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El Moro

4.7 (102 reviews)
ModerateMexican
Open • 12:30 pm - 10:00 PM

El Moro Photos

EL MORO ATMOSPHERE

What's the vibe?
Casual
Moderate noise
Good for groups
Outdoor seating

Recommended Reviews - El Moro

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Reviews With Photos

Liz G.

Epic food!!! Filete a la Tampiquena- the dish with skirt, steak and two * Molé enchiladas. Absolutely mind blowing! The steak was so juicy. It was unreal and the enchiladas were incredible. The mole is delicious! * Cochinita Pibil is the pork dish in an amazing broth from the Yucatán. SO juicy and the broth is RIQUÍSIMO! The fried Platanos were absolutely delicious! Served with a sour cream and real keen sugar! My friend had a virgin piña colada, and I had one with alcohol, and we both agreed they were the best piña colada's we have ever had. Totally fresh coconut juice. Amazing! Seriously, this was one of the best meals of our lives. The service is outstanding!

Enjoying El Moro With Our Friend and Owner Ray

We have been coming to El Moro for over 20 years it seems give or take. One of my old dive buddies first took me here when I just started diving just after Y-2K. A few years back while down with the entire family, we reserved a large table to celebrate my 60th birthday. Ray and his dad made the night very special in that they prepared their lobster feast for all of us that was accompanied with all the tasty sides. The cold drinks kept coming and the service was exceptional. Never waited for a thing all night. We view them like family and will always stop in for a few dinners while we are on the island and have been back a few times since our special night. On other occasions we have enjoyed the grouper cooked in a foil pouch with a fantastic sauce and the shrimp dishes are also very good. My recommendation to you is come in hungry before 7pm and plan to leave full and satisfied. Any cabbie will get you there and back very easily. Love El Moro!!

Asparagus soup
Emily H.

This family owned place is so cute and they make you feel like family! I've been twice - got the asparagus soup both times. It's rich and creamy and comes with fresh, warm, toasty garlic bread. They also bring you chips and the freshest pico I've ever tasted! I've also had both the beef and shrimp fajitas. The beef - and accompanying grilled onion and green peppers - were so delicious, I cleaned my entire plate in one sitting (not my usual MO)! The shrimp I got to go... so it wasn't as fresh but still tasty and they do pack up all the extra fixings for their takeaway orders (sauces and everything!). Definitely worth a stop in!

Had a great dinner at El Moro tonight! Big beautiful fresh shrimp gambas (breaded fried shrimp), and fresh fish (sea bass) with shrimp papillote special. The fish and shrimps were light and delicate in a creamy peppers, onions, butter and capers sauce. Very tasty and very filling! Had a couple of very nice margaritas as well. Highly recommend going to El Moro for great food, drinks and great service from Ray!

Fresh caught trigger fish taco (we caught the fish!)
Kailey H.

One of the best meals on the island, authentic, delicious and affordable. It was incredible. The service is fantastic! We brought snapper we caught on a fishing trip and they cooked it up and provided sides for $80 pesos. Chicken mole was one of the most unique Mexican dishes we've ever had and it was very tasty. Strong and delicious colada and daiquiris. I'd recommended everyone to come out to El Moro and try their food! Update: We returned with more fish we caught to be cooked. Again, nothing short of perfect. Fresh made pineapple juice was refreshing on a 90 degree day. The pork special was tender and went perfectly with the purple onion pico de Gallo. Pork special, garlic fish, pineapple juice and one sol $19 US dollars. The owner is the sweetest and we will return again to El Moro for future vacations.

Margarita
Ashley P.

Hands down the best place I went to on the island. It is family run, and ray makes you feel like your part of it. The drinks were all delicious. The food was the shining star. Truly cannot emphasize, this was the best meal I had on my trip. The shrimp fajitas were so so good. The black beans were so flavorful and shrimp was cooked perfectly. A few in my group got mole and it seemed to be the best out of all the places we went. If you're ever in Cozumel go here, you won't regret it.

The owner making mayan coffee
wayne s.

This is by far my favorite place to visit one in Cozumel. It's a little out-of-the-way but he won't get the crew ship crowd here. Everything I've ever had here was fantastic and homemade from Ray's father's recipe. I've been going here for 20 years, and every time I come back Ray greets me as a long lost friend.

Dining area and kitchen.

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2 years ago

Great food. Been in business a very long time. Love the fish in foil. Can't go wrong here.

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4 years ago

Been back after 5+ years. Food was excellent and they remembered our family! They are a must go when on Cozumel.

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Review Highlights - El Moro

“Ray, one of the owners, was kind enough to drop us off back at the hotel since he was heading that way anyway.”

Mentioned in 22 reviews

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Pancho's Backyard - Quesadillas

Pancho's Backyard

4.3(73 reviews)
1.8 km
•$$$

Pancho's is a great spot to hang out and get a meal. It served as a festive and cool reprieve from…read morethe heat with extremely friendly servers, fun drinks, and delicious food. It also boasts spotless bathrooms, which warrants a special shoutout. The food was solid, albeit on the pricier side. I had the mole enchiladas and my wife got the carne asada, and we had the fun coqueta, which is basically a margarita. Pancho's real stand out are its marimba players. We were the only diners at 6 on a Saturday night (presumably post-cruise crowds) but the marimba players gave us, essentially, an hour long private concert. This absolutely thrilled my one-year old son, who could not stop dancing. The marimba players even invited him behind the board and let him hold one of their mallets (which my son tried to steal. He's got a lot of his mama in him). So yes, the food and atmosphere are really good. But it's the supremely friendly staff who made our experience great--and certainly the highlight of the trip for my son.

Stopped by Pancho's Backyard while in Cozumel and it ended up being one of the best meals of the…read moretrip. The chicken mole enchiladas were outstanding -- the mole was a rich chocolate mole with the perfect amount of spice. You could really taste the depth of the sauce, not too sweet, not too spicy, just perfectly balanced and incredibly flavorful. We also tried the shrimp alioli, and that was just as impressive. The shrimp were cooked perfectly and the garlic alioli sauce was rich without being too heavy. Everything tasted fresh and made to order. The atmosphere is beautiful -- lush garden setting, relaxing, and it really feels like you're dining somewhere special rather than just another tourist spot. Service was attentive and friendly the whole time. If you're in Cozumel, this place is absolutely worth a visit. I would go back just for the mole alone.

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Pancho's Backyard
Pancho's Backyard - Quesadilla

Quesadilla

Pancho's Backyard - Steak tacos

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Steak tacos

El Palomar

El Palomar

4.3(58 reviews)
1.8 km
•$

I saved my 1,200th milestone review for the best Mexican food I ever had which is located in…read moreCozumel Mexico! Which is an extreme contrast of the Mexican restaurant which was my first review! This restaurant is located in the oldest home on the island dating back to 1903. Definitely a find to come here and I share this secret place with my fellow Yelpers. The food is nothing short of amazing. I strongly suggest to follow all the suggestions on what to eat. The highly skilled chef will have you leaving here wondering when you can come back. My favorites were the fresh fish, avocado(aka native to Mexico) as well as all the special and spicy ingredients. It was so relaxing to have a business meeting here while looking outdoors on the beautiful gardens. After lunch we had drinks out front while looking at the beautiful ocean. Definitely the hidden jewel on the entire island.

This review is for dinner . We have been to Cozumel 7 times . Always enjoyed most of the local…read moreoptions. Visited El Palomar for dinner on this trip after a recommendation from some local friends. El Palomar is located a little north of the ferry dock on the main drag. Directly across from the Jaques Cousteau statue. The building is a charming renovated 100 year old building (very well done). We had drinks on the veranda overlooking the sea at sunset. Margarita was the best I have had in Cozumel and the view of the sunset from the veranda was great. We retired into the main restaurant for dinner . The food was on point. My wife had the grilled Mahi And I had the skirt steak. Both cooked just right and served with a side of salad,mixed veggies and potato. The service was professional and unhurried. Wine selection also very good. Price was very reasonable for this nice of a place. This was probably the best experience at a restaurant that we have had in Cozumel.

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El Palomar - Sunset view at the bar

Sunset view at the bar

El Palomar
El Palomar

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Cielito Lindo - Molcajete de Piedra Caliente Parrillada (regional dish; basically a mixed grill in a stew with tortillas?)

Cielito Lindo

4.5(95 reviews)
1.7 km
•$$

The service was outstanding! Both the server and the bartender were great and friendly. The chef…read morewasn't visible but the food was delicious! The Fajitas were amazing and everything was fresh, and my small group included two vegans. The restaurant staff did their best and created delicious vegan meals. The Spicy passion fruit Margaritas were Amazing! We only had one day in Cozumel since we were coming from a cruise ship and it was raining that day. So we got off the beaten path and enjoyed the food and drinks at this restaurant. It was only $2.50 pp to take a taxi from the cruise port. Be sure to negotiate your taxi fare. The music was good too and nobody seemed to mind that I got up to dance for a few minutes! Overall the experience was amazing! I definitely recommend the fajitas and the guacamole appetizers and the drinks!

Terrific food, intimate vibes, just a couple of blocks off the main touristy beach road. It's not a…read morelarge restaurant, maybe 5-7 tables total, along with some outdoor seating if weather allows. That said, they weren't that busy when we arrived, and we were immediately seated. They have a couple of great regional Yucatan dishes here, like the Molcajete and the Cochinita. San Miguel de Cozumel is admittedly not the most beautiful or interesting Mexican city to do touristy stuff in, so it was a treat to find some great regional cuisine to try. I was with a group, so we ordered the Molcajete (basically, mixed grilled meats in a stew), ceviche, and cochinita (stewed pulled pork), along with tortillas. All of it was great. The sauces, from the salsa to the stew broths to the ceviche sauce, were all terrific. There was mention that they dishes were spicy, but in the end, none of the stuff was super-spicy. Furthermore, the spicy stuff was often a salsa served on the side, or a whole roasted pepper that wasn't integrated into the dish, so you could calibrate your spiciness to your taste. Bathrooms: Basic, but clean and functional.

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Cielito Lindo - Cielito Mexican cuisine

Cielito Mexican cuisine

Cielito Lindo - Fajitas with beef, red and yellow peppers!

Fajitas with beef, red and yellow peppers!

Cielito Lindo - Spicy Passionfruit Margaritas

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Spicy Passionfruit Margaritas

El Moro - mexican - Updated October 2026

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