El Rinconcito — Restaurant in Cancún

UPDATED REVIEW: We loved this Mexican restaurant so much when we were here last year, that it was on our “to do” list of things we wanted to repeat. The food did not disappoint. They are located in Downtown Cancun, a little bit away from the Hotel Zone, but easily reachable. It’s not too far from Mercado 23 and Mercado 28 (which are 2 great places to shop for souvenirs that are much cheaper than in the tourist area), so you can kill 2 birds with one stone while in the area. They serve Mexican food that we are accustomed to find in Mexican restaurants, like burritos, enchiladas etc. Their mole sauce is one of the best I’ve ever had. The service is very good too. And the restaurant is cute. I’d recommend you travel out of the Hotel zone for a good, cheap, authentic Mexican meal.

ORIGINAL REVIEW: We visited here in early March, before the COVID-19 pandemic. I love this place! It’s very authentic Northern Mexican cuisine (the stuff we’re used to eating in Mexican restaurants—enchiladas, burritos, quesadillas etc.), and it’s some of the absolute best I’ve ever eaten. Example: I have always been a fan in theory of mole sauce (the chocolate sauce), but I’ve never really liked it anywhere I’ve eaten it. But here? It was delicious! The absolute best I’ve ever eaten! Their other dishes (my wife had the plato misto, which has enchiladas, burritos, quesadillas and guacamole), were fantastic. The service was excellent and the prices were stupidly cheap! I cannot recommend this place enough! You will not have a bad meal here. The ambience is also very charming and simple. For the type of establishment it is, this place is a 5-star restaurant. You must try it if you’re in Cancun—it’s a great...

DO NOT COME HERE IF YOU ARE A FOREIGNER! Came to eat here two times and both times they added extra charges at the time of paying. First time it was a group of three and we paid since It was a small amount. Second time we went in a group of 11 and by the time we asked for the bill they added a ridiculous extra amount. I speak Spanish and was translating for my group and asked for pen and paper so I can write down everything we ordered down. I sat there for more than 30 minutes reviewing everything with waiter. Obviously my amount was less since I added only what we ate and drank. He brought out a lady that was I’m assuming his supervisor and she added the amounts again. She couldn’t even tell us where that original amount was coming from but just keep saying it’s correct even after we added it together and she could clearly tell my calculations were the correct ones. At the end since we were getting nowhere we paid them what they were claiming we consumed and left. As we walked away you can see them talking and smiling. They knew what they did and had no shame on it.

For us the extra was not the issue. It was how they were scamming us. This is not how you make business. If you want people to come back you should not scam them and add extra to there bill. THIS PLACE IS A JOKE! CHECK YOUR BILL AND MAKE SURE THEY CHARGE YOU ONLY WHAT YOU CONSUMED! OR DONT GO HERE AT ALL! They take advantage since they know there in a...

What a bizarre experience! Went on New Years day in the evening and was severely underwhelmed.

Seemingly half the menu was missing as the standard response from the waiter was "we don't have this" for every other food and drink item we wanted. Not a great start but once ordered and sipping on very subpar mojito (they have a 2x1 offer on the menu that apparently was not valid) and a piña colada we saw a rogue cockroach terrify the neighbouring table to the point where two couples changed seats. The waiter tried to squash the cockroach to no avail and decided to just let it roam.. I get that it's the tropical Cancun and cockroaches are everywhere in that climate but come on, it's a restaurant!

Food - very so so, had to ask for sauces and they only had one. Tuna tostadas were lacking in tuna and the same was the case for other items. It's just not Mexican food if it doesn't come with abundant sauces and fillings!

Loved the Cancun style entitlement when I didn't want to leave a tip and the waiter looked at me in total disbelief! Total bill was around 30 US for two which is not terrible but definitely about 2x more than that quality and...