The best meal we had in Bacalar! Although I'm not a fan of dimly lit restaurants, the ambience,…read moredecor and overall style of this place was very authentic and aesthetic. Upon entry, the open air cooking is fully exposed so you can see them making fresh tortillas on this open fire pit, grilling meats, food prep, everything. We received it and a large round table in the middle of the restaurant right next to the little boutique shop. The menu was filled with so many different dishes, we went overboard. You start with these freshly made tostadas and several homemade salsa for dipping. The tostadas were a bit on the hard side, but I think it's because they are made fresh. They also give everybody a small cup of what tastes like kombucha to eat in digestion. For starters, we had the mixed ceviche, guacamole, tuna tar tare, Koji sliders, watermelon salad. I felt like after that everybody was stuffed, but since the main entrees said it would take anywhere from 40 to 60 minutes to prepare, we had already ordered our main entrees dishes so we knew we were in it for the long haul. The sliders were sizable and had a nice sweet flavor, loved the tuna tar tare, fresh, perfectly seasoned, the guac was chunky and tasted very fresh. It was served on top of these crispy little possibly plantain chips. well the watermelon salad was good. We just weren't bands of warm fruit in a salad so that might've been the only miss of the night. For entrées, we ordered the tuna steak, one ribeye, one fillet mignon, the Thai salad, and I believe the sea bass. To Be honest, I was already 4 margaritas deep so I can't remember much but I do remember that the food being gooood! Everybody was very happy with their meal. My son said it was the best steak that he'd ever had. Drinks are definitely strong.... And we also enjoyed all of the desserts which the tiramisu was my favorite. We had an amazing service from Erik and Marisol. Great restaurant and food, impeccable service. I would highly recommend for a special occasion as you could easily dress up and make it a very memorable dinner. My only warning would be that because of the open kitchen style of the restaurant. It does get a little smoky in there while you're eating, but that's the small price to pay for a great meal.!

I visited Bacalar in November, and two months later I'm still dreaming about coming back just to…read moreeat here. My boyfriend and I arrived for dinner without reservations but got there right when they opened and were seated immediately. Our waiter was fantastic. He explained how the restaurant works, offered us a tour, and walked us through the menu with thoughtful, spot-on recommendations. We were brought complimentary chips and salsa, and since we were told our entrées would take 45 minutes to an hour in the wood-fired oven, we started with the ceviche de maracuyá. So worth it. For our mains, my boyfriend ordered the steak and I got the lobster. Both were excellent, but the lobster... wow. I'm from the Bahamas and grew up eating great lobster, and I can honestly say this was the best lobster of my life. Something about the seasoning and the wood-fire cooking made it unbelievably rich and decadent. I haven't stopped thinking about it since. By the time we were finishing our meal, the restaurant had filled up, but it never felt too loud or chaotic. The space felt intimate, with dim lighting, planets scattered throughout the decor, and perfectly spaced tables that made the whole experience feel special. Out of all the places we ate in Bacalar, this was hands down the best, and the one we still talk about.

Very chill and again fabulous service in Bacalar. Truth be told, La Pina was super close to our…read morehotel and I had a broken finger from an accident that occurred earlier. As we strolled up to the restaurant there was obviously a cook having a beak sitting on a small stool out front. I asked her what we should order. Without hesitation she replied huaraches. Now I believe the name refers to the shape being similar to the soles sandal's but the dish that arrives stacked with fresh crispy lettuce on top of a delicious mix of steak drunks and shrimp sitting on a 2mm thick handmade blue miaz tortilla. Two cream drizzles and the open fire kitchen flavours permeated the entire dish. We also ordered a felafel and a chilli rellano. Both were very good. Excellent authentic flavours packer full of loving care. Bravo and thanks.

Everything here was bad except the copal they were burning…read more We ordered a burrito, fries, guacamole, a fish filet, ceviche with tomatoes as a sub for pineapple and mango, and extra tortillas. We also ordered two drunk smoothies with two shots in each (basically blended alcoholic drinks). Out of what we ordered, here's what we got: -Filet fish, without extra tortillas, it was bad. -one blended smoothie with not alcohol to be tasted in it, and one regular mixed drink with seemingly only a shot in it -a small molcajete with decent guacamole and hard, overly greasy chips--this was the best thing on the table -the vegano burrito was okay, but flavorless And the fries that came on the side were too undercooked to want to eat -the ceviche had 8 pieces of fish that was basically just poke/sashimi because it hadn't soaked in the acid bath that is required to make ceviche, and it also had 10 pieces of shrimp, which was just basically Raw shrimp. The majority of what was on the plate was long, raw red onions and a third of a tomatoes that was sliced and laying on top. -I didn't order anything else because I didn't trust them to make anything good after everything we ordered was bad and they forgot our order of fries. The staff was also rude, and would walk away while we were still talking, and made no eye contact with us when we ordered or exchanged words. Our Spanish wasn't great, so perhaps they were just jaded about tourists

Don't be fooled by its rough exterior; the food is AMAZING!!! This is a family owned and operated…read morebusiness. It was heartwarming to see the whole family involved. The food was beyond delicious. This is for those of you looking for REAL Mexican food!!!! We had the chorizo quesadillas, pastor gringa, and Trompo alambre. Everything was mouthwatering cooked to serve. I highly recommend this place

The food was allll amazing! Our group had a torta, alambre, gringa, queso Ondo, burrito, fajitas de…read more chuleta, nachos de ranchera and they were ALL delicious! Best mexican food in Bacalar!

Bacalar is such a gem, and this art studio and restaurant is just a reflection of it. The juices &…read morefood are fresh to order, delicious, healthy and unique to say the least. I came twice during our trip and tried the Mayan omelette which had beans on the side, and pumpkin seeds on top, There was some dry toppers inside the omelette which I couldn't figure what it was but good! Also the orchard soup was made of spices, carrot, kale, and other vegetables with a side of avocado toast which was also delicious. There's a lot to look at because it's a local art studio and souvenir shop. Definitely check out the goodies on the way out!.

BEAUTIFUL EXPERIENCE!! amazing {vegan} food and chill vibes with amazing musicians. Coffee was…read more:::chef's kiss::: and the artwork was icing on the top. HIGHLY recommend!

Feed me tacos! I loved this place, and the vibes, the decor,…read morethe service, and of course the food. I came back 2x on my vacation after trying a few other places and Barbanegra was my favorite. First time I had fish tacos. The second time I tried 3 tacos: the chicken, shrimp and another fish. Fish tacos here are my absolute favorite. I'll definitely be back.

I wanted to love this place. The decor is amazing and the vibe is awesome as well. The owner was…read morethere and super nice but I have to say I didn't love the food - it was good - but the service was really not good unfortunately. Let me start with the service - I just think some more training would be helpful. Our waiter was a little all over the place. Removed some dishes but not others. We asked for water bunch of time to refill the bottle they leave on the table and didn't happen so asked other staff. And finally the food all came out at different times. I get maybe they bring as ready but there was a big gap between when we got the fish tacos, vs other plates. The food was good but not great. Lacked in flavor. I ordered the Arrachera plate and was a littler smaller than I thought based on pics I saw on TripAdvisor and price. Others ordered fish tacos, cauliflower, ceviche, queso fundido, guacamole. I personally thought the ceviche was the best. Anyway - check em out if ya want - maybe a little off the night I went.

Date: Monday, August 21st, 2023 Time: around 3:30pm…read moreParty of: 2 to eat in + 2 for takeaway Meal: Late Lunch *Taco de Cameron (32.00) x5 *Taco de Carne (24.00) x6 *Taco Cochinita (22.00) *Taco de Filete (23.00) *Taco de Caracol (34.00) *Taco Pulpo (35.00) *Taco de Jaiba (32.00) *Cerveza (45.00) *Agua Purification 1/2 L (21.00) x2 Probably one of my favorite meals in Bacalar as I adore tacos. We were staying at an Airbnb close by, so walked here on a Monday afternoon with the hubby. We ordered the above to eat in and takeout for his parents. I think like 8 of those tacos listed were mine. I love trying all kinds of fillings so can't help it when at a taco shop. I have to order like one of everything. All the tacos were delish. I especially liked the pulpo / octopus and carne asada. The conchinita pabil was new, so I decided to try that without looking up what it was. It's traditional Yucatec Mayan slow-roasted pork dish. Glad I tried it cuz I adore pork. You can grab sauces for your tacos and they give you complimentary chips. Definitely a must eat for any taco lover in Bacalar.

Unfortunately, our experience at Taco Loco was disappointing. The food was served cold, the service…read morewasn't great, and one of the guests in our party didn't receive their food until everyone else had already finished eating. We really wanted to enjoy the experience, but the service and food timing made it difficult. Hopefully, this was just an off night.

this is what you think of when you think of a quick cheap and yummy taco joint. the service was…read morequick and the food was yummy. fun and lively, fast casual atmosphere. the chips and guac were standouts for me. the chips were thick and the guac was fresh and plentiful, with there being more guac than chips to dip in! the margarita was as also the perfect combo of delicious and strong. would recommend if you are walking around town!

Date: Sunday, August 20th, 2023 Time: around 2:45pm…read moreParty of: 2 Meal: Lunch *Picadillo de res *Prensado *Champinones *Chuleta Ahumada *Chile Relleno *Carne Asada *Combinacion - ceviche tostada? *Agua *Light Coke I love tacos. Whenever in Mexico, I always try to hit up a taco spot, if not several. Since the hubby and I had just finished a boat tour with his parents, we decided to grab our first meal here. (It was on my list of bookmarked places. The in laws didn't join us as they wanted to go back to the Airbnb.) If memory serves, this is on or right off the main square area, so very easy to get to. I don't recall having to wait for a table. From our receipt, we got the items above. (It was hand written, so I'm not sure what everything cost.) I believe most tacos were $22 MX per while some were $25 MX each. And the tostada might have been $99 MX. I believe our whole bill was $295 MX. The shrimp ceviche was my fav. I'm a sucker for any kind of seafood marinated in citrus. This was good, especially with a little hot sauce. The tacos were tasty as well. The prensado / chicharron was deliciously chewy and meaty. I think we also got some fish tacos from my pix, but I didn't see it on my receipt, so I'm not 100% sure. That might have been a mistake now that I'm thinking of our time there. They may have given these to us in accident. If so, I know we told them about it. Service was fine. No fuss, no muss. They took our order and served everything when ready. I'm from the US and don't know any Spanish. Didn't have an issue communicating. Also, there's an English menu on the board as well. A fine place to grab some tacos if in the area. I'm more of an offal taco person, so I was missing those types of meats. But worth a stop by for a quick snack.

Every time we visit Bacalar, we always dine here. Everything that they do is on point. From the…read morefood, drinks, service and ambiance. Yolanda is our lovely and kind server tonight. She gave us wonderful recommendations on the menu. The Corazon burger is amazing!!! And that fillet tuna is definitely a favorite. I highly recommend visiting this place to finish off a great vacation in Bacalar. Thank you El Barril!!!

I'm not sure how this place has so many great reviews. We went for dinner on the recommendation of…read moreour host. We were sat quickly and had our choice of seating. The atmosphere was nice. The server was nice but inattentive. We repeatedly had to ask multiple times for water, the bill, basic condiments. She didn't bother to return after delivering the food to see if everything was OK. The waitress had to go ask someone about every request, even the simplest ones. We ordered the mixed grill which was edible but an uninspired pile of mostly chicken with one pork rib, one sausage and a few vegetables thrown in, all smothered in BBQ sauce, which left everything tasting more or less the same. We also had the guacamole, which was decent but needed salt which I had to ask for. If I had visited the bathroom before we ordered I wouldn't have even bothered to eat there. The women's bathroom was out of order so I was pointed to the men's room. The water in the sink was not working and there was a bucket of cloudy soapy water in the sink presumably to "wash" my hands in. There was a pile of dirt and rocks all over the counter next to the sink. They don't accept credit cards and when we paid cash the exchange rate they gave was well below what is typical for the area. This in a place that is frequented by tourists. The food was expensive for the quality and service provided. I would not recommend this restaurant to anyone. There are other much better options in the area.

Fresh cozy little place with friendly people and yummy food. Chicken empanadas were made from…read morescratch right then and they were willing to make them special and gluten free.

This is not recommended. The fruit they gave us was pretty dry no granola or yogurt options. Plus…read morethe papaya was rancid. Flies were all over us and food was bad. We won't return to this place ever again.