Kondesa — Restaurant in San Miguel de Cozumel

(Last visited 12/16/2021.) Hanging out with my fiancée in Cozumel for the week and we're spending some time in the town checking some things out. We did some Yelp'ing of course and found this place nearby with some good reviews so we gave it a shot!

Atmosphere/Appearance: Set away from the major plaza downtown across from where the ferries dock is this gem. It's a little ducked off, but the giant painted sign will let you know you're in the right place. Once inside, you're still pretty much outside. Lol. There are several sections of the restaurant that are only covered by trees, which I think is super cool. Of course there is a section that has a big circular straw roof. The décor is beautiful and this place looks like you're dining right in the middle of a rainforest.

Service: I can't remember who took care of us, but he was cool. It was the end of the night and it seemed like he was running low on energy, but he made sure to get us everything that we needed without issue.

Food: I'm in Mexico so of course I had to go with their premium margarita! It was deliciously sour, sweet, lime-y and got me a decent buzz. For an appetizer we tried the Bao Lobster which comes with 2 steamed bao buns stuffed with local lobster and bacon. These were fantastic. Salty, buttery and the steamed bun brought everything together. For my entrée I went with the Angus Ribeye. On this beautiful wooden plate is a 13 oz. angus ribeye, "mashers", creamed poblano corn rajas and whatever vegetables the chefs got from the market that morning. This steak was delicious. The rajas on top of the steak gave the flavor more depth. The vegetables were a smidge overcooked, but they were wonderfully grilled.

Value: This place's pricing is kinda mid-range. Nothing outrageous and it definitely wasn't a cheap place. The Bao Lobster was $15.00. I mean, it's lobster, so that's to be expected. My steak was $26.00 and it was totally worth. I recommend splurging here if you can!

In conclusion, I really enjoyed myself here. I can see myself hanging out here for hours just laughing it up and chillin'! If you made it this far in the review, I appreciate you reading. Please do me a favor and head on over to "The Hungry Road" on YouTube and subscribe! My channel features a lot of food, car and exclusive shoe related content! Thank...

Our taxi pulled up to the curb. I repeated the name of the restaurant to the driver. He assured me I was there. I was sure this was a trick of some sort, or at best a language barrier. Not getting anywhere with him, our party stepped out into the humid Cozumel night, fully expecting to disappear into the alleys of downtown. I gripped my phone and stepped through the non-descript door in the high wall in front of me. I had been drinking, but was shocked to be confronted by a large hairless cat, she emerged out of the stygian black and waved us into the open air rainforest. I could hear a jazz trio through the leaves. I asked the cat for a table for four. She asked me to sign a paper filled with odd markings. Not having a pen, she poked my fingertip with her claw. I signed my name in blood. A friendly man appeared as the cat faded back into the jungle. He ushered us to a heavy wood table and presented menus. I ordered the "May Antai". Not recognizing some of the ingredients made me feel brave in my order. My compatriots unfortunately stuck with the more familiar offerings of beers and wines. My drink arrived without my notice and immediately glowed a bright orange light. My first sip and I was transported to a new perspective on avocado. I let the rum and honey permeate my blood and ordered the entire appetizer menu. The guacamole three ways burned and cooled while the lionfish cakes were melty and hearty, a perfect compliment to the queso. The table ordered the house ravioli. I agreed, not paying attention. What came out was four different plates all built on the foundation of the poblano pasta. Lobster being the standout. I don't remember leaving the restaurant. Last night I was driving on a snowy road back in Utah, wishing I was swimming in the deep waters of the Caribbean, a grizzled old man was sitting next to me. The spitting image of Ernest Hemmingway, he was explaining to me the best way to change a broken speedometer in a vintage Subaru. I noticed a long scar on his forearm and asked him if he got that when he was a mechanic. He told me no. It was a scratch from a cat. A scratch that had put him into a sleep that he never woke up from. I asked him if he was in my dream or if I was in his. He assured me I was a figment of his...

Amazingly Terrible....

This place was amazingly terrible. When you first walk in, it's a very beautiful restaurant and so you're expecting a good night. The waiters were very welcoming and spoke great english. but then the food came and it just went downhill from there.

I ordered the lionfish cakes--kind of like crab cakes but with lion fish. Came out beautiful but tasted like bland weird bread. The sauce was the only highlight but it was incredibly bland and pretty disappointing.

Then I ordered the tuna steak in the green sauce. Again beautiful to look at, but that's about it. Everything about the taste and texture was terrible to the point of being disgusting. I asked for the tuna to be seared. When I ate it, the texture was mushy and incredibly unappetizing. You could literally "spread" the tuna using a butter knife it was so mushy. When the waiter asked me how it was, I told him it was mushy and asked him if it was fresh. He literally just shrugged and walked off!

Then the other waiter came and asked me and I told him the same thing. He did offer to swap it out but I was over it. I had been up since 6am and traveling from Playa and scuba diving. I was starving but after eating some of the tuna, I didn't want to eat anymore. The sauce was also completely bland. The dish itself looks beautiful but it was disgusting to eat. They claimed that it was fresh. the only thing I could think was that it was frozen, defrosted, re-frozened and defrosted again because the meat fibers of the tuna was complete mush.

Don't know where these good reviews came from. Seemed like all the locals on the Island knew this place was terrible when I told them my experience. They all said I shouldn't have gone...