• The TUGBBS forums are completely free and open to the public and exist as the absolute best place for owners to get help and advice about their timeshares for more than 30 years!

    Join Tens of Thousands of other Owners just like you here to get any and all Timeshare questions answered 24 hours a day!
  • TUG started 31 years ago in October 1993 as a group of regular Timeshare owners just like you!

    Read about our 31st anniversary: Happy 31st Birthday TUG!
  • TUG has a YouTube Channel to produce weekly short informative videos on popular Timeshare topics!

    Free memberships for every 50 subscribers!

    Visit TUG on Youtube!
  • TUG has now saved timeshare owners more than $24,000,000 dollars just by finding us in time to rescind a new Timeshare purchase! A truly incredible milestone!

    Read more here: TUG saves owners more than $24 Million dollars
  • Sign up to get the TUG Newsletter for free!

    Tens of thousands of subscribing owners! A weekly recap of the best Timeshare resort reviews and the most popular topics discussed by owners!
  • Our official "end my sales presentation early" T-shirts are available again! Also come with the option for a free membership extension with purchase to offset the cost!

    All T-shirt options here!
  • A few of the most common links here on the forums for newbies and guests!

Favorite restaurants in Cancun?

m61376

m61376

Tug Review Crew
TUG Member
Joined
Aug 2, 2006
Messages
7,314
Reaction score
356
Location
NY
Resorts Owned
Marriott Aruba Surf Club 2 & 3BRs
Going there in November for the first time and wanted some recommendations of favorite restaurants.

We'll be at the Royal Sands; celebrating my parents' 60th Anniversary :) a few weeks early.
 
Some of my favorites are:

Hacienda Sisal - located right in front of the Sands. Great food, and great service!

El Conquistador (located at the Royal Mayan - reservations are a must, and make them early in the week if you want a good time for dinner. Ask for a table by the window overlooking the lagoon, and try to get a reservation during sunset.). This place is actually my favorite - small intimate atmosphere, and great tableside service. Jorge Duran also plays live guitar at this restaurant. You can take the free shuttle from the Sands to this restaurant. THIS IS THE RESTAURANT I WOULD RECOMMEND FOR THE ANNIVERSARY DINNER.

La Dolce Vita - Italian restaurant located accross the street from the Marriott.

Captain's Cove - Royal Resorts restaurant located accross the street from the tri-Royals. You can take the free shuttle from the Sands to this restaurant. This place specializes in seafood.

Hope this helps!

Michelle
 
Last edited:
In addition to the last post:

Argentinian Steak Houses, Puerto Madera (very close to the Sands) and Cambalache up at the elbow.

In Cancun itself for food and atmosphere, La Habichuela

There's a new "trendy" place right across from the Sands called Bling. The food was good, huge deck on the lagoon. A place for the "younger crowd", techno music playing...interesting/different kind of place. Maybe more of a night club, but had a full menu.
 
Keep the suggestions coming- and THANKS!
I thought I remembered someone talking about one of the Royal restaurants having a Mexican show night with Mex. dancing, etc.- or am I remembering wrong? If so, does anyone know when/where?
 
m61376 said:
Keep the suggestions coming- and THANKS!
I thought I remembered someone talking about one of the Royal restaurants having a Mexican show night with Mex. dancing, etc.- or am I remembering wrong? If so, does anyone know when/where?
Click to expand...

I am not sure about which days, as that can change, but they have that show at the Palapa restaurant at the Royal Mayan and also at the bar area of Hacienda Sisal. You pay one price (about $25 USD I believe) and get all you can eat buffet (good food) and margaritas.)

Michelle
 
Mexican show

The Mexican show is at the Royal Mayan every Monday night. Get there early enough to get a good table, right by the small stage, and bring a camera.

A few of the costumed dancers rove around the Royals pools Sunday (and maybe Monday) to stir up interest - you can get some great pics with (or without) them. Optional, but tips for the dancers is nice to bring to the dinner - we never carry cash at the Royals, so sometimes don't remember this.
 
Our favorite is La Palapa near VCI. It is right on the Lagoon and makes for a wonderful sunset dinner.
 
In town La Habichuela, and Locanda Paolo for Italian. In the Hotel Zone La Destileria, La Dolce Vita, If your staying at a Royal resort El Conquistador is a must. Some one mentioned My Place, but they closed.
 
If you like steaks, specially done right, try the Cambalache and Puerto Modero. Both are a little pricy so depending on your budget.

La Cambalache has Piglet Roasts which is great also has lots of good beef cuts .

Puerto Modero, close to the Royal Sands will surprise anyone with the quality of steaks and service is great. Don't miss desert.

Definitely don't miss the Hacienda Sisal, you'll get great value with good food, outstanding shows and superb service at a cost that will surprise you. Specially for the type of occasion you're going for, this place is a must and best of all, when the evening is over, you're right there back to the Sands.
 
rainstud said:
Definitely don't miss the Hacienda Sisal, you'll get great value with good food, outstanding shows and superb service at a cost that will surprise you. Specially for the type of occasion you're going for, this place is a must and best of all, when the evening is over, you're right there back to the Sands.
Click to expand...

Is the dinner for the shows buffet only, or is a regular menu available? Are any of the menus available on-line? My hubbie eats fish, but no shellfish, or vegan so I wanted to make sure there were choices for him.

Thanks for all the info.!!
 
I agree with all of the suggestions above, except for Captain's Cove. We keep hearing it's great, so we try it...again and again and again. And never have we had a really good meal there. It's been fine, but never really good.

With all of the other options, we have finally decided that the Cove is just not for us.

Our personal Favorites are:

La Distelleria
La Parilla (downtown for Mexican food and meat cooked on the spit)
Hacienda Sisal
El Conquistador at the Royal Mayan
 
m61376 said:
Is the dinner for the shows buffet only, or is a regular menu available? Are any of the menus available on-line? My hubbie eats fish, but no shellfish, or vegan so I wanted to make sure there were choices for him.

Thanks for all the info.!!
Click to expand...

I'm pretty sure it's buffet only, but the Royals staff generally go out of their way for special requests. You could talk to the maitre d' before hand to get the complete menu, and if there's a problem they might make something special or you could bring in from one of the other restaurants. We have occasionally skipped the dinner buffet but shown up for coffee/drinks when the show starts - there have always been a few tables available, we've left a nice tip, and we save a lot of money. Also, sometimes only a few of us go for the buffet, and then the rest wander over a little later and join the table for the show.

The buffet at the Royal Mayan Mexican Buffet Monday nights includes a large selection of salad items - lettuces, marinated cukes, bean salad, jicama, beets, carrot/pineapple/raisin salad, and other salad bar stuff - rolls/breads, soup, 4-6 hot dishes, including at least one fish, several desserts including flan and rice pudding, cinnamon coffee.

I don't know how different the shows/buffets would be at the Hacienda Sisal vs the Royal Mayan - The Palapa at the RM is open-air and quite casual.
 
Last edited:
Other favorites

We rarely leave the Tri-Royals. Of their restaurants, our favorite is the Palapa at the RM - good prices and nice casual outdoor atmosphere. The pineapple chicken salad is good (in a carved out half-pineapple that looks like a swan boat), black bean soup and line soups very good, arrachera de res (not sure of the exact name, but it's a marinated skirt steak) usually excellent, fajitas very good. The ribs at the take-outs at the RC and the RS are really good, and inexpensive.

Italian night at the RC has a lot of choices and is quite good.

We've been to several of the Argentinian steakhouses - excellent meats, pricey but good choices for a special dinner.

Lunch buffet at the RH is excellent.
 
"except for Captain's Cove. We keep hearing it's great, so we try it...again and again and again. And never have we had a really good meal there. It's been fine, but never really good.

With all of the other options, we have finally decided that the Cove is just not for us."

Fully agree with you on this Janis. We try this place everytime we go and it never fails, we leave very unhappy, you'ld think we learn from our mistakes, i guess I keep hoping they figure it out someday, they seem to bank too much on their close location to the Tri Royals.

Hacienda Sisal so far met our needs for a night out. Good food, good show and excellent prices, the only problem i have here is the transportation. The shuttle seems always full at the end of the show and if you're going back to the Tri Royals, you need patience and be prepared to stand on the shuttle. I mentioned the problem to the front desk that they should plan an extra trip during show nights to meet the demand. Last time we opted to walk back to the Islander, not too bad and it helped burn off some of our dinner.

One more item i mentioned in my trip summary from last April. Try a night in. We did shopping at Wal Mart and picked up several small items, cold cuts, cheeses, fresh bread, fruits, fresh (right out of the oven) tortillas and of course a couple of bottles of wine. We enjoyed this most of all, on the balcony overlooking the beach. miss the place, wish we were back there now....:bawl:
 
I also have to agree with the underwhelming opinions of Captain's Cove. AT those prices, the food misses the mark, and while polite, so does the service. I also found that La Habichuela is hit and miss... and when it misses it is a very expensive disappointment - especially with a family of 6. I'm not willing to take the chance again.
 
Loved Captain's Cove!

Wow, so weird. I am surprised to read the posts about Captain's Cove :shrug: , but we've only been there once. We ate at Captain's Cove last week, and loved it! :cheer: My husband and I shared the Captain's Seafood Platter which was HUGE and enough to feed more than just the two of us. Especially wonderful on that platter was the lobster. I can't say YUM big enough!

The highlight of the dinner was not just the food, but it was the consistently attentive service we received throughout our dining experience as well as the appearance of Poncho and Willy, the two resident alligators. They were definitely a thrill for us, but even without their visit, we loved the food and the service so much that we'll definitely make it a priority to go back to Captain's Cove!
 
Obviously we all have different tastes and mine which my wife says is way too picky finds Captain's Cove food just not worth the price. Don't get me wrong, the service is great and they do look after your every need, but the food just never measured up. It simply seems to be too low quality for the price they charge. Having said that we also like going to the outback to watch a game a enjoy bar food, like ribs, hot wings etc with a few pints. But there we pay the fair price.

Hacienda Sisal hasn't failed us and i guess mostly because when they have the Buffet style, there is always something there that will satisfy someone's taste. You can fill up on salads only, or go crazy with the meats and other side dishes. Of coruse then there's the desert. Let's not go there, i have a few pounds that i blame them for. One thing i do remember, the margaritas we had there as part of the all you can drink meal (did i mention it was $40 pp. for dinner, drinks and show), were the strongest and tastiest we ever had, and they kept refilling the glasses:whoopie:

The good thing about Cancun, there is no shortage of restaurants. You have to be inquisitive and try different places and i guess "try" to learn from mistakes. Has anyone tried the Destileria, now there's an experience. You really need to get the waiter to explain the authentic plates. I asked the manager for his choice and we were served on two "lava" type bowls with lots of meats and veggies and a great sauce with tortillas and.... wow...anyway, its mexico, you need to get out and try different things and leave the spaghetti, hamburgers and whatever for when you go back home.:wave:
 
rainstud said:
Hacienda Sisal hasn't failed us and i guess mostly because when they have the Buffet style, there is always something there that will satisfy someone's taste. You can fill up on salads only, or go crazy with the meats and other side dishes. Of coruse then there's the desert. Let's not go there, i have a few pounds that i blame them for. One thing i do remember, the margaritas we had there as part of the all you can drink meal (did i mention it was $40 pp. for dinner, drinks and show), were the strongest and tastiest we ever had, and they kept refilling the glasses:whoopie:

The good thing about Cancun, there is no shortage of restaurants. You have to be inquisitive and try different places and i guess "try" to learn from mistakes. Has anyone tried the Destileria, now there's an experience. You really need to get the waiter to explain the authentic plates. I asked the manager for his choice and we were served on two "lava" type bowls with lots of meats and veggies and a great sauce with tortillas and.... wow...anyway, its mexico, you need to get out and try different things and leave the spaghetti, hamburgers and whatever for when you go back home.:wave:
Click to expand...

Thanks...and you're right about being adventurous, except when you're taking parents sometimes they like what they're used to and are less adventurous ;) ...of course, my kids say that about us :) . Anyway, do you happen to remember at the Hacienda Sisal if their buffet included regular fish (not shellfish) and were the meat selections all in sauces or did they have steak and or chicken without cheese or cream sauces? Trying to satisfy everyone....
 
m61376 said:
Anyway, do you happen to remember at the Hacienda Sisal if their buffet included regular fish (not shellfish) and were the meat selections all in sauces or did they have steak and or chicken without cheese or cream sauces? Trying to satisfy everyone....
Click to expand...

Not sure about the Hacienda Sisal, but buffets at the other restaurants at the Royals are pretty similar - there's almost always fish (not shellfish) in some kind of tomato sauce, sometimes wrapped in a leaf kind of like a tamale. The meat dishes are always in some kind of sauce - e.g. chicken mole, pork with green sauce, beef with tomato sauce - I've never seen plain meat at a buffet. I don't recall seeing cheese or cream sauces, though.

From my experience at other Royals restaurants, I'm pretty confident that you can talk to the maitre d' or chef and work something out, e.g. a steak or grilled fish. Several times my favorite thing was even brought to me without me asking for it, b/c the maitre d' knew it was my favorite on the brunch buffet and it wasn't on the buffet those mornings!
 
Remember that at the Hacienda Sisal, you can order a la carte too, although i think this is in the restaurant section which does not include the show. When we attended the Caribbean show all the meats were in some kind of sauce and there was white fish (no shellfish). There was also a chef on hand to prepare a pasta type dish to your order if you didn't like the buffet menu. and of course there was lots of deserts and some salads.

Try the Italian night at the Royal Caribbean on Wednesdays. The only thing i didn't like about it is they had NO ITALIAN WINE, can you believe that. But there was a lot of variety and the deserts were all over the place.
 
Some of our favorites, most are casual and reasonably priced ... all serve quite yummy food!

Viva La Vaca (across from Plaza La fiesta store by convention center)
Casa Tequila (next door to above)
MexTreme (across the street from above)
Puerto Madero
Casa de las Margaritas (la isla)
La Parilla (downtown)

someone listed My Place, they closed this past August.
the new menu at Captains Cove didn't draw us in, but Caya LArgo was pretty fantastic and has a lot of the items that used to be on the CC menu. (mayan style grouper is our fav).
 
maja651 said:
Some of my favorites are:

Hacienda Sisal - located right in front of the Sands. Great food, and great service!

El Conquistador (located at the Royal Mayan - reservations are a must, and make them early in the week if you want a good time for dinner. Ask for a table by the window overlooking the lagoon, and try to get a reservation during sunset.). This place is actually my favorite - small intimate atmosphere, and great tableside service. Jorge Duran also plays live guitar at this restaurant. You can take the free shuttle from the Sands to this restaurant. THIS IS THE RESTAURANT I WOULD RECOMMEND FOR THE ANNIVERSARY DINNER.

La Dolce Vita - Italian restaurant located accross the street from the Marriott.

Captain's Cove - Royal Resorts restaurant located accross the street from the tri-Royals. You can take the free shuttle from the Sands to this restaurant. This place specializes in seafood.

Hope this helps!

Michelle
Click to expand...

Agree with all these choices. Our favorite resturant for a special night out is the El Conquistador. It's small and exclusive for members of the Royal Resorts. Make your reservations early in the week. If you can get a 6:00 serving near the window you should see a great sunset.
Don't forget to get the flaming coffee made table side.
 
We also like La Parilla downtown as well as Casa Maguey (used to be OK Maguey) and Ruths Chris next door at Plaza Kulkulkan. We usually go to La Habichuela but have found that it can be inconsistent. We had a very bad experience at Laguna Grill.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top