Visited for dinner Friday January 15, 2021, 8:30 pm.
Located in Puerto Cancún shopping center, a friend and I stumbled upon Montemar restaurant, extremely hungry.
And we're so glad we did.
Upon entry, we had our temperature checked and were seated without a reservation. The ambiance was gorgeous and there was only indoor seating available without a reservation. The patio seating by the water was all booked, which was fine on a chilly evening.
We scanned a QR code to view the menu, which was really cool and offered in many, many languages. The menu was VAST.
The Service:
Our server was Alexis, sometimes accompanied by server Diana, and was very pleasant and did the best he could with the little English he knew and the little Spanish we knew.
Both of our servers were attentive all night until the end--remember you have to actually ask for your check here in Mexico.
The Vibe:
The music was very cool, not too loud, and gave the high-ceilinged restaurant a cool, contemporary, sexy vibe.
The walls are stone, with high, red bricked archways and a bamboo ceiling. It was dark, earthy, and beautiful. Even though we sat inside, we were always only feet away from the ocean water.
As we waited, a man walked up to our table with two canaries in a small cage. We think he wanted to show us a some of truck, but we declined the show.
Minutes later, a slick-looking couple dressed all in black walked over to our table and greeted us. He introduced himself as Xibalba and at first, we thought he was the manager. Instead, he pulls out a deck of cards and proceeds to quickly perform two magic tricks, with the help of his assistant. It was actually really cool. He's on Instagram as @xibalba_conjurista.
The Food:
We were served complimentary a bread and spread assortment which was so good, I wish we had more!
I had the betabel, which are roasted beets, and the salmon. The beets were plentiful, served with goat cheese and pistachios and let me tell you--somebody knows what they're doing in the Montemar kitchen. I've never had a beet combination so delicious. The best beets I've ever had, and so many that I took some home!
I followed with the sous vie salmon, cooked perfectly medium, with skin on the bottom and it was VERY good but I was so full of bread and beets!
I almost got the king crab, and will be returning for it. Alexis asked us multiple times, "Would you like to see it?" Wait until you see the photo of it.
My friend had the guacamole and the cajun shrimp, 6 of them, which were huge and served heads on, with shells. She had to take some time to de-shell them but they were delicious. The guacamole was good too, and we took that home too to eat later. She was later offered wet naps for her hands.
We alerted the waitstaff that we were celebrating a birthday and were surprised with the most delightful birthday song and dessert, complete with sparklers. This was wonderful and complimentary.
The Drinks:
They serve wine by the bottle only.
My friend ordered a passion fruit margarita and said it was the best margarita she ever had. It even included real passion fruit chunks!
I only drank bottled water, they serve Evian, 110MX per bottle.
All of this, and our bill was less than $100 USD (1500MX) total, with tip.
We highly recommend Montemar on your trip to Cancún, whether you're traveling with your family, friends, or want a romantic dinner. The value is incredible and we were pleased with everything. In fact, we're going back tonight! See you soon @montemarcancun! read more