Tulum Food Guide

Obviously in Mexico you can get some amazing tacos, burritos, and seafood, but our time in Tulum surprised us with the foods we ate and enjoyed the most. We tried several different restaurants during our trip, some good, some great, and some disappointing. In no particular order, here’s my list of the best places to eat in Tulum Beach (and the places you may want to avoid).

1. La Malinche

This local spot was right outside the entrance to our hotel and you could tell it was popular among visitors. The restaurant itself was a tiny little kitchen with a courtyard of outdoor seating, and each time I passed by it, the tables were packed. The prices were cheap, and the menu was as authentic as it could be. I tried an al pastor burrito (marinated pork with pineapple), which was delicious, and decided to be a little adventurous and try some grilled octopus tacos and - wait for it - cricket tacos! The octopus was light and bright and the crickets were, well, very interesting. I was really pleasantly surprised that they offered such a local cuisine, and it was a great experience. The drinks were also good and reasonably priced, and the service was quick and friendly. Definitely would recommend stopping by, even if it’s just to grab some takeout to bring to the beach.

2. Mateo’s

Another local joint serving up authentic Mexican cuisine, we stumbled upon Mateo’s by accident and I was so glad we did. Right along the beach road in an area among upscale resorts, you could feel the energy from Mateo’s just passing by. A live band played some great tunes and many of the tables in the restaurant were full. Drinks and food were pretty cheap, especially compared to resort prices, and the servers were welcoming and super friendly. And anywhere that brings over complimentary chips and salsa gets immediate bonus points.

I was so excited to see fresh ceviche on the menu so of course I ordered that, and we luckily spotted the daily specials sign advertising fresh local octopus grilled with fresh vegetables so Brian ordered that. Both dishes hit the spot and were very generous portions, and it was some of my favorite food we had all trip. Besides the food being perfectly spot-on, the live music brought such a fun and authentic vibe and truly made for a wonderful night. If you’re stuck on where to go for a fun atmosphere and delicious food, head to Mateo’s.

3. Ciao Checkpoint

A pizza restaurant, in Mexico, being one of my favorite places we ate during our trip is definitely surprising, but in all honesty, it was fantastic. On one of our walks down the beach road we spotted Ciao Checkpoint and made a mental note to return to try it. On our last night we wanted a more low-key vibe so we wanted to grab takeout and eat it at our resort. There are actually a surprising number of wood-fire pizza restaurants in Tulum, which was something I definitely did not expect. But as soon as we walked up to Ciao Checkpoint, the owner greeted us immediately and took our order for a pizza to go. We loved the atmosphere so much that we actually sat and each had an Aperol Spritz while we waited for them to freshly make our pizza. We were able to chat a bit with the owner and watch while a few different groups of tourists came in to get a table. Definitely a very well-run establishment and the pizza was very close to those I’ve had in Italy. Sometimes you need a break from all the seafood and tacos, so definitely check out this great little pizza spot for a nice change of pace.

4. Ziggy’s

Ziggy’s is a cute little beach club and resort that was right next to our own resort. We had breakfast included with our stay, but we wanted to venture out and try something else, so one morning we gave Ziggy’s a shot. Upon walking up the beach to the restaurant, I fell in love. The outdoor restaurant area was perfect, set right in the sand, shaded enough to be bearable, and close enough to the beach to get the nice ocean breeze. They offered tons of different fresh-pressed juices, fresh fruit smoothies, and an array of coffee beverages.

Our server was one of the best we had had all trip, and he made the experience even better. We each got one of the fresh juices, and I was so excited they had chilaquiles on the menu so obviously I ordered that. I absolutely LOVED them. Such a perfect savory, filling, and authentic breakfast and my FAVORITE meal of our time in Tulum. Brian ordered some delicious little pancakes that came with a side of caramel maple syrup and chocolate sauce, which were perfect for dipping the accompanying fruit into. Overall it was a great meal and even better service, plus an atmosphere that really screams “I’m On Vacation in Tulum!”

5. Matcha Mama

Known to many as one of the most Instagrammable places in Tulum, Matcha Mama is a health-food-focused and vegan concept serving up smoothies, acai bowls, fresh juices, and more. It’s quite literally a tiny little shack on the side of the beach road, but the vibes are great and I could totally see why people love to photograph it so much. I got an activated charcoal lemonade and a classic acai bowl, and both were delicious and refreshing. They make everything to order and do it right in front of you behind their tiny counter, and you can tell they put a lot of care into the products they put out. It was a perfect dose of healthy food for me after eating infinite amounts of chips and guac, and it was the best acai bowl I had while I was there. Come for the photo op, stay for the snacks, but make sure you don’t miss out on Matcha Mama.

6. Mia Beach Club

The restaurant at our hotel is known as Mia Restaurant and Beach Club and is where we would order from on the beach. We did also eat at the main restaurant for dinner one night, but more on that later. As far as the beach club goes, we absolutely loved it. Many of the beach clubs require a minimum spend to be able to use their beach beds, which comes out to about $70 USD per person, but if you’re going to be ordering drinks and food all day then you will easily meet the minimum like we did.

Obviously food and drinks are a little on the expensive side because it’s a resort property, but we really enjoyed the attentive beach servers and the drinks were great. For food, I ordered a variety of tacos and a side of guacamole, and all of it was so good and so fresh, and was perfect to eat while laying on the beach. Brian got a burger which he said was also really good, and of course we ordered a few pizzas to enjoy. The convenience of service on the beach is a huge plus, and the quality was actually great for being from the resort. A great option if you are trying to meet the minimum and need some food to keep you fueled.

Places We Would Not Return To:

Kin Toh at Azulik

We had reservations for the very-upscale Kin Toh that is the crown jewel of the fancy and instagram-famous Azulik resort. Having a reservation is one of the only ways to be able to enter Azulik without staying there and be able to take pictures of the incredible architecture. Mistakenly we thought we could easily make the walk to Azulik from our hotel and get there in plenty of time, but by the time we arrived it was after dark and we were late to our reservation. The staff were incredibly kind and accommodating and offered us a table in the bar area since our original table had been given up already. Since it was already dark, and the bar area had the vibes of partygoers and not that of an upscale restaurant, we decided to pull the plug and look somewhere else.

I’m sure the food is delicious and the hotel is beautiful, and if we had arrived on time it would have been fine, but we much more enjoyed heading across the street to Mateo’s and paying less than $50 USD for a delicious meal and fun atmosphere than spending what would have probably been close to $300 USD at the pretentious Azulik. Maybe if I ever make it back to Tulum I’ll try to go again just to get the photos of the hotel, but my dream of staying there and being awed by this resort have completely disappeared after actually going in and experiencing the atmosphere.

Mia Restaurant (Dinner Service)

The restaurant at Selina, our hotel, seemed like a perfect choice for our first night after a long day of traveling. It had a really cool jungle-y vibe and the menu sounded really good when we read it over. That was sort of where the compliments stopped. Our servers seemed just as confused as we were about things, and although they were very kind, it was a very disjointed service. The menu descriptions of the dishes sounded phenomenal, but what we ended up eating was nowhere near what was described. It just seemed as if they tried to create an upscale-sounding menu without having the skills or means to really make a delicious upscale dish. Possibly a tactic to make people okay with the inflated prices by making the food sound fancier than it really was. The food wasn’t terrible, but it definitely wasn’t great and we left feeling disappointed. Again, we loved the food we ate on the beach that came from the same restaurant, but those were fairly simple dishes and they weren’t trying to make tacos and a burger seem too fancy.

Our breakfast was included so we also ate at Mia almost every morning, and that was also nothing to rave about. Of course the included breakfast was extremely basic, offering just toast, yogurt with fruit and granola, and scrambled eggs with a breakfast meat of your choice. It definitely got the job done and kept us full for the morning, but it was nothing too special. If I were to be back in Tulum and staying at Selina again, I would definitely skip out on the meals at Mia and try somewhere else where the value is so much better.

Raw Love

Another one of Tulum’s photo spots, Raw Love is located at the Ahau resort and offers smoothies, acai bowls, and other health food options similar to Matcha Mama. There’s both a little counter right on the beach, and a larger seating area deeper into the resort property. We sat at the quiet larger seating area that was shady, but swelteringly hot because there was no beach breeze.

There were a lot of tables but not many people around, and we were some of the only people there at a prime time. The acai bowl I got was fine, but it was definitely nothing special. Between the two, I definitely liked Matcha Mama better, for the food and for the atmosphere. I probably wouldn’t return to Raw Love because it really wasn’t anything special, but it was closer to us than Matcha Mama so if you don’t want to hike down the beach road to the latter, Raw Love is a perfect option for someone looking for some healthy, vegan options.

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Writing this has made me hungry AND made me miss Tulum so hopefully if you’re planning a trip you’ll use this guide and I can live vicariously through you! To find out some more tips on visiting Tulum, check out my other blog here. There really are so many different options for food in Tulum, and my advice is to always choose the local hotspots over the resort-owned restaurants. You’ll get a more authentic experience, better food, and a cheaper price, and you’ll have a more interesting story to tell when you get home. Always remember, you can’t live a full life on an empty stomach! :)

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