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Ah Carbon!

4.5 (168 reviews)
InexpensiveMexican
Closed 2:00 pm - 9:00 PM

Ah Carbon! Photos

AH CARBON! ATMOSPHERE

What's the vibe?
Casual
Quiet
Good for kids
Good for groups

Recommended Reviews - Ah Carbon!

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Reviews With Photos

Tacos al Pastor
Jack M.

Scored these as an excellent Rappi deal. The corn tortillas is soft and chewy. The meat was generous in portion and had a strong smokey flavor. The red sauce was a complex adobo that paired exceptionally well with the grilled pineapple. I was quite impressed with these and count them amongst the better tacos of PDC.

Rian T.

The flank steak tacos are so good. The timing took no time at all, we order and it's here. It has a lot of bright colors and great scenery, it has a nice cozy feel to the place. Great staff!

Mi hermano
Colin M.

Holy smokes, what great tacos! This might be the best deal on 5th avenue. My brother and I were trying all sorts of places along this strip and think we've found the best one. Great food and great prices, can't wait to come back.

Michael U.

Although there are an abundance of Taquerias and Street Vendors in Playa del Carmen few are so well regarded as Ah Carbon!, a shaded open air shop at Calle 22 Norte just a few blocks from the beach. Family friendly with credit cards accepted, the open grill hissing as Al Pastor spins adjacent fire, it is from a concise menu that guests are invited to make choices, a duo of housemade Salsas arriving first to spice things up alongside Limes and chopped Jicama. Known for grilled Meats, Al Pastor on warm Tortillas with a slice of Pineapple arguably the best in Quintana Roo, fans of Chorizo should also take notice as Ah Carbon! serves a superlative version with plenty of heat and porky sapor beneath a pile of fresh Tortillas for just 115 pesos.

Parrillada Especial!
Elizabeth C.

Great spot across the street from the most annoying bar on the avenida (Senor Frogs). Reminds me a bit of Squid Row in Cabo. Try to block them out while you indulge in Playa's food scene. Back to Ah Carbon! Al Pastor is not to be missed, nopales, baked potato, beans, and grilled onions accompany fantastic grilled meats. Simple and flavorful fare. Margarita is on point.

Cynthia S.

Such an enjoyable meal with good service and price. We ate here twice since the value is so good. The pastor is decent and the kiddos noshed nicely on the baked potato. Recommend.

Chorizo tacos
Jake D.

Ok, you have to take this 5 with a small grain of salt... It's right off 5th, heart of tourist central. BUT I just had a pile of chorizo, fresh tortillas, some really nice salsa verde, cilantro and onion and 2 Pacifico's for about $10 US. I'm coming back for the al pastor tomorrow. If you want cheap tasty eats, and prompt friendly service, it's a 5. Let's keep this simple.

Thought I would put a little better photo of the menu the other was on a slant and I couldn't see the top.  Taken 2/16/22
Vince B.

Great meal, I had the chicken tacos which come with 5 small corn tacos. I'm a hungry guy and I felt content. Their hot sauces can really put fire in the bowl.

Bistec tacos

Great food, even for being touristy. Tacos were delicious, kid friendly. A little pricey. BEST salsa we had in Playa.

Guacamole

Such amazing food right in downtown playa del Carmen. Had such a delicious meal and service was amazing, everyone was very nice!

Basil M.

The volcano tacos were awesome. Crispy, melted cheese, meat. Very tasty once you put a little hot sauce on it. The steak tacos were ok. They were kinda plain. Most street style tacos I've had in the past usually have a little onion and cilantro as well. I've had better back home honestly. The guacamole need salt.

Tacos
Seyitbek U.

Worst tacos in the world! Don't come here. Reviews must be fake or ownership changed. If you want to taste bad tacos then you can come here. Even in Isa tacos are better.

Volcano tacos that we got too excited about to take a pic before eating.

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1 year ago

Great food and service!! We had lots of tacos that were delicious. The michelada was also great.

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4 years ago

Cold beer and great tacos! Try the chorizo and pastor tacos! Very small but she works hard! Worth the visit!!

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4 years ago

Simple but great food. Some of the best steak nachos we've had. The chicken tacos and enchiladas were also amazing

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4 years ago

This place was tiny but great!!! We had different types of little street tacos and their sauces were out of this world.

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9 years ago

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Page 1 of 5

Ah Carbon! Reviews in Other Languages

Review Highlights - Ah Carbon!

We were so hungry we forgot to take a picture There was a sign for a special so we decided to give Ah Carbon a try.

Mentioned in 12 reviews

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Axiote - Course 5 of tasting menu - beef tongue

Axiote

4.4(280 reviews)
0.4 kmGonzalo Guerrero
$$

Great experience last Friday night at this Michinlin Bib restaurant. So glad I stopped by this…read moreplace is bomb and super not pretentious! Wish I got the tasting menu but I opted for 3 of the specialties instead and they were delicious... Tasting menu is best value tho! I got the raw trout sashimi thing and it was by far the best plate of the meal (first dish/appetizer) , then got the shrimp flautas (good not amazing) then I got the trout loin for the entree (good not amazing) Skinny marg was perfect and so was the waitress! Would recommend and go back but like I said I would for sure do with the 6 or 8 course tasting menu!

Okay, where do I start…read more I made a reservation about a month before our trip, they were already pretty booked so I made a 4:45pm. I somehow missed that the coursed meal doesn't start until 6...and we didn't realize until same day. They couldn't rebook us until 9PM but told us to swing by early to see if they could get us in AND THEY DID. It was a Christmas miracle. And I'm glad they did because the whole experience was about 2.5 hours from start to finish. The place isn't very big, but is beautiful inside. They have an awesome bar and and open kitchen so you can see everything. It's a really neat place. We were seated pretty quick once they got the table cleaned, and then were greeted by our waitress. When we told her we were there for the 8 course meal, they switched waiters on us, and then the upselling started. Right off the bat they tried to talk us into a cocktail...when we were doing a pairing with our meal. It took them a little time to get the meal going, and then between courses was a little hit or miss. Sometimes it was free flowing and sometimes it took 10-15 minutes to get our next dish. The food. We were a little nervous we would leave still a little hungry but I assure you, you will not. For ~$100USD each, you get so much food, and a drink with every course. It was fantastic and so worth it. Here were the courses and pairings (that I can remember lol): 1. We started with the dips - a bean dip with cheese sauce and guacamole with crickets. Very classic, very well done. The crickets added a nice, nutty flavor. I was a huge fan of the beans with their blue corn tostadas, so much flavor. They also had a third dip that was pumpkin seed based, it was good but not as memorable. Their hot sauces came out with this course. It was paired with a house mezcal (with salts, cucumber, and orange) that was incredible and smooth. 2. Shrimp ceviche which was super refreshing and flavorful. They paired this with sparkling wine. 3. Sea bass with a cream sauce and grapefruit. I'm not a huge fishy flavor person - my first bite had all three compnents and I thought it was delicious. My husband just had fish as his first bite and thought it a little fishy, but once we added everything else he agreed it was great. Three small pieces, so it was a nice course. Paired with a sauv blanc. 4. Roasted tomatoes in a mole sauce. A nice veggie course. I thought they were cooked well, nothing super fancy. Paired with a Chardonnay. 5. Cooked shrimp with potatoes. My husband called this a "filler" course - there wasn't much to it. The sauce had some greens in it but it was just something light and easy to serve. Can't remember the pairing here. 6. THE CARROTS. MY FAV THING. OMG. Literally so fresh, the perfect texture, and the sauces. I could have eated a whole bowl with this one. Paired it with a red blend. 7. Cow tongue. I forgot a photo. I was starting to get drunk, I'm sorry. Paired with a red wine. This was tender, the sauce was delicious. If you're not used to beef tongue, please don't let it scare you. It was amazing. 8. Dessert. Also amazing. I think it was paired with a sweet red but....a little drunk here...we got a cheesecake which was more on the savory side, super unique, and so delicious. I was a huge fan. We also got a passion fruit custard and I'm a SUCKER for passion fruit. This was phenomenal. The food was INCREDIBLE. And such an amazing experience. And now the loss of a star. I hit on the service a little, but there was also some upselling which we don't love, especially at what is supposed to be michelin recognized. We often try Michelin recognized when we travel and the upselling was unexpected, I undertsand the culture down here, but still. ALSO we LOVED the house mezcal so much we asked for another shot ($280 pesos/shot). When we got the bill, the waiter upcharged to one of the most expensive mezcals on their menu ($520 pesos/shot) and refused to change it. We spent $60 on two shots after paying for our 8-course meal. It honestly was SUCH a dissapointing end to our meal and felt so icky. Be very careful with the service here.

Photos
Axiote - Inside

Inside

Axiote - Mezcal tasting pairing

Mezcal tasting pairing

Axiote - Tomate - mezcal, cucumber, parsley, tomatillo, worm salt

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Tomate - mezcal, cucumber, parsley, tomatillo, worm salt

La Perla Pixan & La Carbonería - CRICKETS, don't hesitate!!

La Perla Pixan & La Carbonería

4.3(184 reviews)
0.6 kmGonzalo Guerrero
$$

This place is amazing from the food to the staff! We came in with our 2 year old who was asleep…read morethey accommodated her and my wife to make her comfortable while she slept and the service was above and beyond and the food was the best food I have eaten while here definitely recommend!

We were wanting a "smaller" lunch and I had read that this place was awesome, so we decided to give…read moreit a try. It helped that it was pouring rain and most of the restaurant was under cover, unlike a lot of spots, so it was perfect. We were seated quickly and helped shortly after. Service was...interesting. Felt like we had the hardest experience with communication here, which is fine, as Americans that is our fault. Things like they have a porn star martini ( my fav) as a mocktail so I asked if it was possible to add a shot of vodka. They initially recommended the espresso martini which I did not want so I was just opting for water and he pushed the original option on me then charged be $20 for it, which was insane. They also pushed sales hard here, it felt a little off...like we just wanted to enjoy a meal and at the end we're hounded to try their mezcals. BUT food came quick and effeciently so no major complaints there, just be aware. As for the food, it was incredible. Again with the communication, we pointed and asked for the beet carpaccio....they brought out beef carpaccio WHICH thankfully we both eat meat because honestly, it was freaking incredible. We didn't even say anything about the mix up because it was a highlight. They brought it out under a glass smoker, it had a cream sauce, and rosemary, lime, cheese, it was just perfect. We also had the corn which was super unique, the tuna appetizer which had SO MUCH FLAVOR, and the fundito which was on par with everywhere else in the area. It ended up being more food than we planned but it was incredible in flavor, whoever the cook is does a great job of marrying flavors because it was an incredible meal. Be ready for the communication gap, but know you won't eat anything bad here.

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La Perla Pixan & La Carbonería
La Perla Pixan & La Carbonería - HUAUZONTLE WEATHERED

HUAUZONTLE WEATHERED

La Perla Pixan & La Carbonería - Dulce de leche

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Dulce de leche

Porfirio's Playa del Carmen - 2 big steaks

Porfirio's Playa del Carmen

4.1(221 reviews)
0.5 kmCentro

Saw this had great OpenTable reviews but didn't want to commit to a reservation, so we checked it…read moreout while exploring. We were also considering a steakhouse nearby...but when in Mexico, right? Glad we did--this ended up being the best meal we had all week (even compared to our resort). Food: great. Service: standout. Amii and Santi were the perfect balance--attentive without hovering, quick, and clearly in sync. They made everything easy. Highlights: - Hot stone seared New York strip -- fun, interactive, and really flavorful - Street-style al pastor for two -- fall-off-the-bone and worth it - Marinades + salsas were so good we asked for more - Drinks were a surprise win--especially the curated cocktails We walked in, but I'd recommend a reservation for busy season, we didn't have to wait but they had a lot of patrons in comparison. The vibe was awesome - from the modern cantina style to the liver performers that weren't cheesy and 1000% on point. We stayed all week at a private resort, if it were closer, we'd have gone back again. Would absolutely recommend

We came here for my birthday dinner, and it was such a fun spot to celebrate. Honestly, we were…read moreexpecting it to be a lot more expensive based on the vibe and presentation but it was surprisingly affordable for what you get. We ordered the steak (medium) because that's always our go-to and it was really good. Cooked properly with a nice sear on the outside and still juicy inside. Solid, reliable choice. We also tried the charred octopus, and this one was a bit of a miss for us. It leaned more on the soft side and felt slightly overcooked. We were hoping for more of that tender-with-a-slight-char texture contrast. You can never go wrong with French fries crispy, well-seasoned, and perfect for the table. For dessert, we got the chocolate cake, and wow !! the slice was huge. Definitely shareable. It was rich, moist, and indulgent. We couldn't even finish it, which says a lot because we tried. Overall, it was a great birthday dinner spot lively atmosphere, good food, and better value than we expected. I'd definitely come back, especially for another celebration.

Photos
Porfirio's Playa del Carmen - Churros

Churros

Porfirio's Playa del Carmen - Chocolate cake

Chocolate cake

Porfirio's Playa del Carmen - World Cup

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World Cup

Ah Carbon! - mexican - Updated June 2026

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