No matter how long you are staying in Playa del Carmen, you will undoubtedly eat on 5th Avenue, the pedestrian street, The Strip. But once you are tired of tourist crowds and overpriced menus, you might want to venture a bit off the beaten path and find restaurants that are NOT on 5th Avenue.
The Area Between Calle 25-40 and Avenida 15-30
There are countless choices of great places away from the fifth. Depending on where you stay, you will want something that is just a short walk from home.
That especially applies, if you choose to rent one of the numerous apartments, instead of staying in a resort of a hotel. While looking at Airbnb selections, we noticed that there were a lot of condos offered within the area of Calle 25 and 40 and Avenida 15 and 30 – in quiet residential neighborhoods that are still within walking distance from downtown.
We found a very reasonable and at the same time lovely and modern condo on the corner of Calle 40 and Avenida 20, so naturally, we wanted to find local places nearby. After spending a month, eating around our temporary home, I selected five restaurants that, in my opinion, are not only the best in the area, but really reasonable for the quality they offer.
At the end of the post you will see an interactive map, so you can easily find these places if you decided to try them out! (screenshots are courtesy of TripAdvisor.)
1.
Cuisine: Italian
Location: corner of Calle 30 Nte and Avenida 25 Nte
Credit Cards: accepted
Making their own pasta is pretty much the standard for any Italian restaurant in Playa del Carmen, and Papa Charly is not an exception. There is huge selection of pasta dishes, which you can customize – chose your pasta, that choose what comes with it (sea food, chicken, etc) and then choose your sauce – I couldn’t have enough of gorgonzola sauce (which was béchamel with mixed gorgonzola cheese) and Michael loved the cheese and basil ravioli with meat sauce.
The portions are big enough for two people (in our case, we even took leftovers home!).
Our favorite was the fresh bread appetizer that they bring at the beginning (on the house). It is served with mild green spread (that tastes somewhat like a tomatillo/avocado/salsa verde) and pink butter (probably with paprika or something like that) – please enlighten me if you know how they make these two absolutely heavenly things!
2.
Cuisine: Mexican
Location: corner of Calle 32 Nte and Avenida 30 Nte
Credit Cards: accepted
This restaurant has three locations in Playa del Carmen, and I am going to write about the one we tried, closer to where we lived. It offers traditional Mexican cuisine, including alambres, fajitas, quesadillas and tacos. My absolute favorite is el Pastor, which is Gyro-style meat, prepared on open fire). The restaurant also has traditional drinks such as chelada/michelada beer mixers.
There is also a selection of non-alcoholic beverages, from common jamaica/hornchata to incredible fresh squeezed juice cocktails. We had mixed grill skewers and they were absolutely amazing: big chunks of great quality tenderloin beef, large shrimp, mixed with ham and vegetables.
3.
Cuisine: fish and seafood
Location: corner of Avenida 10 Nte and Calle 40 Nte
Credit Cards: not accepted, cash only
Coming back from downtown on the 5th, and after turning towards home on Calle 40, we always passed this place. We kept noticing that it was always slammed! In spite of them not accepting credit cards (we usually don’t like to carry a lot of cash with us), we ended up eating there several times. The atmosphere is simple and has a very cool local feel, and the fish and sea food are always fresh.
Besides regular dishes, sea food cocktails and ceviches, one of the popular and inexpensive orders is huge fish or shrimp empanadas. One the more luxury end, try the complete fresh fried fish (market price and the type of fish is subject to availability).
4.
Cuisine: fusion
Location: corner of Avenida 20 Nte and Calle 34 Nte
Credit Cards: accepted
This place serves a little bit of everything, taking the best flavors from all kinds of cuisines. Even such traditional Mexican dish elements, making them deliciously unusual. Even hamburgers are creative! But the best item in the menu is a selection of tostadas. Each of them is a totally exquisite work of culinary art. They are listed as appetizers (and offered for very reasonable prices or 65 to 90 pesos), but they are so large, that a couple of them can easily make a complete meal! Trust me, they are so good that you will be coming back for more (as we did!)
5.
Cuisine: breakfast and brunch/lunch, bakery
Location: corner of Avenida 20 Nte and Calle 24 Norte
Credit Card: accepted
Judging by the trendy hippie-inspired look of the place (just looking at those cool dream catchers everywhere!), you can easily assume that there will be a lot of eco-friendly and healthy options for breakfast and lunch.
The cuisine is international with a French twist – you will realize that if you try their amazing home-made croissants! There is a huge selection of coffees, with or without caffeine, as well as teas and fresh-squeezed juices, and fresh bread comes directly out of their own bakery. We were there for breakfast and had coffee with salmon eggs benedict, which was absolutely to die for, but there is something for everyone, even vegan and gluten-free options.
According to opening hours (till 9 pm Tuesday to Saturday), you can have dinner there. We haven’t tried it, although really wanted, as they advertised an open mic night on Wednesdays! Well, something always remains for the next time…
In order to have an even better experience, you should learn about typical Mexican drinks that you can pair with all that food! Check out the most important ones here!
