We stopped in here after a wonderful dinner next door at Lido. The location is undeniably beautiful, set right on the water, but unfortunately the decor and ambiance fall noticeably short in comparison. We had a group of 14, and despite the bar being mostly empty, the hostess would not allow us to split into two tables. Instead, she insisted we crowd around a single six top and move chairs ourselves, which left part of our group standing, leaning against walls, or waiting for space to sit. Service was slow from the start. It took about 20 minutes for the waitress to take our drink order and another 20 minutes before drinks began to arrive. Given the delay, lack of seating, and overall disorganization, we decided not to order any late night food. I ordered a margarita, and it was honestly one of the worst margaritas I've had. Very heavy on sweet and sour, clearly not made in house, with a weak pour. Prices felt steep for the quality being delivered. Oddly enough, the highlight of the visit was people watching. The vibe is... strange. While waiting in line for the bathroom, someone who frequents the bar mentioned it's known locally as a swingers spot. The crowd skewed heavily 60+, but hey, whatever works. If you're in the area, I'd strongly recommend heading next door to Lido for a far better experience in terms of atmosphere, service, and drinks. read more

We stumbled upon this place looking for a fun atmosphere and after-dinner drinks! This was perfect! I wish I knew the name of the band because this band was amazing! People were dancing and the music was popping! We ordered drinks which were decent and the food we got was really good! Coconut shrimp, French fries and ceviche. The ceviche was amazing! So fresh and delicious. This is a great spot! So fun and good food with beach views! read more

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February 11/2025: Dinner with the Al/Red/Clem etc. The place was jammed as it had some sort of company event or other. This was a pretty decent meal given how busy they were. I had the classic ceviche ($250p). Was good but overly flavourful. Also had onion rings ($145p)& fries ($135p). Ambiance was beach casual. I'd come again but order something else. I heard the wings are very good. read more

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Zenzi is right on the beach, which is amazing. We were able to sit on the sand. The waitstaff is pretty fast and the drinks are good. The prices are surprisingly reasonable, considering it is literally on the beach. The food was a little bit of a mixed bag. The sandwich was great. The wings boneless were great, but the quesadilla was pretty greasy, and the beef didn't seem to be of high quality. We went here for lunch so we did not get to listen to a band, but I'm sure it would be fun at night. read more

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Table in the sand..great ambience on the beach. Good service, great food, and tasty drink specials. Had the Salmon and Mediterranean salad and some Mezcals! read more

If you're looking for a local beach club with a great vibe, great service and every nationality you could think of to hang out with then this is your next stop in Playa Del Carmen. Zenzi staff is attentive and takes great care of you. The food is so delicious and the drinks are plentiful with lots of selection. read more

Zenzi - Playa Fajitas - Bars Near Me - Playa del Carmen, ROO

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Been here several times. I have sat here for an entire football game, having multiple drinks, barely a buzz. Husband and friend order whiskey, super diluted. This place waters their booze down. Total rip off. Food is always hit and miss. Think I'll steer clear. Would not recommend. read more

Five stars for ambiance. Forreal. This spot is perfect for anyone looking for good bites, margaritas with a view. You can't beat the beautiful blue water while sipping on a classic margarita. That was probably my favorite part about this spot. Coconut shrimp was to die for. Thinking about it makes my mouth water lol. Ceviche was okay. Fries were goood! Service was awesome. Our drinks were always full and they served us quickly. I miss being on the beach with my friends and holding margarita in my hand. Sigh. I'll be back. Thanks Zenzi, for the memories! read more

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This is the first place that we ate when we arrived at Playa Del Carmen. We stayed at El Faro. You can sit at a table right on the beach with your toes in the sand. I ordered grilled shrimp with rice. The shrimp are big and delicious. My daughter ordered the mahi which she said was good. My wife ordered the seared ahi tuna which was overcooked but ok. Drinks are overpriced, but that's what you pay when you're on the beach. Service was ok but we had to ask 3 times for our check. It's worth the price for the atmosphere. read more

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Food was good but service could be better, our bartender Armando was giving us alot of attitude and would ignore us. Not sure why he was rude as we were nothing but nice to him. We moved to the other side of the bar so we could get better service and we did . read more

Management here is not very good. We were promised certain things for the NYE and they failed to deliver. No excuses, no make up, nothing. Just poor planning and bad attitude from the organizers. Good enough for a drink, but anything else I'd really stay away. read more

Beware of a scum. Both Manager and waiters are scum artists. When you order a beer-one waiter will bring 1st bottle, if you choose to order another one-another waiter. At the end, totally different waiter brings bill with additional charges. Kind of bait and switch. When called off, they trying to provoke. At some point, a manager tried to pull "let me review camera" trick. Of course, it did not work. Very unprofessional and disgusting. It is sad, to witness poorly educated, 3rd world country performance. Very sad. Not recommend. read more

Fabulous place, great music, great service, lots of options from the menu, Sundays BBQ is amazing, can't wait to go back, we had fish tacos, and coconut shrimp, delicious! read more

Zenzi - Fish Tacos and Coconut Shrimp - Bars Near Me - Playa del Carmen, ROO

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I have gone here a couple times during the night. It's a nice bar right on the beach. The ambiance is great. I believe they have live music every night. When I came last night there was a live band playing and they were really good! I have only came here 3 times but all 3 times have been wonderful! I plan to come back. The bartenders are great and super attentive to everyone around the bar. Amazing service!!! I feel like the prices at Zenzi is cheaper compared to other bars I have gone to in Playa. I got my bill and was so shocked at how cheap it was..I drank and drank and drank..shots on shots on shots and when I got the bill I wanted to drink more because of how cheap it was!!! I didn't eat the food while I was there, but it looked and smelled good. If you are in Playa check out Zenzi! read more

As someone who lives here full time, I typically avoid tourist spots, but I've now been to Zenzi's twice for the Sunday all you can eat BBQ 2-6pm because friends want to go. The toes in the sand looking at the water location can't be beat. The rest is Meh at best to me. The food at the BBQ is fine. I do enjoy the curry potato salad. At 260 pesos it's not a bad deal, especially if you are a big eater. But be warned, they stop serving well before the advertised 6pm end time. The drinks are okay but not great. Service is a mixed bag. We had great service from one waitress-shout out to Carrie. But the manager was cranky and got upset with us for asking for another umbrella for shade. And after we cashed out with Carrie at the end of her shift-all separate checks, the next guy said we could only have one check per table. When we asked him to check on that, we were just completely ignored. I think the plan was to ignore us until we left and they could turn the table, which worked. I personally have no interest in going here again. Plenty of better places and views in the area. read more

I LOVE this place!!! We came back here multiple nights of our trip just to chill and enjoy the energy. The live music is awesome and the view is unbeatable. The overall vibe is great. Plus the fish tacos are a large portion, perfectly fried, and pretty well priced (the only food we ordered there). They have great drink menu too. This place is a MUST VISIT. read more

Our friends have discovered this gem of a place by chance, and invited us for lunch. The food was flavorful, service - incredit, location and music can't be beat! As the adults were enjoying their libations in the shade, kids played on the beach, grabbed sodas at the bar with the swings, danced to live music. And as we were leaving, we washed our feet off the sand, dried up with the plush clean towels and were on our way, promising to return! One thing to note - live music is loud, so if you prefer to have a quieter time- ask to be seated away from the speakers. read more

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Fun bar vibe, good music, great place to watch sports, and still able to enjoy the beach. They have unlimited bbq on Sunday 2-6 which is excellent and you can still order off the menu. Definitely recommend read more

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If you're looking for beachfront dining, sinking your toes into the sand while sipping an aperol spritz, and a little live music, then Zenzi is your place. It's a full service restaurant bar (reservations kinda encouraged, otherwise you'll get a not so great table) with a menu that caterers to the breakfast, lunch, and dinner crowd. We popped in for sunset (no sunset views due to the time of year and angle of the resto). The dinner menu was complete with items you'll find at most Playa del Carmen bistros: seafood tacos, aguachile, ceviche, sandwiches... We were feeling peckish, so we shared the fried calamari with a few rounds of drinks. Cash and card are accepted. read more

Lovely beachfront location the North end of the tourist walk. The servers are friendly and patient to explain what's good. The catch of the day was mahi-mahi--yum! Then he explained all the different ways they could cook and serve it (some not on the menu!). Great place to send the sun under, and watch the fire dancer. Smoking friendly on the beach tables. read more

Great service. Drinks were good. Love music was good too. Can be a chill spot to be at. Performer was great last night. read more

Zenzi - Bars Near Me - Playa del Carmen, ROO

The food is amazing!! Ocean front beach restaurant with an amazing menu that fits most all people. The prices are completely reasonable (we got a filet and prawns for around $25 USD, 2 shrimp tacos for $6usd). The service was good as well. My only recommendation is to wear bug spray on your feed/legs at night cause it is right on the beach and feed got several bites. read more

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Beach front restaurant only requires you to spend $250 pesos minimum to stay in one of their beach lounge chairs for all day or you can sit on their outside dining area, great view and beach front restaurant. My toddler wanted pancakes and I had the zenzi breakfast which is scrambled eggs, butter croissant (amazing), coffee and juice. Will go back again for lunch. read more

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Came here with my cousin and to meet with our local friends. Hostess sat the 2 of us at a 6 topper as we were waiting for the 3 others to show. After about a half hour (we had ordered our drinks and an appetizer) we were still waiting for our local friends to show up because something happened and roads were blocked. The manager came up to us and told us we need to go. He needs our table. Our drinks hadn't even arrived.. I get it they were busy.. but there was open tables..and we had ordered waiting for friends.. that kind of set the tone for the night.. once our friends arrived (about 5 mins later) I found the manager and asked if he still needed us to leave because there were open tables and we still hadn't gotten out order.. he waved his hand at me like I was a bother.. our drinks and appetizer came.. and guess what they were WRONG.. friends placed their orders and they came to table WRONG.. service was horrible food was ok.. manager needed an attitude adjustment..music was very loud and pricing was typical for the area.. view was nice but ..treatment to guests was horrible and it wasn't high season either. I will never go back.. the way the manager approached us.. not even an excuse me.. just you need to leave I need this table.. our local friends made the suggestion.. but no gracias.. horrible! Same on manager! read more

I was staying at a condo in town and we spent plenty of time at the pool but wanted to spend some time at the beach. We made a plan to maybe visit the public beach which I heard was nice but decided to come to Zenzi since they have a deal with our condo to let us use their facilities on the beach as long as we buy a drink (maybe we had to buy food too but it didn't mater because our group of four ordered plenty of drinks and a couple appetizers to share). The place has a inside area with a bar, and another bar on an outside patio, then they have a lot of tables for eating and drinking and then they have a lot of lounge chairs low to the floor with sunshades to keep us from getting sunburned. Our chairs were right by the waves coming in but we didn't go into the water because it had too much seaweed washed up on the beach but our men walked down the beach and said the public beach has no seaweed so it seems it just washes up in this area more than other areas. The drinks were pretty good but a couple of us thought they were way too strong. The food was just okay. It's not perfect but it was kinda nice though. read more

Loved the beach vibe, prices, music and margaritas were really good. Staff were very friendly and fun to talk to. read more

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Great Beach Bar with inexpensive drinks. Could ask for a better location when walking on 5th Ave read more

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In some aspects this 3 Star rating is not fair to them but they could've done more to correct this and make our experience a bit better.... better explanation as you read on. WHAT BRINGS ME HERE: I was staying at a nearby resort/condo but as gorgeous as the property is, they are not located directly on the ocean so they have agreements with a couple beach clubs for us to enjoy the beach. And Zenzi certainly has a great oceanfront view situated between a couple other resorts... ZENZI DECOR: The place seems to be laid out in sections.... first area is the interior bar with tables and couches... the next area is moving toward the beach with an outdoor deck/patio with dining tables/chairs... next area/row is a few steps off the deck and onto the sand, where Zenzi has more tables/chairs for dining (many have a shade umbrellas from Dos Equis)... next section, still moving toward the water, are large cushioned chairs/couches (which appear to be made from reclaimed pallet wood)... the last section is the lounges, which have raised backs but the cushions are directly on the sand and the whole area has shade structures held up with drift wood. The whole place uses tons of reclaimed woods and has a great atmosphere... WHAT ZENZI CAN OFFER: First off they offer the obvious, a great beach location and a pretty good view... but that view comes with some hesitation. You see, Playa Del Carmen's beach goes in and out instead of a straight line along the shoreline, so when the current and winds are not cooperating, the "indents" of land collect tons of seaweed and the water appears turbulent (brown with kicked up sand/seawood) and unfortunately that is exactly how our time at Zenzi was; TONS of seaweed and turbulent water directly in front of us.. but BRIGHGT blue and green water 100 feet away from the shoreline. At one point, a couple of us walked down the beach about 300 feet and the beach became perfect. We swam and enjoyed the water but sadly could not do this at Zenzi; and even though it wasn't their fault I thought they could have at least raked up some of the seaweed on shore so it would appear nicer. Beyond the beach they did have full service bar and food with beach servers. The server we had was pleasant and my drink was pretty good, but not everyone in the group would agree the drinks were good (they definitely were strong but sadly the drinks were not all tasty). We also had nachos; and I wish I could say they were great but they really weren't. BATHROOM: Like most people, if you drink, you will eventually will need to urinate and unlike many vacationers, I actually use the bathroom instead of going in the pool or ocean. Don't know why but I dig a bathroom with a long trough filled with a little ice (communal urination) but they had one so thumbs up to that... But I wish people would use common sense and put on flip-flops before they visit a bathroom (you're walking in urine). FUTURE VISIT: I will be revisiting Playa Del Carmen (most likely the same resort in town) but would I revisit Zenzi... Yes, but I would probably check out the other beach club the resort/condo has a deal with first. read more

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This place is amazing!!! Great little bar right on the beach...no really, the table closest to beach is about 3-5' from water! So great! Nice laid-back vibe, good drinks, friendly servers! I'll be back! read more

Get the tuna tostada! Such a steal for what/how much you get. Sushi grade tuna, avocado and tomato!!!! Sitting on the beach in January and great tunes playing in the background! Well worth the 105 Mxn pesos Friend loved the blackened fish as well Definitely a great place to stop and relax read more

We were a group of 11 people walking around the market, and found this place located right next to the ocean. They quickly put together a table for us at the beach and seated us. Our server, Maria, was amazing. She gave me recommendations for vegetarian food, was prompt with her service, and quickly moved us inside once it started raining. So shout out to Maria for her amazing service. The menu is huge, and they were nice enough to customize it for vegetarian options. Here are the vegetarian dishes we ordered: - Guacamole: This comes in combination with salsa and chips. Its a small portion, so definitely order more if you are a bigger party. The guac and chips were delicious. - Caribbean Grilled Sandwich: This comes with ham, but I customized it. I asked them to remove ham, and instead put in peppers and onions. This sandwich was delicious, and I appreciated how they customized it for me. - Zenzi (Chicken) Curry: Again, we asked them to remove the chicken, and serve it with coconut rice instead of noodles. Delicious!!! - Nachos: These were so good, that we ordered it again. Amazing place to have lunch or dinner. It has indoor and outdoor seating, with great views of the ocean. I absolutely loved how accommodating they were with vegetarian food, and kudos to Maria for making that happen. Highly recommended. read more

Visited here twice in our 5 day stay in Playa. Great atmosphere and food. This beach club was like being at home on the Gulf Coast lol... waitstaff was very attentive and nice. Would recommend!! read more

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Great food today as it was in 2013. Great to be back at this Dutch owned restaurant. Something for everyone. Highly recommend the Tuna sushi grade sandwich. Drinks were good. Piña colada 2 for 1 during happy hour. Giving 4 stars instead of 5 due to slow service. Had to go to bar to get our drinks initially. Didn't appear that waiters had a handle on who has which tables so they all assumed our table was covered. (But this is my assumption). I'm sure if they assigned tables service would def improve. read more

Playa del Carmen doesn't have a huge night scene but this small beach club is one of them and it has a more relaxed vibe. There's a small dance floor with live music and it's right on the beach with pretty lights everywhere. Very cute and chill vibe for some drinks read more

Zenzi - Bars Near Me - Playa del Carmen, ROO

Loved it here! The atmosphere was great and the food was good. We had a ball, plus the music was really good. read more

Zenzi - Bars Near Me - Playa del Carmen, ROO

Cannot get any better than this. On the beach with great food, love the calamari best we had anywhere.

Our favorite bar in Playa. Good food. Lots of beer choices. I always get Bohemia because I can't get that back home. I like the staff and you can't beat the view. The bathrooms are decent. Occasionally, I get a whiff of sewage, but I guess it's not bad enough to deter me. read more

Can't beat the location. So nice to sit directly on the beach (about half the seating the chairs and benches are directly in sand). It was nighttime, the waves were crashing and there was live music. Prices better than most on 5 th Avenue yet it is just a short half block off that strip. We didn't have food, just drinks. Great selection of international and Mexican drinks (mezcal etc). Only docking a star for paying our bill. We had one waitress that seemed to switch and take over our table, though mostly we had a few different people checking on us. We have been in Mexico for a week and usually tip 10% on our bills especially with a card. However, this time we looked at our cash and had exactly enough to cover it ( I needed to go to an atm later anyways) plus five pesos. Rather than wait for them to go get the card reader we just said you know what this time we will just leave it and be done. Nope- this waitress chased us down and was like you need to tip so we had to get out the card and wait for them to do that transaction. Like I said, I get it I am sure they get screwed sometimes but this was literally the one time we didn't tip much in Mexico and they chased us down. And actually we were only down some pesos because my bf tipped the band, which I am sure most people didn't do. So yeah, tip the servers. read more

Forgetting Zenzi I love a well-run and friendly beachfront bar / restaurant. There always something sorta special about sitting at a table with good friends, enjoying clever engaging conversation, your shoes touching sand and the deep blue sea splashing just behind you. Yes, it is. Now, I've been to Zenzi on many occasions and I have to concede, I've kind of just took the place for granted over time. One wet night this week, two Texans, a New Yorker, a Berliner, a classic west coast chick and I all sat down at Zenzi to enjoy some strong cocktails, good simple food and compare our copious expat notes. While I won't bore you with our sometimes intriguing, sometimes predictable conversation, I will say Zenzi still abides. I'm writing this today to ask you to please don't forget this place. Every time my highly enlightened, yet often dumbfounded wife and I have visited Zenzi, it resulted in good times, friendly accommodating service and tasty food. Solid burgers, super delicious coconut shrimp, decent ceviche and righteous drinks. Yes, it's just your regular bar food aka TGIF, but the star of this show was the extremely helpful, obliging and gracious service by the earnest staff. Every time we have visited, they have gone beyond the expected service norm to make sure you're feeling both important and happy. And whether I'm at The French Laundry or McDonald's, service is always key. Sundays they offer an outside grill special including ribs, chicken, burgers and dogs while you can watch the multiple sports TV's showing the Dallas Cowboys (aka America's team) kicking ass and taking names! Sorry, I seriously digress. Zenzi is still one of the best beach club bars in PDC and they have live music sometimes. It is all you could want in a great, classic beach spot. Prices are fair and the service is tremendous. Please note the DJ's music can be a bit loud sometimes and for absolutely no reason (once again, it's not a freakn disco) and may stymies conversing close to the bar. As a local soccer player once told me-la playa es vida! read more

Location great but food is not. The zenCiI ceviche is about the only decent thing from what we ordered. If you want to have a drink by the beach I think it's a cool spot. But service and food is not the best. Hope this helps! read more

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