Food

What and where to eat in Playa del Carmen

The rule here is simple: the food gets better and cheaper the further you walk from Fifth Avenue. The avenue is full of chains, hosts waving menus and inflated prices. Real eating happens inland.

Dishes worth planning around

• Yucatecan cooking. You are on the Yucatan peninsula, so seek out the regional plates: cochinita pibil (slow-roasted pork with achiote), panuchos and salbutes (crisp tortillas with toppings), and sopa de lima.
• Tacos al pastor in the evening from a proper trompo (spit) at a local taqueria.
• Fresh seafood. Ceviche, pescado a la veracruzana, and grilled catch of the day, best at spots that serve locals, not cruise crowds.
• Marquesitas. The local street dessert: a crisp rolled crepe, classically filled with cheese and cajeta. Try one from an evening cart.

Where to look

• Mercado Municipal and the inland loncherias for cheap, honest comida corrida (a set lunch of soup, main, tortillas and agua fresca).
• The local blocks west of Avenida 30 for taquerias and family kitchens.
• Fifth Avenue only for a coffee, a drink and the scene; do not expect value.

Approximate prices

Street tacos run just a few dollars for a plate. A comida corrida lunch inland is very cheap, often around 5 to 8 US dollars. A sit-down seafood dinner off the avenue lands in the mid-range; the same meal on Fifth Avenue can cost two or three times as much for no better food. Treat these as rough guides, not verified figures.