Cocina Orizaba — Restaurant in Bacalar

The first thing I noticed was that the agua de sandia that we ordered today arrived in glasses half the size of those we received yesterday. My 2 friends' meals arrived at the table well before my meal did. When my meal did arrive, I still hadn't received the coke I'd ordered. I'd ordered 2 cheese empanadas and one chicken with no dressing for my 7 year old, and he had to wait longer then anyone else for them to arrive. When they finally arrived they were covered in lettuce and cream. When I pointed out this mistake to the waiter, he said that I hadn't ordered them without dressing, but took them back anyways to scrape off the dressing and toss them back into the fryer. When they were again delivered to our table I realized they were all cheese - no chicken. When the sun came out we began to roast in the heat because it was 3pm. Street dogs sat around us waiting for scraps of food. My son's empanadas were so hot I needed to cut them in order for them to cool faster and when I went inside to ask for a knife, one of the young women behind the bar made a face at me. The food was delicious, the prices were very reasonable and we couldn't have enjoyed our time together more. This is because none of the details mentioned above were a problem - they are very typical conditions in any restaurant in the Yucatan peninsula. It's very amusing to me to read all the negative reviews from foreign tourists who see things through their critical lense. While I'm a foreigner, I've lived here for 10 years now and I'd forgotten that all of those things listed in the negative reviews are "problems". I'm grateful that I moved to Mexico because now while I'm at a restaurant I only see the curious light in my child's eyes and I am busy chatting and laughing with my friends. I completely forgot about all of those minor problems that caused the foreigners who wrote bad reviews here to spend their entire mealtime suffering and frowning and complaining. How would you like to spend that hour of your life? You are free to choose and to adjust...

Stopped in here with my family last week when we found Mr Taco closed for the evening. Yikes, what a mistake. We should have known when every other restaurant on the square had friendly folks at the front entrance inviting us to view their menu, whereas we were barely acknowledged and seated seemingly grudgingly by the unhappy-looking proprietor of this establishment. In hindsight, that should have been a sign.

In summary - we waited so long for our food that we considered getting up and leaving. When it finally arrived, it was mind-boggling that such simple food made of mostly pre -prepared ingredients can take so long to assemble and yet be so flavorless. During our close to hour-long wait for 3 tacos and a quesadilla, we watched the staff rushing around looking harried and frazzled but not seeming to accomplish much. One of them spent 10 minutes refilling a napkin holder. Another one seemed focused on dipping her fingers into several dishes of salsa.

The only reason for two stars is 1 - The food was very cheap, and 2 - it was edible. Beyond that - it seems that both you and the employees of this forlorn establishment would be much happier if you took your food...

I really wish I had read the reviews prior to visiting. Service was awful, the waitress reluctantly took our order all the time with a piece of fruit hanging out her mouth. We asked if we could have the high chair for the baby and she just pointed to it in the corner and told me to get it myself. The food was literally inedible, the picaditas were not fresh and the beef quesadilla was down right suspicious. The cheese was not melted and the so called beef was fresh from the refrigerator, it was practically frozen. The only good thing was the fruit water I won’t even go into the drama of getting the check but when it came it was for 295, I gave the waitress a 500 and she just looked at me and said they don’t have any change (despite us seeing at least three tables pay in cash while we were there) She just stood there staring at me waiting for me to suggest a solution. I offered to pay by card which she accepted however nobody knew how to work the card machine. They had to call in another waitress to make the charge.

Just do yourself a favour and steer clear of this place...