Juanita Diavola — Restaurant in Tulum

Love this place! We stayed at Coco Tulum so we got complimentary breakfast there each morning that was amazing. (Complimentary aside from tipping, which they wholly deserved.) So that got us in the door for later. Talked to another guest who thought the breakfast was “just ok” but I’m used to “free continental breakfasts” being some dry cereal and buffet style scrambled eggs made from a liquid egg carton. Anyways. Their breakfast was gorgeous and I felt good eating it- Was fresh and high quality.

Now for pizza! We ordered two pizzas to-go, a margherita and a veggie. Great prices and absolutely delicious. Margherita was 184 I think, and veggie was 230. Was fun hanging out by the oven outside, watching them make the pizzas from scratch. The whole process is super fast. The margherita had the perfect amount of basil and the toppings on the veggie was plentiful. Since we had it to-go, they sent us off with a little cup of red pepper flakes and one of herb seasoning which was really nice.

Some complaints I read on here that I want to mention because I’m feeling defensive ha-

You are in Mexico. Don’t expect it to be like pizza from Italy and be upset that it isn’t. I’ve never been, so I can’t compare, but I do know the pizza is pretty darn delicious. The fresh basil really hits the spot.

The pizza is thin, but nothing out of the ordinary for the pizzas using flash cooking in those fire ovens. It isn’t pan or deep dish. Depending on the appetite of the people eating, a single pizza would be good for one or two people. You’d be very full with it as a personal pizza though (I decided to not listen to my body and joined the clean plate club.)

Prices- Great prices for the pizza! Alcohol is expensive but do note that Juanita Diavola is located among a string of beach resorts.

Added service fees. One reviewer complained about an added 100 pesos. The money was actually a suggested tip, based on his total bill. Our suggested tip worked out to be 15%, which is completely reasonable. Even if I am misunderstanding and it is required, 15% is still what you should be doing at a minimum unless something went horribly wrong. Some countries don’t tip though so I can see that maybe he just wasn’t used to the idea.

We were out of pesos so we took advantage of their acceptance of Visa (or MasterCard. They had their exchange rate clearly on display. Today it was 17.50 per 1USD. Considering the convenience we found that reasonable. (The last exchange we went to gave about 18.50 per 1USD.)

Bonus- A cool thing I noticed was that the server did a quality check on our pizzas and also verified that the items matched our bill. He seemed to genuinely care that we were satisfied with our order. Maybe all places do that but I actually got to see it since it...

Good (strong) expensive drinks, lovely place, good service at the beginning until I confused the word "factura" and "cuenta" when asking for the bill. I asked for a "factura" which means receipt for tax purposes (totally thought it was the same as bill) then they explained to me the difference, good. When I gave them my money I gave them the total amount + tips. I was waiting for my change then when I asked the server he gave me a dirty look and showed me the bill that had an extra charge and thats why I wouldnt get any change. They made me feel as a cheap ass, confused I told my taxi driver, He explained to me that the extra fee was a fee to cancel this receipt for tax purposes and the reason the server gave me a dirty look was because I didnt give him any tip. But how on earth will I know such things? They didnt mention the extra charge, I wanted to tip, but not because I speak fluently spanish (Lived my whole life in an english speaking country from latino parents) does it means I understand everything in spanish, they assumed, treated me poorly and I do not recomend this place at all. There are other places that offer better service, do take care of you if you don't understand. It is a shame because yes I wanted to tip that server, but it was a...

A dinner with some friend who start well, Californian wine, a nice gesture cause doesn't forget the mosquitos of Mexico spike as the bill of my plate, I'm sorry... I ordered the fresca salad (Gorgonzola, beets, apple and watermelons - i asked without watermelons). The salad was good (salad, basilic and mints, is a nice move) but there is no toping on it. The salad was compose of 95% of green salad. I asked for bread for alternate my super green dinner. But their is no bread. I told it to the waiter but he didn't do anything. The plate doesn't worth the price, so bad cause the...