Taqueria Los Arcos — Restaurant in San Miguel de Cozumel

I love this place but there’s stuff that’s wrong with it. First, im speaking from the perspective of a person that has lived most of their life in Mexico City. I think its really really hard to find good tacos here in Cozumel, most places i visit end up not really being up to my liking or having serious problems with food quality or service. something which is absolutely not the case where im from. but i think this is genuinely my favourite taco place here in the island. The taste of the meat they serve here is amazing, the pastor meat here is very good an tasty but honestly, comparing it with the pastor meat you find in Mexico City this feels more like a “marinated pork” rather than full out pastor meat, which sounds strange to say but it’s how i feel about it, which is not meaning to say it’s bad, because its absolutely not. The Pastor with Cheese sandwich is amazing, the best one I’ve had here on the island, their chicken sandwiches and tacos, specially the ones with cheese are also very good, whatever cheese they’re using is very tasty and has a very creamy texture. The menu is quite extensive (Also, it has several translation errors in the English part of the menu that make me think they might’ve used google translate to do the job, but honestly barely anything too confusing if you don’t know much spanish or how these sorts of places work) They have from tacos, and a varied selection of ingredients, alambres, sandwiches (tortas), gringas, burritos and even burgers! Which i honestly wouldn’t expect from a taco place, and honestly the burgers are fine, i don’t think Im coming here when im craving burgers but they’re ok and they do the job perfectly. The burritos too are fine but honestly not their best, the tacos, gringas and tortas in the other hand are amazing and the reason i come here regularly. Like i said their cheese and meat are amazing. Their salsas are good, they have the classic red and green one. The drink selection is fine, average in my opinion but if you don’t like soda or beer like me, you’re likely not going to find water or anything else on their fridge most of the time so you might consider that. Also, they are susceptible to not have available certain parts of the menu, specially if you arrive near their closing hours. Which honestly their schedule is very good, convenient and consistent, something i cannot say about a lot of places here on the island. The costumer service is average as well, there’s a middle aged man, a young lady and a young man working as waiters. The middle aged man i suspect being the manager of the place and the one who is more in charge of the money. And they’re fine, just not really that friendly or anything of the sort. And honestly my biggest problem with the place is well… the place…. Its just not a pretty looking restaurant, the floor looks degraded, the illumination is not good, and overall the place looks like it could have a few remodeling here and there. The kitchen, which is very easy to see and spot, at first glance, looks dirty, and dark, generally the restaurant is quite dark, and their utensils and appliances look degraded ,dirty and as if they weren’t really taken care of or replaced since a few years ago. Speaking of, they seem to use the microwave a lot which i don’t know what to think about honestly. And i think I’ve genuinely seen mice coming out of the manhole on the sidewalk right besides this restaurant. Overall if your standards are not too high its fine. And they have a TV in which they play generic popular music in spanish from the 90s onward. Good place with tasty food, id recommend working more in the aesthetic part of the restaurant but overall their food is better and cheaper than many other restaurants that look prettier. Im definitely eating here regularly but honestly i mostly order...

Hidden gem worth the trek. This is where locals eat authentic delicious Mexican food that’s reasonably priced. It’s cheap by US and Canadian standards. Huge portions, fresh and delicious. I got the steak plate tacos which was supposed to come with only 5 tacos but they gave me 8 taco tortillas and there was so much juicy steak that I still had left over.

The boy who served me was so kind and has an innocence that other places lack. I got a taco plater which like I said was more than 8 tacos, guacamole and chips, and a soda for 210 pesos. I tipped well because your money goes far here, better to give more to locals than expensive places by the beach and...

Atmosphere not great kinda hot feels like your on the street, which you are. The food was amazing... Just as good or better than many of the cost side food joints that charge 5x and sneak in water bottle for like six bucks. Theses in town joints are surprisingly less scammy and less expensive. Like taj Indian palace for 90 bucks or this place for 12 bucks (USD)... Yea this is just as good and for nearly a tenth of the price? I tipped ten bucks. They were kind and courteous and not annoyed with us non-spanish speaking tourists. Go here!!!...