The view alone is worth it! Right at Akumal Bay, I swear it's a hidden gem because I drove past many busy restaurants and this one wasn't busy. We ordered guacamole, fish tacos and spicy shrimp with rice. Everything was phenomenal and delicious!! The service was very friendly and they even offered to take our photo. The setup is just dreamy, beautiful water and breezy air, delicious food and friendly service. This was just the first restaurant we stopped at in Mexico! Can't wait to try the rest! read more

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5 stars for location! 4 for the food. I never feel like I can absolutely give 5 stars on food alone, as I'll never be able to eat everything on the menu. I had a lovely plate filled with ceviche made from fresh prawns with Chile's, tomatoes, onions, etc. The atmosphere is superb here, there's plenty of tables overlooking the beach as well as a bar area, community tables (love this!) and a mariachi band playing in the background. If you are from the area and have a Mexican drivers license, you can get a 20% discount at most beach cafes in Akumal. There are small seating areas in the trees! You can order and they'll send up your beers in a bucket - didn't try this yet, but, I will! Apparently, this is a very popular spot for weddings and other big parties. I also heard breakfast is amazing - I'll be back for that too! Visit - no regrets! read more

La Buena Vida - Bars Near Me - Akumal, ROO

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This place is great!! We stopped here for some lunch after going through tulum. The ambiance is perfect. They offer two tree houses for adults to climb up into and enjoy the fantastic view of the reef and ocean while you eat your meal. All the other tables are located 15 to 20feet off of the ocean. Along with some hamochs to lay back in and have a great drink. All tables are in the sand so kick off your shoes and dig your toes in the sand. I had the combo ceviche which was fish and shrimp. It was great, and it is definitely big enough to share with someone or make it a meal on its own. I Also and the shrimp tacos. They were also good and fresh,the shrimp was moderate sized and well seasoned and cooked. If you're in the area I definitely would recommend that you stop in here and experience this great place. read more

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Very good restaurant on the beach good food and service. The ambiance is excellent. I love the Havana rice.

One of our favorite lunch spots! Beautiful scenery, great chill ambiance, wonderful seafood and cold beers. Service is also good!

Beautiful location. Good food.we ordered the Mayan fish. It would have been nice if the sides had come with the fish Beer could be colder. Laid back atmosphere. read more

La Buena Vida - Our little dog at the table - Bars Near Me - Akumal, ROO

If you visit Akumal this is a must. Not only fabulous food and drinks but one of the coolest hangs on the beach. Great place to meet locals and get a feel for the "real" Akumal. Always a party going on. They often throw local celebrations there. We went for Halloween and then again on the weekend after. (Only because Halloween fell mid-week and they waited for the weekend). What a blast! Won the "Best Couples" award. (See photo). But don't wait for something special to be going on. Anytime is the right time for La Buena Vida! read more

La Buena Vida - Bars Near Me - Akumal, ROO

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We walked here from Akumal beach. Well worth the hot and humid walk. The food was great, and my son devoured the whole roasted catch of the day. Our server was very friendly and could speak English. The view is very nice and we sat on a table right on the ocean. We watched the iguanas battle for territory on the rocks. read more

This place has not only a great chill environment but the drinks and food are amazing as well. You can sit on big wooden swings by the bar or chill in hammocks by the beach. Tables are available as well. We ordered the ceviche and had a few different margaritas. They also make a few different juices which the bartender let us sample. The service was friendly and punctual. It was amazing enjoying the sunset while drinking cocktails in a hammock. Family friendly bar with great food. read more

La Buena Vida - Bars Near Me - Akumal, ROO

Love this place , amazing view but our waiter was on the phone all the time we have to ask for him all the time read more

... its just another Tequila Sunrise... for cheap...beware because the bar tenders make sure you have a good time. ...which is awesome. Okay setting expectations, the food is great, the floor is is the beach (sand), the service is great. This is Akumal's go to evening party, eat and have fun spot. This is not your usual restaurant and bar. You will get sand in your shoes so wear flip flops. I gave the place a 5 star because it hit all my criteria; repetitive good service, fair price for quality of food, an inviting atmosphere and something that makes the place unique. La Buena Vida had all of the above. The fact it is on the water with a gorgeous view of Half Moon Bay is only one the unique aspects of the place. We ate there for dinner several nights and found the food, service and fun to be very consistent each night. The pricing was very reasonable, avg was $21 / person with a few dinner drinks. The menu is pretty extensive so I could not get a good shot of it for you to review, however needless to say, the place is good for all ages and has food and fun for every body. I have found the service in all the restaurants in Akumal to be exemplary. ...did I mention the Tequila was awesome... you should also check out the culinary delights as well. read more

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Great happy hour from 5-6 and fish and chips were excellent. Fun and friendly atmosphere but bring your bug repellent since dining are is directly on sand. read more

So sad to have visited this place and seen what it's become. Overpriced,overrated and just not good whatsoever. They will show you a lobster that you think you're paying for and bring you have another to eat that is dried and just not good. This place once lived up to its name. Now, not so much. read more

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First of many visits to this convenient gem on the beach. Like others said: 5-star location and 4-star (breakfast) food. This review will be updated as I visit for other meals. read more

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This seemed to be the only restaurant in Akumal that was worth trekking to, so we did for lunch. The walk for us was pretty far as we were staying at Akumal Resort, which is the farthest resort from this place. It took 30 mins in the gruelling heat. We encouraged ourselves that it would be worth it. The coast is beautiful while walking along, then you get to a set of abandoned and broken-windowed houses that looked a bit sketchy. Then we went out to the main road of (what seemed like) Mexican millionaire houses. Finally we arrived. The seating area was completely on the beach. There was a pool on the side but we never checked it out. The bar seats are swings as with many of the other touristy establishments. We couldn't get a table right next to the beach as the spots were all taken up but still got a nice breeze at one of the long tables. The treehouses were nice setups, a bit scary climbing up if you're not good with heights but it's very sturdy. The views aren't the nicest but the concept is cool. We ordered the Botanero appetizer to share amongst the 3 of us. That dish alone could have filled up 2 tummies - it was quite a large platter! I believe this dish was around 12 usd. We also ordered tacos for each of us - I got the fish tacos, the other 2 in our group got Cheyenne tacos. Each of the taco dishes were around 9-10 usd, but there are 3 tacos for each order, and they are huge. I couldn't finish all of mine because of the large appetizer. The food quality is amazing and we were just happy to get some change from the average resort lunches we were having. We didn't order drinks, just bottled water, since we just couldn't justify buying cocktails when our resort already had unlimited alcohol. Our bill came to around 650 pesos. We had to pay in part pesos and part usd, getting all the math right with the guy who gave us the bill. The rate they were using was 13:1. Then there was a bit of a confusion with our actual waitress because she thought we didn't pay enough, when we actually gave her extra for tip in usd. Not a big deal since she probably didn't have a calculator with her. Overall the service was great and the food came at a reasonable time. This place has great value and a nice vibe. I would come again to try the cocktails someday. read more

La Buena Vida - Appetizer platter - Bars Near Me - Akumal, ROO

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Excellent food, ambiance and friendly staff! Cute giftshop worth a look. Great hammocks to lounge in, a pool to cool off, nice location.

We've been vacationing in Akumal for 18 years... and La Buena Vida is a part of what makes our trips special. We come for the swings at the bar, the tree houses, friendly service, Happy Hour, drinks, food, and to get the best of the Yucatan. If you are in the area, don't miss this place! It's a beach bar restaurant, with great food and ambiance. Our favorites... the shrimp fajitas, the chips with pico de gallo, tamarind margaritas, fish tacos, fish grilled with garlic, and nachos - seriously we love it all. Here during covid Dec 2020 and the staff all wearing masks, however we never did and most patrons didn't either. They do check temps and spray sanitizer in your hands upon entry. read more

Overall recommend. Gorgeous views and really nice ambiance. Seating on the beach. Service was touch and go (relatively responsive but had to ask like four times for a high chair). Food was a B/B+. Lime soup was an A+. Pico was A+. Drinks were weird. We got two rounds of different house cocktails. First round was fantastic. Second round was watery and we didn't even finish. My whole fish was cooked perfect but the sauce was way too thick and mayo-y. Better when I scraped the sauce off. Her pasta was great but same issue with gooey sauce. A decent amount of nitpicking here. Overall recommend. read more

Fentastic setting by the ocean. Good service. Pollo Chaya and a desert based on papaya were really good.

Fun place with good food and drink. On the water with attentive staff. Go visit in Akumal.

What a beautiful location with abominable food and even worse service. Everything was cold. The mashed potatoes were chunky and sour. The grilled vegetables tasted like fish. The rice was over cooked. And the best was how long it all took. La buena vida with terrrrrrrible comida read more

We've been here numerous times over the years, and the food is always meh, tonite was no exception. Fajitas were served on porcelain plates instead of hot platters,which I specifically ordered them for. The upshot being that the food went cold quicker with the stiff ocean breeze. Add to that the extensive wait for food (45 mins), generally slow service (20 mins after plates were cleared to see the waiter again to ask for the check, followed by another 10 min wait to receive the check, and ANOTHER 15 mins for him to pick up the card and process the bill) and relatively spendy bill..granted its high season, but 2.5 hours for a dining experience for a family of 4 is a bit much to ask. We mainly come here because the kids like the swings in the bar area, and the lack of restaurant options in the area. Alas, I expect to return to Akumal again, but we'll likely skip dropping by LBV moving forward. read more

Our tour guide suggested this place and we were blown away with the food, drinks, and service. The wife is from South America and she says the ceviche maya was the best she's ever had. All of us agree. Tacos were killer and the whole fish was amazing, specially even more when you add the juice from ceviche maya. Grandson loved his hamburger and said it was the best he's had in Mexico. :-) The view of the bay/ocean was spectacular. We hope one more meal there before we leave. read more

La Buena Vida - Bars Near Me - Akumal, ROO

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The only reason to come to this spot is for the view, which is BEAUTIFUL. BUT the food is nothing more then mediocre at best. We had the Mayan ceviche which was borderline gross. Lacked any flavor and was oily. The fish tacos tasted like mayonnaise and chalk. The fish was way over cooked, hardly any on it. It had browned lettuce and Mayo on it. Not good at all. The salsa tasted like gross tomato sauce with no flavor. We kept adding salt hoping it would get better....it didn't. The chips were over cooked and stale. Service was just ok. I really wanted this food to be good because the location was beautiful but I couldn't like it. I would have been there every day looking at the beautiful view if it was even slightly good. read more

This place has a great location. We were driving back from Tulum to catch a flight back to NYC in Cancun and needed to stop for lunch. This place is a great beach spot with awesome views to help keep the beach memories lingering before the journey back home. Food: I would stick to the basics; the ceviche was great. Guacamole and fish tacos were decent. It seems like it could be a big tourist spot at night but during the day it was mostly locals or Spanish-speaking tourists do felt authentic. Definitely worth the detour! Also use yelp to find it as our GPS couldn't find it! read more

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Currently in bed on my last day of vacation after eating here last night. The place was close so we decided to grab a quick dinner. Based on reviews we decided to try out the empanadas+pizza and a couple of margaritas. The empanadas were gross! soggy and cold with a chicken? filling. I took one bite and the meat tasted off so I left it and moved onto the pizza. The pizza was barley edible, but i was starving and who could mess up a pizza? The pizza was on par with cafeteria food. Plastic-y cheese that didn't quite melt, something that looked like pepperoni + stale bread. Margaritas were also pretty bad, i ordered a tamarind margarita and the tamarind was settled at the bottom, almost jelly like.. did not finish that either. None the less I spent the entire night vomiting and wondering whether it was the food or a drink made with bad alcohol. Today, i am missing out on my last day of vacation because i am not able to walk around for to long without feeling nauseated/stomach pain. There are a ton of good restaurants in the area, don't take the risk with this one. read more

Bueno Vida en Akumal I luckily found myself and my youngest daughter way down south in the idyllic beach town of Akumal on this hot and sunny Domingo. After taking the obligatory journey through the always disappointing (didn't used to be) and muy caliente Tulum ruins, we left and made the right turn to have lunch at the lovely seaside of Akumal bay. Know I'm sure you long time expats and others might claim our lunch spot was a bit "tourista-y" but you can certainly do much worse than the iconic "La Buena Vida" restaurant on Beach Road, right after the turn. Situated directly on the water, with its own pool, swing set bar, cool gift shop and optional treehouse dining, the LBV has it all. There's something really peaceful about taking that short drive on Beach Road in Aku, no loud music blasting, no crazy parking agents, not even one massage offered. The steady ocean breezes cooling me down was the first immediate thoughts of sitting at our waterside table. Add in the soothing sounds of the lightly breaking waves just below our table and I was certain Tulum's scene had nothing on this place. Then, there was the service, drinks and food. All topnotch. The service was just perfect, not overbearing, not unresponsive. Simply attentive and helpful. Drink-wise, I went was the rarely ordered and often poorly made margarita de la casa. Wow, was righteous and more-severed in a rocks glass, as it should be. My companion, recently returned from her Italian Amalfi hipster trip, of course ordered the Med salad sans any queso and the tacos de pollo, plus green tea cause she's, you know, got it all figured out! Just sayn. I went with the most manly and fatherly selection they offered, the Cheyenne Tacos. Even sounds tough, Cheyenne, bitch! It combined grilled marinated arrachera steak, cheese, onion and refried beans on something they called a "tortilla" with assorted salsas. Yum, yum. My jet-setting young off-spring commented that her order, besides being way too much food, was delicious as well. It's a short drive south of PDC and always well worth it. And sometimes tourista is not necessarily a bad thing. read more

MEXICO, couldn't tell you if the prices were good or not quite frankly, because I am American and like to ball out. The view is grade A kickass..The food pretty darn good too, we did more drinking than necessary but they were good too! Akumal goes hard for a quiet non-violent Mexican town. The casino is corrupt though, or I suck at blackjack. read more

La Buena Vida - Margarita, 3 extra shots for fun - Bars Near Me - Akumal, ROO

This used to be out go-to local place, the view and outdoor seating is wonderful. But the food has become mediocre. Fish tacos are dry and overcooked. Chips are burnt or stale tasting. Quac is nothing special. I'm resigned to just having a chicken or shrimp quesadilla, sometimes the protein is cooked correctly, most times it's overcooked. I only drink cervezas as the mixed drinks are very watered down and probably not much alcohol to begin with. The views are outstanding though. read more

Horrible service....I mean absolutely horrible. Avoid this place at all costs. Unfortunately, they aren't many options in Akumal but if your hungry its definitely worth driving somewhere else aside from here. Its terrible. I can't stress enough how terrible everything is here...the coconut shrimp were awful, lime soup terrible and don't even get me started about the cold/bland/atrocious calamari. I wouldn't recommend this place to someone that I hate. Worst service imaginable. The people who rated this place highly must have been incredibly shitfaced or something..?? read more

This place is the best restaurant I've been to. The ambiance is perfect, by the beach, the design is unique and the vibe is feels you're on vacation. The food taste really good, very flavorful (although it's on a salty side). The servers are very friendly and accommodating, (I should have remembered their names but anyway, all of them are). I would definitely go back. read more

Since i live in Akumal, La Buena Vida, is our very own cheers bar. Every night you come you will probably see us locals sitting at the bar, come say Hi! The drinks are cheap, but be wary they are strong and sneak up on you! The food from the tacos to the ceviche to the stronger plates - you cannot go wrong, it's all delicious. Happy hour is nightly from 5-6. Its a cute beach bar with swings at the bar, birds nests, with tables for groups or intimate dinners all where you can dig your toes into the sand as you overlook the Caribbean. i may sound biased, but this is one of my favorite bars in the world. Be warned the bar does close at 9pm (as does pretty much everything in Akumal). Tips are in cash, please tip. read more

This place felt like home. We came here once a day while we stayed in half moon bay for 5 days. The prices and service were excellent and I enjoyed there happy hour drinks! $2-3 for drinks guys!!! Can't wait to come back! read more

We love this place and eat here for at least one meal a day when we visit Akumal, we only wish they were open for breakfast while we were there. (3/2020 very beginning of Covid for MX) read more

La Buena Vida - Best view ever! - Bars Near Me - Akumal, ROO

My family stayed right down the road from this restaurant while on vacation and came here for two dinners over the course of the week. The first time, I got the chicken burrito and crow's nest cooler. Both were delicious and I couldn't wait to come back. The lighting at the outdoor table was too dim for my taste and the green and purple tinted lights were a bit weird but the overall setting was very nice. The second time, I got the Caribbean breeze smoothie which had several tropical fruits in it but Just tasted like banana. It was refreshing though! The chicken fajitas were very unimpressive. The beans were overly salty for my taste and I got several inedibly fatty/gristly bites of chicken before giving up on it all together. There was also a mariachi band that came up into the enclosed upper deck dining area at the end of our meal and played very loudly right next to our table. Fortunately we were all done eating and it ended up being a fun time but it's not exactly ideal to have loud music right in your ear while eating. Over all, I had a good experience and it was definitely my favorite of the restaurants we visited in Akumal. read more

La Buena Vida - Mediocre chicken fajitas - Bars Near Me - Akumal, ROO

The view was amazing and on outskirts of Akumal. The vibe is chill and relaxing. We had the seafood for 2 which was awesome way to taste several different dishes. Definitely recommend. Family friendly. read more

If you're spending any time in Akumal, be sure to pay a visit to La Buena Vida. This became a daily stop on a recent trip to Mexico. We were staying at a condo within walking distance to the restaurant so we ended up visiting quite often. Honestly, it was the ambiance and convenience more than the food and drink that won us over, but the food and drink weren't bad either. On our first night the service was definitely a miss, but the food and drinks were good enough to warrant another visit. Service was much better on subsequent visits. I had a house margarita with every meal and it was strong enough, but some members of our group complained that the top shelf drinks weren't really worth the money. Most dishes I had were delicious (except the Mahi special - it was cooked well but super bland). The guac and chips definitely need salt, but that's a minor issue. Even if you don't eat here, stop in for a drink and to take in the ambiance. La Buena Vida is right on the water, and one of my favorite parts of the trip was watching the sunset from our table while digging my feet in the sand. There are also swings at the tables by the bar and two tree houses if you're feeling adventurous after dinner. Pros: ambiance, house margarita, prices, portion sizes Cons: service (hit or miss), "top shelf" drinks may not be worth it Pro tip: bring bug spray. Those mosquitos/sand flies can get kinda crazy. read more

We ate here twice in our last stay at Akumal. The first night the we had to hold onto our nachos so the wind wouldn't blow them away. The next time we came at lunch for far softer breeze. It's a fun place to eat. Not the most authentic, but a fun place to watch the ocean and relax. For my money, the Beef Tampiquena is the best item on the menu. read more

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I would only come here for drinks. The view and atmosphere were great, but the food was awful. Also, the stench of rotting seaweed was almost unbearable. read more

This place was so great! My boyfriend and I went here everyday of our trip. The people are so friendly, the service is great, the food was delish! There was even a pool we hung out in during the day! They also have a great happy hour that we took advantage of! Cute swing seating and an upstairs area all on the beach with a gorgeous view! read more

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