Icebar — Restaurant in Isla Mujeres

If you've never been to ice bar, it's fun to check out. If you've been to one... meh, you can skip this, it's no Gaylord ICE/ice hotel/ ice nightclub or upscale bar. You will be disappointed. However, I am a big advocate of, you make your own fun. And vacation? Well always!! It's not in walking distance from the ferry but was a nice golf cart ride.

This is literally a walk in freezer w/ blocks of ice. The bar, stools (w/ cloth cushions), a bed, a throne, seahorse sculpture, 'walls' and sign are made of ice. The ground is freezer floor (metal). Careful it can be slippery. When I say walls, I mean stacked blocks of ice in front of the freezer walls. If you are a stressful person who watches horror films or is claustrophobic, it may not be for you. The door is solid you can get the distinct idea about being locked/trapped in. Yeah, I do watch a ton of horror/suspense but I don't like the cooler door at work to close behind me either.

They give you a thin fur poncho. Florida/Texas girls in a sundress and swim suit...we were freezing. But from a northern climate or w/ a sweater and jeans you'd be fine. The Canadians were lol. It was mostly older US top 40s music. If you have sensitive ears, heads up it is LOUD inside. Colored nightclub style lights, no strobes. Cover included 2 drinks and a shot.

The mixed drinks are sweet but my light-weight friend got a buzz. I have a fairly high tolerance so 3 drinks, 4 shots in, I was just cold lol. Luckily, they'll let you take breaks go outside and warm up then come back in. Yup, you can take your drink out with you. And it was a great way to grab other people to come in too! It started out just us but ended up with like 10 people. In a freezer, that was a little crowd lol. If you're looking to get drunk, yeah cheap way to do it.

The bartender did have salt for my friend but no limes yet the tequila is smooth enough after sitting in an shotglass made of ice. We didn't really ask too much about drink options but there was a small drink menu and aside from tequila, he gave us a shot that was like buttery nipple? His English was limited but in Spanish he was cool to talk to and very nice. With so few people in there, service was great lol.

We did still have cell service. You can take your own pics but they will take some you can buy too. There are shirts available for purchase. There is food but I don't know anything about cost/quality.

14 October 2019

Entrance + 2 drinks + 1 shot = • $ 334 MXN per person • $ 41.75 USD per person • € 33.40 per person

• Tip NOT included (many places it is) ** Photos...

An overall fun experience for something different. This novelty bar is a great way to get people to come to this bar/restaurant. It is located right at the entrance of the bar/restaurant, off to one side. It is essentially a large freezer filled with ice sculptures complete with a hockey table, several thrones (similar to the GOT throne of swords) and a bar and glasses made from ice completely out of ice. Included some fun photo ops if your camera can handle darker lighting.. You pay a flat fee for entrance to the ice bar that includes 1 free drink per person (I believe it was around $15pp). They also provide each individual with a warm poncho with a hood to stay warm while inside this 16 degree locker! It was a fun way to get out of the heat and experience something very unique. You do need to walk through a path to get to the ice bar that contains a 'market-like' atmosphere where you can purchase locally made craft items, or soak your feet in individual fish tanks and have them cleaned by being nibbled on by little fish, or get a massage. I do think that this establishment could make more money by giving patrons a menu to look at after the ice bar experience that might entice them to venture further into the establishment to eat there. It seemed to be a more popular place to eat at with locals partaking of a buffet. At the back of the restaurant there seemed to be outdoor seating available with umbrellas at tables with a view of the ocean...unfortunately we as a small group (there were 7 of us) were never invited to see a menu or even encouraged to be seated where there may have been a nice view to cause us to spend more time (and money) at this restaurant/bar. Perhaps we will return for further exploration for this reason, but probably won't do the ice bar experience again since it was more of a one-time experience we would recommend to others looking for...

This place is a mixed bag. It has a pretty nice beach, hammocks, a picturesque swing in the water etc. They don't enforce minimums to sit on beach chairs etc, which makes them much better value than the nearby beach clubs. I haven't been to the actual ice bar, but had the food and drinks from the restaurant and some food stands. The restaurant is focused on serving buffet for group tours which come by the sea. Buffet doesn't seem too high quality and you can spot birds feeding off of it when staff doesn't pay attention. You can order from the menu if they even notice you're not on a pre-paid tour. Non-alcoholic drinks were nice and big. Food was very bland (both the hamburger and the burrito). There are food stands around to get a frappe (OK) and a drink served inside a coconut / pineapple (Instagram-friendly but the pina colada made this way was kinda weak and tasteless despite using a fresh coconut). That area also offers massages and "fish pedicure" + has some souvenir stands. Overall it's really noisy between groups of tours on the boats arriving / leaving all the time, even in the...