3 Best Cozumel Restaurants
Cozumel restaurants: my delicious La Perlita camarones (shrimp).
Cozumel restaurants were the farthest thing from my mind when I planned our trip to this part of Mexico. My top concern was the quality of the snorkel and dive sites. After that, I needed to find a house that was a fit with our 3-generation California family.
When I had done those things, I asked Maribeth Mellon, my friend, travel journalist colleague, and Mexico-expert for some dining advice.
Finding Cozumel restaurants
Thanks to Maribeth’s advice and the tips that locals shared, we enjoyed some amazing meals in our two weeks on the island. In general, the best – and most authentic - places were in residential neighborhoods well away from the cruise ship terminals on the waterfront. At first I thought we might have trouble locating the out-of-the-way places, but Cozumel’s numbered streets and grid system made it fairly easy (in spite of the paucity of street signs).
One of our favorite Cozumel restaurants: La Perlita is well known for great seafood.
Our favorite Cozumel restaurants
I loved the atmosphere at La Perlita, a colorful open-air restaurant with about 12 tables under a thatched roof. This place is a popular pescaderia or seafood restaurant. Yucatecan style is the specialty here.
To start, we shared a platter of empanadas filled with shredded shark. My main course of grilled camarones (prawns) was terrific. Our son-in-law – the one with the fire-proof mouth – enjoyed the Mayan fish with Yucatanean spices. My husband liked the grouper stuffed with shrimp in a spinach cream sauce. The six-year-old in our party most enjoyed the ice cream parlor around the corner where she devoured uva (grape) ice cream that matched her toenail polish!
Another night we ate at the Chacon family’s El Moro Restaurant located in a quiet residential neighborhood. The bright orange Formica tables and orange plastic chairs came as a bit of a shock, but I stopped focusing on that as soon as the food arrived. We shared a number of dishes here including lime soup, seafood soup, and grouper en papillote. Rodolfo Chacon is the owner/chef and the staff is comprised of his sons, nephews, cousins and other family members. Ray Chacon told me that the secret ingredient in their delicious food is “corazon,” gestering to his heart. Tip: El Moro is famous for their tortas (“Cuban sandwiches”) but you’ll only find them on the Spanish language menu.
Cozumel restaurants: Ray Chacon and the friendly staff at El Moro serve great meals and warm hospitality.
Cozumel restaurants on the waterfront
The one disappointing meal of the trip was at Pancho’s Backyard. While we never even considered Hooter’s and Señor Frogs near the cruise terminal, Pancho’s was located further north and its attractive décor was very appealing. However, mariachis, leafy palms, and bubbling fountains didn’t compensate for mediocre food, high prices, and unbelievably slow service.
Having said that, we all enjoyed lunch at Restaurant del Museum not far from Pancho’s. Maribeth had said it was her favorite place in all of San Miguel for breakfast or lunch, and I can see why. It’s located on the second floor balcony of the local museum – Museo de la Isla de Cozumel – overlooking the water. My husband enjoyed the Mayan-style Dorado (similar to Mahi Mahi) and I loved my quesadilla stuffed with flavorful shrimp. Tip: If you don’t have to pay admission to the museum if you’re going to eat in the restaurant.
Other good Cozumel places to eat
Rene Menas of Chili Charters recommended Parrilla Mission Restaurant because our son-in-law was craving tacos. We also had a good meal at Chankanaab Park, where the fish fajitas were as good as any I’ve ever had. On the “wild” east side of the island, we wiggled our toes in the sand at Chen Rio Restaurant and enjoyed yet another good seafood lunch.
In addition to dining out, it was also fun to experiment with local ingredients at “home” in our vacation rental – these ranged from the best-ever flour tortillas from Tortilleria Lucy to fruit, veggies, and amazing pastries purchased at super-modern Mega market.
Lucy’s tortillas were easily the best I’ve ever eaten.
Cozumel restaurants weren’t my top priority when I was planning our trip to Mexico. However, the meals and friendly hospitality we enjoyed while we were there are now some of my favorite memories.
By the way, we had a great time out on the reef with Chili Charters and found some terrific beaches and family-friendly activities all around the island. Please read about that part of our trip here.
And one more thing: I just want to mention that, in spite of dining out every day for two weeks, none of us ever got sick. Not once.
Enjoy!
Category: Mexico
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