Best restaurant for authentic Mexican

[Rdclfamily]

 

 

We want to eat the best Mexican food in port.  Where is that located and how do we get there?

 

Also, safety is a concern of mine.  I want to be sure if we are not traveling with a cruise ship excursion that we will be safe.

 

Even better if this restaurant is on the beach, so we can hang + have a fabulous meal.

Edited November 10, 2023 by Rdclfamily

[c-leg5]

19 minutes ago, Rdclfamily said:

 

 

We want to eat the best Mexican food in port.  Where is that located and how do we get there?

 

Also, safety is a concern of mine.  I want to be sure if we are not traveling with a cruise ship excursion that we will be safe.

 

Even better if this restaurant is on the beach, so we can hang + have a fabulous meal.

 

Have you read the answers to your previous questions?
 

@crewsweeper already described what is at the port or you can Google a port map.

 

The man-made port is right where the ship docks with very long pier.

 

I suggest you take a look at Google maps and skim over the last page of this board to see if anywhere interests you. The same places are recommended over and over.

 

Locally there is the port, the malecon, some out of town beach clubs, excursions to the ruins with add-ons. The waterpark has reopened. 

[Rdclfamily]

2 hours ago, c-leg5 said:

 

 

2 hours ago, c-leg5 said:

Have you read the answers to your previous questions?
 

@crewsweeper already described what is at the port or you can Google a port map.

 

The man-made port is right where the ship docks with very long pier.

 

I suggest you take a look at Google maps and skim over the last page of this board to see if anywhere interests you. The same places are recommended over and over.

 

Locally there is the port, the malecon, some out of town beach clubs, excursions to the ruins with add-ons. The waterpark has reopened. 

 

Edited November 11, 2023 by Rdclfamily

[Sir_Randy]

Take a taxi (walk thru the shops out the gate to get one (should be about $4 pp) and have them drop you off a Tropicante. From there you can walk the boardwalk and find all kind of places on the beach. Across the street (back side of beach bars) you used to be able to find real local mom and pop shacks.

 

[GTJ]

On 11/10/2023 at 6:56 PM, Rdclfamily said:

We want to eat the best Mexican food in port. * * * Also, safety is a concern of mine. I want to be sure if we are not traveling with a cruise ship excursion that we will be safe.

Are you seeking Mexican food, or Yucatecan food? If the former, you may have some choices, but likely not a lot, as this is not an area known for traditional Mexican cuisine (for that you would be better off heading to Puebla, Mexico City, or my favorite, Oaxaca). If you're seeking Yucatecan cuisine (the best of which is centered in Mérida), then you might try the cochinita pibil. In this regard the beach restaurant Yaya Beach might be best.

 

All the restaurants are concerned with food safety and do not want their patrons getting sick. When we had taken cooking classes elsewhere in México, safety was always at the forefront, and there was constant attention to sanitation among Mexican chefs. While you might exercise greater caution with some street food stands, you should be safe with most established restaurants, and would likely be at no substantially greater safety risk compared to the restaurants on the cruise vessel itself.

[c-leg5]

24 minutes ago, GTJ said:

Are you seeking Mexican food, or Yucatecan food? If the former, you may have some choices, but likely not a lot, as this is not an area known for traditional Mexican cuisine (for that you would be better off heading to Puebla, Mexico City, or my favorite, Oaxaca). If you're seeking Yucatecan cuisine (the best of which is centered in Mérida), then you might try the cochinita pibil. In this regard the beach restaurant Yaya Beach might be best.

 

All the restaurants are concerned with food safety and do not want their patrons getting sick. When we had taken cooking classes elsewhere in México, safety was always at the forefront, and there was constant attention to sanitation among Mexican chefs. While you might exercise greater caution with some street food stands, you should be safe with most established restaurants, and would likely be at no substantially greater safety risk compared to the restaurants on the cruise vessel itself.

From posting history I think OP @Rdclfamily has already sailed. It would be interesting and helpful to hear where they ended up.

 

I think “Mexican” food is very regionalized and cannot truly be described as “Mexican”. I agree Costa Maya won’t have best examples of “Yucatan” since it appears the majority of establishments have owners from other regions, or even overseas. Some will serve some Yucatan dishes, or probably Tex Mex, but for example I believe YaYa actually has Italian origins! 
 

Maya Chan does employ a local chef and does provide a reasonable Yucatan based buffet.

 

 

Edited December 3, 2023 by c-leg5

[GTJ]

8 minutes ago, c-leg5 said:

From posting history I think OP @Rdclfamily has already sailed. It would be interesting and helpful to hear where they ended up.

One of the great things about Cruise Critic conversations being an open forum is that responses need not be directed to the circumstances of one individual poster because many others--including others with future travel--will be relying on the information provided.

 

10 minutes ago, c-leg5 said:

I think “Mexican” food is very regionalized and cannot truly be described as “Mexican”. I agree Costa Maya won’t have best examples of “Yucatan” since it appears the majority of establishments have owners from other regions, or even overseas. Some will serve some Yucatan dishes, or probably Tex Mex, but for example I believe YaYa actually has Italian origins!

My original response draft also included the word "Mexican" in quotation marks as well, for the very same reason you're doing so. The parallel is referring to "American" cuisine without differentiating between New England, the southwest, New Orleans, etc. As noted, I am particularly fond of Oaxaca--it is where my wife and I married--and I can distinguish it from, say, the food in northern México, Yucatán, etc.

 

Also, it is difficult to give good responses to "authentic" aspects of a region when the region becomes dominated by tourism, as is the case with Mahahual. I believe your understanding of the Yaya origins to be correct, and for the most part the many restaurants that exist in Mahahual are there for the cruise port, not because the former small fishing village can support them. Are any "authentic"? Probably not. I think this is easier to do in the port of call at Progreso, where Mérida is accessibly and not dominated by tourism. In the end, despite the desire of many to get off the tourist circuit while on a cruise, it can be difficult to do so. Particularly with the larger vessels, many ports have become routine and mass marketed.

[c-leg5]

24 minutes ago, GTJ said:

One of the great things about Cruise Critic conversations being an open forum is that responses need not be directed to the circumstances of one individual poster because many others--including others with future travel--will be relying on the information provided.

 

My original response draft also included the word "Mexican" in quotation marks as well, for the very same reason you're doing so. The parallel is referring to "American" cuisine without differentiating between New England, the southwest, New Orleans, etc. As noted, I am particularly fond of Oaxaca--it is where my wife and I married--and I can distinguish it from, say, the food in northern México, Yucatán, etc.

 

Also, it is difficult to give good responses to "authentic" aspects of a region when the region becomes dominated by tourism, as is the case with Mahahual. I believe your understanding of the Yaya origins to be correct, and for the most part the many restaurants that exist in Mahahual are there for the cruise port, not because the former small fishing village can support them. Are any "authentic"? Probably not. I think this is easier to do in the port of call at Progreso, where Mérida is accessibly and not dominated by tourism. In the end, despite the desire of many to get off the tourist circuit while on a cruise, it can be difficult to do so. Particularly with the larger vessels, many ports have become routine and mass marketed.

+1

 

Although  there was an original village I have to wonder how many locals remain that are truly native to the area. It was evident after cruising resumed there was a severe staff shortage and even prior to Covid workers told us it was too expensive to live locally, presumably in Nuevo pueblo.
 

Mahahual was developed for tourism with the inception of Costa Maya and huge amounts of government funding especially towards rebuilding and developing after the big hurricane that flattened the area and more recently the off-shore baffles to try and counteract the sargassum. I am amazed how many Europeans have discovered  the area especially backpackers, and those that have established businesses there in addition to obvious American and Canadian locations.

 

However I have a very uneasy feeling regarding Costa Maya since cruising resumed and concerns about its future. I hope I am wrong and it is able to re-establish and prosper.

[GTJ]

39 minutes ago, c-leg5 said:

However I have a very uneasy feeling regarding Costa Maya since cruising resumed and concerns about its future. I hope I am wrong and it is able to re-establish and prosper.

We had actually been scheduled to visit when that storm had hit, and our cruise itinerary was re-scheduled (I recall that Willemstad, Curaçao, was the replacement port). But the entire coast of Quintana Roo has been undergoing this transformation coincidentally with its progression from mere territorial status to full statehood. Many Mexican nationals are simply warehoused to staff the service industries, with little historical or other familial connection . . . Chetmual being the largest exception. The same can be said for much of the Baja California peninsula. I am more enthused with the developing ports at Huatulco and Tapachula (Pto. Chiapas), where I don't think that tourism will overtake their economies as in Quintana Roo (but rather more like the impact of cruising upon Progreso and Mérida). Most Americans are probably indifferent, many not having a clue about geography and seeing these places are mere playgrounds, but they're important issues for where México wants to go. Cancún is certainly seen as successful economic development, notwithstanding its lack of most things of interest. Mahahual may be viewed similarly, exclusively as a destination for vacationing Americans, even if it never reaches the extent of Cancún.