Tropical — Restaurant in Playa del Carmen

A completely forgettable Mexican restaurant clearly catered to American tourists. Located on the fifth avenue strip where many other tourist traps are located, we decided to go in because the vibes presented weren’t quite as egregious as some other restaurants we passed by and the the presented price of a drink was on the more reasonable end. The plain margarita is served in a massive goblet of a glass and actually tasted fairly normal. Not an exceptional margarita but completely acceptable, especially for a restaurant. I didn’t have a mango margarita but no one who ordered it was able to finish it on their own and it seemed it just tasted too sweet and fake to enjoy.

Foodwise, I ordered the carne asada tacos. These came out with a small helping of pico de gallo and a salsa verde to pour over top, with a warning that the salsa was spicy. The salsa verde was, at best, mild and honestly didn’t taste much of anything at all although at least the pico was exactly as you’d expect. Not brimming with vibrant tomato flavor but at least brining a bit of freshness. The tacos themselves were incredibly unremarkable not tasting much of beefiness or any particular marinade. The steak was also fairly overdone and tough. While I wouldn’t say that playa del carmen is a massive haven of great food, you can certainly do better than this. I suppose at least the service was prompt and accessible and the interior decoration is fine if you are into just oodles of Mexican themed knick knacks lying or hanging around like skeletons to celebrate...

Our entire party loved this place! From the decorations, the service, the food, the prices, and the great staff, it was fabulous.

We were given some bad recommendations on this trip, and decided to trust google this time instead.

The service was speedy, the portions were large, and ALL of the food was delicious! We were stuffed by the time we left.

The margaritas were strong while still being tasty, and we all ordered the large drinks; strawberry, mango, blackberry, and banana.

We had an appetizer of chips and guacamole, and when we needed more chips, they were happy to bring us extra. It comes in a large bowl so be mindful, (no guac left behind). Best we've had on this trip and we tried it everywhere

They do clear the finished plates quickly, so if you feel like they're rushing you, they are not. They were happy to let us sit a bit, and people-watch from upstairs. There is definitely enough decor to hold your attention and it's all very colorful!

Thankfully there are some fans placed carefully around the place so we were not roasting in the evening heat. The bathrooms were clean and overall everything was great. Do not sleep on this place.

It's a harder trip for us to take on this side of Mexico, but if we decide to come back to Playa, it's guaranteed we're coming...

We got hooked with the "two for one happy hour" cocktails and local food. As we studied the menu, the lady from the table next to us gave back her fish because it tasted not good. (Hint 1) After realizing that the prices are very high for local cuisine (hint 2), we decided to leave after finishing our margaritas. As soon as we told the service staff we wouldn't eat, they took away our complimentary nachos! (Hint 3) When the bill came, they not only charged us for 2 margaritas, they also charged us almost double the price as advertised - although it supposed to be happy hour!! We were told that the drinks we got were special drinks, that's why they were $120/pc instead of $85/2pc during happy hour!?! Conclusion: this place is a tourist trap! On a location like that they always will have customers, no matter how bad their service and food is... Avoid this place, there are much better places around! P.S. While we were finishing our cocktails, two other tables got wrong or bad dishes and we've heard other customers arguing with...