La Vagabunda 38 — Restaurant in Playa del Carmen

This was an absolute shame, and there is a story to this disappointment that needs to be shared... We recently had dinner there, and the food was very good, as was the atmosphere, and my wife and I had an ongoing chat with the "host", Jesse, who was very friendly, and seemed to legitimately care about our visit. At the end of our meal, Jesse asked if my wife and I wanted a shot of tequila. He did not say who would pay for this, but then he asked if he can have one as well, so I now assumed this would be on our bill, but I agreed. Nothing was said as to what kind of tequila it was, or how much it was, but assuming this was part of the fun and atmosphere, I didn't suspect for a second this would be any kind of issue. Was I ever wrong. When the waiter came with the bottle of tequila, Jesse then asked if the waiter (who was not even our waiter) could have a shot of tequila too. I said no. I was now getting the impression Jesse was just trying to take advantage of my generosity. That was not nice. At the end of the meal, when the bill came, there were three shots of tequila, at 290 Pesos EACH! Not only did he brutally overcharge us for tequila (and I don't give a crap what kind of tequila it was), but to take advantage of our kindness, and then to do this, is just awful. There is no way this is the first time Jesse has done this to customers, and I don't know if he just thinks people will not look carefully at the bill, or maybe he figures customers are too shy to say something, but this is a horrible thing to do, and obviously, him doing this to us left a very bitter taste in our mouths. This whole situation made this otherwise wonderful restaurant, into nothing but a negative experience. Also worth mentioning, we had plans to go back with four other couples, but after this, we all agreed to never step foot in this restaurant again after what Jesse had done. Assuming the owner, Simone, reads this, I sure hope you do something about Jesse. I am also debating on sharing this on the Facebook Playa del Carmen Food page, but assuming you, the owner, are unaware of what your employee is doing to YOUR clients, I will not, for now. What a horrible way to take advantage of tourists, and I sure hope you...

The food is decent but nothing amazing. There’s always live music and when the musicians are done they walk around with a tip jar and stick it in your face. If I want to tip I will, and I’m not a cheap, just don’t like being put on the spot. The girl that was performing in a duet the day we were there was good but had a limited repertoire and sang the same songs over and over. Performed for only about 15 minutes at a time, then did the whole tip jar thing again, going to the same tables asking for yet another tip. NOT cool.

The service was average. The restaurant was not busy but we had to chase the waiter down for condiments and drinks. When it came time to pay, the waiter asked how much we wanted to tip. I said 10% (because it really was an average experience) he reacted shocked, said, “No, no, no, look” and pointed to a note they have on their menu that said the recommended tip in Mexico is 15 to 20%. I almost always give 20% or more, but this time it was a stretch to give 10%. I was shamed into giving 15%. This seems to be something they do at all of their restaurants because it happened again at a location on 5th avenue. Same bad service, average food and when I said 10% the waiter did the same thing. That’s disgraceful in my opinion, especially because Mexican people do NOT tip any amount and these people should be grateful when tourists tip them. If the experience is good, I tip big, if it’s not I tip a minimum of 10% to send them a message that they need to improve. But to do this to clients is disgraceful. There are a lot more very good places to eat in Playa, especially on 38 street. And they all have a lot more class than this...

This place is amazing!

We had the pleasure of having dinner here today (April 13 2023) and it didn't let us down.

This is the first time I've been to Mexico, and we heard about this place through another guest at the hotel. He said, "you have to go here!", so we did!

Our server, Manuel, was amazing. I can't speak a lick of spanish and his English was perfecto. He made our experience so pleasant. He wasn't overly chatty but was confident in his job.

We started with a few drinks,and the spinach filled epanadas; wow is all I can say.

Then my wife ordered enchiladas, and I ordered the chicken tacos. I've had some amazing tacos back home, but there's nothing like it untiĺ you've had one in Mexico. I know this sounds cheesy, but it's true. I liked it so much I ordered another round, lol

You get 3 tacos with each order. Let's just say my tummy was happy.

Our bill topped close to $100.00 CDN with a 20% tip, trust me that was well worth the experience.

My wife loved loved her meal, she'd been to Mexico over 8 times, and she said this was the best Mexican food she has ever had.

If you come down to Playa del Carmen, you need to stop into this place for food.

This place also has live bands and shows, and is very popular among the locals and tourists. You're also a half block away from the beach, it's all just +++++

Do yourself a favour and check out this place!

I 110% recommend this...