EL Oasis Seafood — Restaurant in Playa del Carmen

The short version: The worst restaurant experience I've ever had in Mexico and some of the worst value I've had for 500 pesos. There is no shortage of amazing food places elsewhere so I highly recommend you go elsewhere.

The Long Version:

My girlfriend and I arrived and were asked if there were any food restrictions, she's lactose intolerant so this was rather nice.

We were sat down and assigned a nice waiter who answered some questions about the food and placed our orders.

About 3 min after receiving our drinks the speaker right above us started blasting music. It was loud enough that some of the other people seating near us jumped a little.

After a while of not being able to really hear each other I asked a waitress if she could turn it down, she said yes and walked off.

Just a few moments later another women from one of the tables nearby got up and as she walked by I asked, in Spanish, if she was going to ask them about the music, she said yeah because she can barely hear anything.

A few minutes go by and nothing changes. Our waiter come by, to let us know the food will be a bit longer, and I ask him if he can request the music be turned down - he says yes.

When he comes back he tells us that they can't turn it down because it's the DJ's music and he's booked for tonight. So, I ask if we can be moved to of the empty tables, and he says it's just as loud over there.

We give up and ask for our food to go and it's eventually brought to us. I think, well at least we can eat at home.

We get home and the food basically comes in pieces you have to assemble. The empanadas also have a lot of cheese in them, which really makes them asking about dietary restrictions rather meaningless. It was not listed on the menu that they come with cheese.

I could have overlooked everything if the food had actually been good, but it required assembly, was mediocre, and they did nothing with the dietary restrictions they asked about, so El Oasis Seafood takes 1st place as the worst 500 pesos...

They have somehow witch-doctored a plot of land next to the freeway, hospitals and abandoned buildings far from the beach into a magical Oasis with a beachy family vibe - impressive! From the bounce house for kids to the bathrooms with old boat doors and seashell faucets it was creative and fun. The band was absolutely charming and I think made the whole experience for us. The presentation of the food was absolutely beautiful, but that's mostly where it stopped - the flavors and freshness, for the price and being next to the sea, were just mediocre. Seemed like the clams and crabs on my paella had been frozen and were more for decoration than eating and it felt like pre-seasoned bouillon "saffron" rice had been made and the seafood added after rather than being cooked all together... I do applaud their 2 for 1 cocktails every day after 6pm, so that's a fair value. Fresh juices were delicious. Glad we came here, a nice vibe and a nice evening, but I'd probably buy seafood elsewhere next time.

EDIT: Lowering this to a 3 because it seems the food gave my partner food poisoning - it's the only thing he ate all day.

I do really appreciate management's response to my comment (below) and the hard work that reflects, but more than just monitoring social media feeds you need to monitor the quality of your food if it's making...

I can not give enough praise to this restaurant! First, let me start by saying that our server, Lucio was excellent. He was so friendly and very attentive. Next, the food and drinks were very good. We enjoyed the guacamole, ceviche mixto, smoked seabass, and coconut shrimp. NOW, the most outstanding of this visit for me was the staff. Heartfelt thanks to hostess, Melina, and managers Adolfo and Carlos. I allowed myself to become severely dehydrated during our trip. Which led to an embarrassing fainting event. Unfortunately for the staff and patrons of El Oasis, it occurred as me and my boyfriend were leaving. Melina is truly an angel! I awoke to her wiping my face with cold cloths. This is surely not part of her job description, to attend to the old, dehydrated gringa. She is such a beautiful young lady with a beautiful soul. Adolfo and Carlos were there to assist every step of the way. Special thank you to Adolfo, after ensuring that all was well, he accommodated my request of sneaking us out the back to avoid "the walk of shame" in front of the patrons. To make this more ridiculous, I'm a healthcare provider and I know better :-( So VERY LONG STORY to say we will return over and over again IF THEY ALLOW US...