LUUMA — Restaurant in Isla Holbox

Unfortunately, a disappointing negative experience. It is a beautiful location, but it's all just for show. Be cautious.

Outside the walls, we couldn't see the menu and stepped in out of curiosity. From the moment we entered the enclosed garden, we felt like we couldn't leave. The lady who served us was pretentious and condescending. We were not allowed to choose a nice spot ourselves, even though there were plenty of empty tables. We were shocked by the prices on the menu. We decided to order two local beers, which were served to us in cans, along with a bottle of water. We ordered two small tapas dishes. The service reacted negatively when we didn't immediately order more. The tapas dishes were beautifully presented, but the quality was mediocre and definitely not worth the price. It gave us the feeling that the goal was to make us pay as much as possible. We settled for one tapas dish per person. With two beers and a bottle of water, including the mandatory tip, we ended up paying over 50 dollars. Considering the prices on the menu, ordering several tapas dishes and a simple bottle of wine would easily cost us around 150 dollars. Even in Switzerland, we wouldn't pay that much.

When we decided to leave and had paid the amount, including the mandatory tip, the lady felt the need to check the money and angrily asked why we didn't give an additional second tip. Overall, we got the impression that the service staff is paid on a commission basis and that it's all about making money. It lacked the hospitality that we have come to expect in Mexico.

After this experience, we indulged in street food, which was much...

Stumbled across this little gem on my first evening in Holbox. Was drawn to the “Bazaar” clothing boutique on the side entrance so initially wanted to go in to shop. Walked through the authentic white stone walls, with pink bougainvillea creepers hugging the exterior, and noticed the restaurant inside under the moonlit sky, canopied with palm trees and sprinkled powder white beach sand floors. It was simply gorgeous. The waitrons looked professional and the bar was heaving with barmen making tropical cocktails and guests sitting around the bar. I asked the hostess for a table in the restaurant and was told I’d have to wait 25mins for a table, I said that was ok and I’d wait at the bar. I was told I can’t wait at bar but can eat there.. so opted for that. I was immediately taken to a seat at the bar.

The barman was attentive and friendly and served us immediately. Menu of tapas was excellent, wine selection a little limited though. Ordered the Meat Platter and a bottle of 3V Mexican red wine. Platter was well presented, in abundance and tasted good (for tapas). Wine was a disappointment though. Bill was pricey for Tapas, but I guess you’re paying for the atmosphere and experience of eating under the stars, with magical fairy lights creating an ambiance of surreal romance.

Restaurant was packed for the 2 hours I was there, tables turned over quickly. Hostess and staff all incredibly friendly and on point. Would I return? Absolutely. Next time I want to try the cheese platter and...

I had high expectations for this place - we booked a table for dinner.

TL;dr - location is nice, food massively underwhelming. Get dinner somewhere else.

We were greeted by the attendant with the message, that there are no availabilities and we should wait for 20-30 minutes. She didn't ask if we had a reservation or not, after mentioning that she brought us to our table.

We ordered drinks, as the wine list wasn't really up to our taste. Coca Cola is but available, as they don't support commercial brands (except Hendricks Gin and many other alcohol).

Ambiance is nice, the place is cute. Music was way to loud unfortunately and it's hard to keep up a conversation - seems to be the plan to reduce the time guests spend in the restaurant.

The big disappointment was the food: it was not possible to adjust different choices to allergies as it's already prepared (we wanted the pineapples removed from one dish) - so they're not making it fresh (which the waitress confirmed). The dishes we ordered were okay, taste was difficult to differentiate and it was generally not really special, everything tasted kinda the same. As it all was prepared already, it easy delivered incredibly fast - also helping to reduce sitting time for the guests.

The staff wasn't neither friendly nor rude, indifferent and not really interested mostly.

2 stars for the looks, no stars for the rest. Get a few Tacos down the street,...