Turtle Bay Bakery and Cafe — Restaurant in Quintana Roo

SUMMARY: food gone downhill, ice-cream is okay, still good for cocktails, very casual atmosphere.

I've been here several times over the years with my family and we really enjoyed it when it was called Lucy's. The last time I visited was probably 2018. Now, in 2023, I'm sorely disappointed. The food quality absolutely does not match my memory.

Chicken and cheese quesadillas: (I always used to get years ago) the cheese was rubbish and the chicken so flavourless I took most of it out. At least it came with sour cream and a hot sauce (but no guacamole). They used to be so good, I'm really disappointed. A small side salad would be a welcome addition. 3/5

Mixed grill: better than the cheese quesadillas, but still wouldn't recommend it. Everything was bland, like children's food. I'd expect that from an American diner serving "mexican" food but in Akumal? Really disappointing. 3.5/5

Ice cream: this is what I really came for. Yes, I used to love the quesadillas as well, but Lucy's was the main reason my family came to Akumal 4 years in a row! I used to get something called turtle tracks, but I think it's changed so I got simple cookie dough. Unfortunately, following the trend for the night, I was very disappointed. The chunks of "cookie dough" tastes like fudge. Actual fudge! They weren't even cookie dough texture? I'm very, very confused about that. It was vanilla ice cream with chunks of fudge in it. It was okay, but not what it's supposed to be. My boyfriend got chocolate and we both agree it's okay, but not GOOD. 4/5

One of the staff would not stop staring at us the whole time... It was weird. Maybe a one-off experience.

Drinks: I got a watermelon cocktail that was lovely, so that's my one 5/5. Water is expensive as hell. If you do come just for cocktails, there are two TVs showing American sports behind the bar... you may not want to sit here and hear people yelling...

I can't say enough about how much my wife and I loved this place. We were in Akumal for seven days and we walked down to eat at Turtle Bay six times in total (close to a 5-mile round trip). The food is amazing. Compared to most of the other places we ate, which were sadly a little bland, Turtle Bay brought the flavor. The menu isn't all Mexican food, it's just all done right, with a nice twist. The Turtle Bay skillet is a heavenly breakfast (I want to know how they pack so much goodness into that herbed cream cheese), and their breakfast options in general are good. Their tacos are spot on (the Birria beef is awesome). Their flatbreads do island pizza justice. The chips and guac were they best we had in Akumal. Even their more American-style sandwiches were very good (they're HUGE though, with a generous helping of fries, so be prepared to bring your American appetite). My wife and I basically tried just about every genre of food they serve, and we never had a bad thing to say about it (other than we had to carry the rest of our sandwiches back to the condo hehe). Fresh juices (Beachcomber is awesome), great alcoholic drinks (try the Skull Crusher), an insane level of dessert and bakery option, and friendly staff. Another bonus is that the prices are extremely reasonable. Based on the level of food and how much you get, it's easily the best value that we found in the area. They do take credit cards, but at least tip in pesos. There's an OXXO convenience store a block away with an ATM that you can get pesos from (see my review there). Service might be a little slow sometimes, but that's the island vibe everywhere in Akumal. Chill out and enjoy a drink. No need to rush...

We are staying nearby and this cafe states on their website it’s a local’s hidden gem, as do many blog posts I read. However, we discovered that this cafe is on resort grounds. Pulling in to get to the cafe there are numerous men trying to flag you over to get you to pay to park on their lots. Once you pass the resort entrance, it continues. We ended up ignoring them all, parking in a lot that had no person standing in it. We started walking back up toward the cafe and were stopped by the man at the gate. He kept insisting we pay for parking and we told him we were only going to the cafe for 5 mins (we just wanted to grab pastries to go), he finally told us it was fine and let us go. We grabbed our pastries and headed back to the lot where we parked. Now there was a couple there telling us we need to pay to park: we told them we are leaving, we were there 5 mins and the guy at the front gate told us it was ok. We just kept walking, got in our car and left. All the signs say all day parking for beach access. There did not seem to be any available free parking for just the cafe.

Also, the woman at the counter gave us the wrong pastry (1 wrong out of 3 ordered). The pastries were just “ok” tasted a couple of days old.

Ultimately this place was way too stressful and difficult to get to, and not worth...