kromme Watergang, and Noma. Crispy, spinachlike chaya enhances the grassy flavors of grilled avocado and buffets soft-shell crab in amaranth tempura. Don’t miss Hinostroza’s grilled octopus in recaudo negro marinade, which has become part of the Tulum canon.

Looking for Vegetarian or Vegan options?

La Hoja Verde: Tulum has long attracted the healthy-living crowd. This popular town is one of the easiest places in Mexico to be vegetarian or vegan and this cozy restaurant is proof of it. Located in the heart of Tulum Pueblo, offers all the vegetarian and vegan favorites, from juicy mushroom burgers to spicy soy tacos. For breakfast, start the day right with the banana pancakes and one of La Hoja Verde super smoothies. With an extensive drinks menu, there are lots of smoothie and juice combinations to choose from. Try the alegria, which is Spanish for ‘joy’ and is a refreshing mix of mango, coconut milk, amaranth and walnut.

Holistika: Go for breakfast to get the French Toast and the Chia seeds bowl. This place is an oasis inside Tulum Pueblo, the restaurant is an open one where you feel inside nature. Once you finish your breakfast take a time to get around and let yourself be amazed by this beautiful place.

The Real Coconut: The Real Coconut, on the beaches of Tulum, by founder Daniella Hunter.  Daniella’s deep care of herself, and the choices she made to support her own health, allowed her to turn the traditional restaurant model upside down.  Daniella’s commitment to a menu free of gluten, grain, dairy, and refined sugar, coupled with a no compromise commitment to only cook with avocado oil, and defining a plant-focused menu featuring small amounts of impeccably sourced animal protein, is the core of what the Real Coconut represents today.

The Real Coconut brand has now expanded from its flagship location in Tulum, Mexico, with a full restaurant in Malibu, California, and the opportunity to deliver many of the Real Coconut’s menu staples, to the Los Angeles community, and beyond, through the Real Coconut Market.

Matcha Mama: They have the best Smoothie Bowls in town, so head up if you are thirsty for some mamas love. they are a Matcha bar with a fun and tropical personality that serves goodness in Tulum, Mexico since 2017.

All of their products are plant based and gluten free. The products they serve are fresh, healthy and made with love.