Amazing experience here for the last night of my trip this past week. Food service and ambiance was…read morespot on. Bread and the empanada they give you for free is soooo bomb! Restaurant was recommended by my hostel staff at Che playa suites. Soo happy she recommended it this place is a true gem! Paella was a 9/10, loved the chicken thigh in the Valencia! So cheap too!!! 15 dollars for a whole paella entree! Highly recommend and will definitely be back next time In town.

Service was good, house wine was good, garlic shrimp was awesome and the eggplant appetizer was…read moredelicious. Chicken paella has limited, rice, 2 small chicken wines and 2 small legs.

A whole Fresh grilled chicken with tortilla, rice, and pickled red onion. The homemade habanero…read morelime chili salsa is so spicy and addicting . Service was quick in an open air ambiance

Amazing! 3 of us split a whole chicken and it was absolutely delicious in every way!…read more They delivered rice, sofrito, pickled onions, and had a green salsa on the table that was hot and works so well with the charred yardbird We ordered a side of potatoes that were also incredibly prepared. Do not miss this experience if you are in PDC!!!!

Awesome restaurant serving yummy Venezuelan food. Clearly this spot is a labor of love for the…read moreowners and people working here. The waitress was great, very fluent in English since she lived in NC for a while. Everything we ate and drank from the delicious fresh juices to the different items on their menu was great. The only nit is that the food took a super long time to come out.

Must try: Cachapa Chévere!…read more Why: Delicious breakfast, which I tried the Cachapa for the first time! It came with black beans, plantains, cheese, avocado, and I added an egg. The corn battered pancake-like shell was soft sweetness. The Cachapa was much larger than I thought so it was filling! I was happy and my tummy was full to kick off the morning right. Notes: Cute place a few blocks from main 5th Avenue. They have indoor and outdoor seats. Clean and spacious. The server was awesome! Super welcoming and helpful. I was practicing my Spanish while he was practicing English. It was fun and engaging. The other workers were friendly too checking in if I needed anything. They provided 4 shot sized juices to start and my fav was passion fruit. Had a great time and a great breakfast! Definitely saving this place for a future visit!

Hidden gem in Playa…read more Authentic Spanish tapas. We ordered a variety of items and every one was delicious. The sangria is amazing and so was the service. Did I mention this place is super inexpensive? When in Playa and looking for something other than Mexican food this is the place

We came here to escape the heat and have some beer. Next to our table, there was a group of women…read morewith kids clearly having a great time. It was nice to see after a year of quarantine. We ordered our beer but also got the tortilla espanola. I've never had one I was blown away by but this was delicious. It was a little salty but the balance of egg and potato and the texture was perfect. It made the beer go down faster. The toast on the side came with a garlic cream which was so delicious, we had to ask for a side of it. Food, service and ambiance were great. I would definitely come back.

Great little spot just a short walk from the end of Quinta Avenida. We loved the ambiance,…read moredecoration and murals and the staff were all friendly and helpful. Being married to a Colombian and having spent quite a bit of time in Colombia might have me a bit biased. They have all the typical plates like empanadas, arepas, chorizo, aguapanela, etc. The food and service were both good. But they lost a star for not having a cut of beef on the bandeja paisa. All in all, a good and fair representation of Colombia and a taste of the country.

The service was great the real Colombian hospitality was amazing, the place was cozy and very…read moreColombian looking, I love the decor. The food was good, we had empanadas, bandeja paisa and arepa. For drinks we had aguapanela con limón and Milo frio. Everything has great

Great Spanish food. Go for the meat on a stone. The atmosphere is very chill with light music…read more Staff extremely friendly

Very welcoming owners and staff , very nice ambience, we ordered tortilla española, arroz ( paella)…read morenegra, paella de pollo food was excellent. Sangria was awesome and the appetizer on the house was a bruschetta with octopus, this was our second time at pinxeria para negra, and we definitely will go back. Their prices are reasonable If you are in playa del Carmen and want good Spanish food you should go to this place.

This was our very first meal since our arrival for vacation. I must say I love that everyone is so…read morenice, and we are well greeted! First thing is they make sure about food allergies! And the waiter is very well aware before you even know it! Menus are labeled with the symbol to specify GF or V ect.. which made it easier! I ordered a short rib with veggies and my friend who ordered grilled pulpo. We were happy with our meal ! They had a pianist playing during dinner and it was a dress up dine in. Everyone was so pleasant!

Absolutely the worst meal I have ever had. Service was horrible. My daughter is a vegan, they…read morecouldn't accommodate that at all. I am a chef, some people say that makes me more critical but I think it makes me more understanding. They said tonight was the launch of a new menu inspired by the Iberian penninsula, so I expected a few mis-steps. It was disaster.. They served a salad with iberico ham fried to a crisp, super salty, not balanced. My steak, as we say, was roached. My partners dish, so spicy and acrid, it was inedible. At the end we were still hungry, we waited and waited for dessert menu, it never came. Someone came and took our cheesy battery operated candle from the table. The message was clear...get out. This was a horrible dining experience and it was supposed to be the grand finale of our vacation. So disappointing. I would not recommend.

Fish tacos in Mexico by the beach... cant go wrong. Beers were nice and cold. Service was great…read morefriendly and fast. The octopus was so soft. Definitely recommend. They have a nice outdoor seating where performers came and danced. Dinner and a show.

Carboncitos was a really enjoyable experience overall. The food was genuinely delicious. I started…read morewith the chicken soup, which had great flavor, but the portion was pretty small. For my entrée, I had the skirt steak, and it was tender, flavorful, and cooked perfectly. The sweet potato with honey and cinnamon was absolutely delicious. My only real complaint is the portion sizes on a couple of items. The salad was very small, and I would have loved a more generous serving. I also ordered an amaretto sour. It was a little weak at first, so I asked for more amaretto, which made it better, but it still wasn't quite as strong as I prefer. The service was phenomenal. The staff was attentive, kind, and genuinely friendly throughout the entire experience. I felt well taken care of and truly enjoyed myself. I would definitely return.

Excellent food at the Paradisus resort. The service was top rate, the setting beautiful, and the…read morefood gorgeous. In general, we found all service to be excellent at the Paradisus, and the service at Passion was no exception. They know how to make a person feel pampered and special. We ended up ordering off the a la carte menu. My husband is picky and usually does not enjoy tasting menus. So that meant we also ordered wine off the wine list as there was no pairing option. I started with the offered spoonful of Uruguay caviar. It was okay, but I've had much better. I would probably skip that in the future. We were brought 4 amuse bouches to start. They were beautiful! And they certainly made us excited about the meal to come. To start, I had the foie gras appetizer, and my husband had the Iberico ham appetizer. I think both were very visually appealing and solid tasting. Was the foie gras the best I've had? No, probably not. It wasn't as delicate as I've had, and it could have been seared to be a little crispier, but the red onions were crunchy, so that helped the texture. I liked the green tea foam. My husband's ham dish was good, but it wasn't the best Iberico ham we've had. For our mains, I had the striped bass, and my husband had the sirloin. His sirloin was amazing. It melted in the mouth. My bass was very good. I liked how crispy the skin was. I found the octopus carpaccio to be a little fishy. We did not order dessert as we were STUFFED, but they brought out a pretty complimentary petit four plate, and what I tasted was quite yummy. This is a lovely place for a special meal. I wish we could have had the tasting menu, but maybe if I return, I'll ask to have it while my husband orders from the a la carte menu.

Wife N and I are down here from Portland OR for a week stay at Paradisus La Perla for our 25th…read moreAnniversary. We decided on a whim to switch a reservation from one of the (generally great) property restaurants to Passion, having heard and read a few great things about it. Glad we did. This is a formal restaurant, and so we "dressed up" for our special night. We arrived at M Bar (their entry holding bar) and ordered a couple martinis--both were fabulous. After about five minutes, they called us forward. We were seated and a procession of servers arrived. There were no less than eight types of water from which we could choose, four regular and four fizzy. NOTE: it's not apparent, but each one is about US$10 and will be added to your bill--we found that out at the end. We weren't offended, but it is something to note if you're on a strict budget for the evening. That Voss isn't included. After the introductory water course (there's a process for everything here) we were presented with not one but two amuse bouche courses. The first was a quartet of small bites including an "egg ball" which had liquid (dashi?) in it. Very cool. The other tiny bites were a fried cheese ball, a tartar, and a marinated watermelon disc. The second amuse bouche came in shot-sized frosted glasses, a peach gazpacho. The dinner started. We were presented with five different butters, and told which ones went with which courses, and were instructed to try each one only with its appropriate course. We complied. Soup course: mushroom and puffed quinoa, served in a complex dashi broth. The dashi was excellent--this wasn't just your basic bonito and kombu; it had mushroom and a number of other complex flavors added. First: A caramelized mille feuille (layered) of smoked salmon, fois gras, and tart apple. Wow. Okay, now you have my attention! These unlikely partners in taste combined perfectly! Second: a salty plate of tomato, sardine and nitrogen-frozen cheese crumbles in a gelled olive and pickle juice. Of all the plates, this was the one we liked the least--it just went too far into the "weird zone". No one's perfect. Third: small cubes of roast pork with huitlacoche (an earthy Mayan corn fungus), foam, and pickled baby corn slices. Eating all the ingredients together, this was fantastic. Fourth: Totoaba (fish) with a false fennel risotto, tempura squid, curry and coffee air (foam). Oh...emm...geee!! One of the finest fish preparations I've ever had the pleasure to taste. Fifth: Short rib cubes with apple and pineapple puree, fois gras toast discs and capers. Cooked sous vide to a perfect mid-rare, this was another dish that was just flawless. Some of the best I've ever had. Sixth: the first dessert course, Basil sponge, celery sorbet, melon and cucumber, in caipirinha and gin. Very refreshing and palette cleansing, vibrant. Art on a plate. Seventh: second dessert course, Allspice ice cream on a chocolate brownie, rum ice crushed, and cocoa macarons. Wonderful. And a surprise at the end! A beautiful plate of tiny dessert bites and gelled dessert balls with "Happy Anniversary" scrolled in chocolate. The entire meal was fantastic, and truly a culinary experience. Chef Martin Berasategui (Spanish, 8 Michelin stars) is a master of molecular gastronomy (little gelled caper balls, glass, foam, etc) and his skills paint a cohesive picture through the entire meal. Lasting about three hours, this is no place to dine if you're in a hurry. This will be a long night, and you'll get a "just right" amount of food, a couple small bites at a time. Everything bordered on ostentatious--we got our first hint of formality when they wouldn't let me carry my drink from the bar to the table--no, here a finely dressed and gloved server will take your drink on a platter and carry it for you to your table, where it is meticulously placed in front of you. Getting up from the table to use the facilities prompted the mysterious and instantaneous appearance of servers holding the tablecloth aside so we wouldn't brush it on the way out from the table and an escort to show you the way. It's as if servers materialized out of nowhere. I suspect it felt the same in the dining hall at Downton Abbey. The cost starts around US$90 a person for the food alone. Add another $80 if you want to have a paired glass of wine with each course (we opted out; living in Portland affords us the availability of myriad thousands of wines from around the world almost at our doorstep). Dress is "resort formal"--they are very specific and up-front about this. But even if they weren't, it's a $90 a person restaurant so, obviously, put on your $90 thinking cap and dress appropriately. There are perhaps twenty dinners I've eaten which will go down as the ones I'll remember. This will definitely be one of them I'll be savoring for years to come. Highly recommended.

Amazing live music and dancing! The food is good, drinks are exceptional! It can get packed at…read morenight, so arrive early. Overall an incredible vibe.

A Refreshing Change of Pace with Friendly Vibes and Live Music…read more If you're looking to take a break from your usual go-to taco and Mexican spots, this place offers a nice variety with its Cuban-inspired menu. I'm a big fan of tacos, but every now and then, it's great to mix things up--and this spot gave me that change of pace I was looking for. I especially appreciated the inclusion of rice and beans, which I've been missing lately. The atmosphere was cozy and relaxed. It wasn't a busy night, so we ended up getting to enjoy the live music almost like a private show. That part really stood out--the band brought a warm energy to the room, and it made the whole evening feel more intimate and memorable. The service was genuinely great. Our server was friendly, attentive, and took time to explain that the menu was Cuban-inspired, which was a good heads-up. That explained some of the differences in flavor and presentation, and helped manage expectations about what ingredients or sides might be missing compared to more traditional Latin or Caribbean places. One thing I wasn't a huge fan of, though, was having to order everything à la carte. For example, when I ordered the pork, the rice and beans weren't included--they were separate add-ons. It felt a little disjointed, and I would have preferred if those staples came as part of the dish. It's not a dealbreaker, but it's something to keep in mind if you're expecting a full plate. As for the food itself--it was solid. I had the Delicias de Queso, which were flavorful and satisfying, with a nice texture and taste. The pork was also seasoned well and tender. Everything came out hot and well-prepared, and you can tell there's care in the kitchen. That said, nothing completely blew me away, but it all hit the spot. The mojito was probably the low point of the evening for me. It wasn't terrible, but it didn't have that fresh, crisp pop that you expect in a great mojito. Maybe it just needed more mint or lime--something to give it that brightness. Overall, it was a pleasant experience. The food was enjoyable, the live music added something special, and the service was top-notch. While I didn't love the à la carte pricing and the drink could have been better, I'd still recommend giving this place a try if you're in the mood for something different and easygoing. It's a solid spot for a laid-back night out with some good vibes.