Fresco's Tulum — Restaurant in Tulum

EDIT #2: Down to 1 star for them trying to charge me for the tostada, despite my friend who speaks fluent Spanish (from Spain) making it very clear before I ordered another dish that I wouldn't be charged for it. Terrible service and vibe tonight. We really missed Jose from the other night.

EDIT: Docking two stars for a subpar repeat experience two nights later. 2 stars (tonight) and 5 (original) averages to 3.5.

Ordered a scallop tostada. Looked nice until I discovered that the tostada was stale (or overcooked or something — very hard, way too crunchy) and there were only two small scallops cut in half...four tiiiiny pieces.

I mentioned my disappointment to the server and he allowed me to order something else, which was nice, and also completely appropriate.

Got the ceviche mixto that we had the other night and it was just as good, though I'm now remembering that they didn't bring out the ink sauce, so there's that too...and the tortilla chips had the same staleness/overcooked issue. I asked if they had any fresh ones and he said they were recently made, but after two more bites I just didn't want to keep eating whatever it was. So he replaced them with fried chips (thought they were all fried...but maybe those were baked?), and those were...just as bad. Like...I wasn't aware tortilla chips could even be bad. I was wishing for a 30p bag of totopes I got from the gas station the other day.

Maybe this was just an off night. Not sure if I'd come back to find out, as the menu is fairly small. Could see myself maybe stopping in for the tuna tiradito...but this second experience didn't inspire confidence that it would be as good as the first time. Paying 400p for this subpar experience makes me wish more of what's available in downtown were available here at the beach.

— Found this place on Yelp (the only single-dollar-sign spot on the beach!) trying to have a decent meal that wasn't super basic tacos/quesadillas, but didn't come with a 50% "you're at the beach, deal with it" surcharge. Prices were reasonable for the absolutely delicious tiradito, calamari, and ceviche mixto. Perfect amout of food for two of us. Filtered water was a bonus.

The place was empty when we walked in but the mountain of past reviews meant we didn't waver about sitting down, and the vibe, service, clean bathrooms, bug spray upon request -- all excellent. Highly recommend this place for a solid bite during/after a day at the beach or before a night out, if eating down here instead of in Downtown is preferred.

Thanks for a...

When I arrived to this place, I was welcomed by a very nice employee (wearing glasses). But after I took my seat, chose my smoothies, I was served by a different employee, who was rude, had no smile at all, and who treated me like “take your meal and leave”. The problem is that if you start with one waiter, this same waiter will serve you until the end of the breakfast. So, if he is rude, then you can consider that the whole service is ruined, which was my case. Basically, there is no ambience here. It is just a normal tourist place with NO sea view. Do not trust the pictures on the Internet. Fresco’s Tulum has NO sea view. There is, instead, a sandy road, just in front of you. Enjoy the cars passing by. The quality of the food in Fresco’s Tulum is ok, but it depends on what you order. My first meal was fine, but the second one was a complete mess. I could not finish it. The same thing with smoothies. The first smoothie was good, but the second was a horror. However, if you do not like your food or drink or a part of your order, you will have to pay the total amount and be sure that the waiter will make nothing to please you, moreover, he will make you feel like it is your fault. Such a disappointing experience. That is why I am recommending you to spend your money wisely...

Having booked and stayed at Cabanas Beach Hotel in Tulum we had breakfast included which was at one of two restaurants, one of those being Fresco's. The breakfast was amazing and offered so many options for us. Something we're not typically used to given our gluten and dairy intolerances.

Guillermo in particular offered an amazing service along with Filipe at breakfast. We made the mistake of assuming the dinner offerings may just be okay and booked dinner at 3 "high end" end restaurants.

After discovering mediocre food at exorbitant prices we decided to stick with Fresco's. This was the best decision we made. Again we were met by the amazing Guillermo who delivered us some spectacularly tasting food which tasted fresh and really offered the authenticity of Mexico that we had been looking for. This place delivers on all levels, the food taste, the food quality and most of all absolutely phenomenal service. The only regret I have was not giving Fresco's a chance earlier for dinner. I cannot recommend Fresco's along with Guillermo and his team any higher, I am...