ITZÁ Bar&Brasa — Restaurant in Bacalar

⭐ 1 Star – Go for Drinks Only. Avoid the Food.

We had one of the most frustrating dining experiences here. After a 14+ hour flight, all we wanted was a quick, simple meal before heading to the hotel. That didn’t happen.

I ordered pescado con limón — very clearly, and even had the waiter come back after taking the order to confirm how I wanted it. What I got was a la Diabla — completely wrong and extremely spicy. But I was too hungry and too tired to send it back, so I just ate it, even though it was way spicier than I could handle.

Meanwhile, my colleague had to wait over 30 minutes to get his food — long after I had already finished eating. We reminded the staff several times, but nothing. No urgency, no real apology.

When the food finally came, we told them we no longer wanted it. We were already done, tired, and just wanted to leave. They brought it anyway. We didn’t want to waste food, so we tried to eat a little, but it was already too late — it just felt forced.

We asked not to be charged for the second plate, since it arrived far too late and wasn’t eaten. That led to a full-on argument with the manager, who blamed us and said it was our fault because we “took a few bites.” They even tried to tell us the wait time was normal. No — it absolutely wasn’t. We were exhausted, and we didn’t come to argue over something that should’ve been handled with a simple “we’re sorry.”

They offered free drinks — which we didn’t want. We just wanted to go.

To be fair: the place looks nice, the atmosphere is lively (though the music is a bit too loud), and the drinks are good. But if you’re hungry? Skip this place. The service is slow, disorganized, and unapologetic. They don’t listen, and they don’t take responsibility.

Go for drinks if you must. But don’t expect a decent...

HAIR IN OUR FOOD / CABELLO EN NUESTRA COMIDA

Horrible experience at Itza on Aug 31.

Everything started fine—seated fast, drinks were good—until the food came out. One person in our group ordered the Itza salad, which showed up with a long black hair tangled in the lettuce. The server did the right thing and took it back. Then the manager came out and ruined the night.

Instead of apologizing, he flat-out blamed the customer, claiming it “couldn’t have come from the kitchen” because there are no women with long hair working there. Absolute nonsense—we later walked past the kitchen and saw multiple women working.

No apology, no replacement, nothing but denial and attitude. Over a $10 salad?!? (USD) If we didn’t like it, we would’ve just said so. To accuse us of making it up, when cameras are literally pointed at our table, is insulting and pathetic!

We still got charged for the salad and left disgusted. I’d only ever come back if that manager is gone, because accountability here clearly doesn’t exist.

P.S. If we would’ve known what we would have experienced with the manager, I’d taken several pictures to post here. Pésima experiencia en Itza el 31 de agosto.

Todo empezó bien: nos sentaron rápido, las margaritas muy bien… hasta que llegó la comida. Uno de nosotros pidió la ensalada Itza, que venía con un hermoso “extra”: un largo cabello negro enredado en la lechuga. El mesero reaccionó bien y se la llevó, pero entonces apareció el gerente… y ahí se fue todo al desastre.

En vez de disculparse, salió con la brillante excusa de que “no pudo salir de la cocina porque no hay mujeres con el pelo largo trabajando ahí”. ¿En serio? Qué conveniente. Más tarde pasamos por la cocina rumbo al baño y, sorpresa: varias mujeres trabajando. Así que además de mala atención, también mienten.

Ni disculpa, ni reemplazo, ni nada. Solo actitud y negación. Y todo por una ensalada de diez dólares. Como si fuéramos a inventar una historia ridícula frente a cámaras que nos apuntaban directo a la mesa.

Pagamos la ensalada (sí, con todo y cabello) y nos fuimos con un pésimo sabor de boca. Yo volvería solo si ese gerente desaparece del lugar, porque lo único que está en el menú de Itza es la falta total de responsabilidad.

P.S. Si hubiéramos sabido lo que íbamos a vivir con el gerente, habría tomado varias fotos para...

This place was the only spot we happened upon that nailed all the important things you look for. Drinks, food, prices (not high, not low either) and most of all... service! Hard to find good service here but Alex and the rest of the staff were the best on this visit. We first stopped in to take a break from the heat one day. Cocktails and snacks. Had such a great experience we came back a couple days later due to many other bad ones at other spots. Don't miss out :)

PS: we bartend in a world class resort area. Not posting as a critic, but from the other viewpoint that these...