Preview image for Where to Eat in Tulum, Mexico

Playing With Fire: Where to Eat in Tulum

The Mexican resort town's culinary scene turns up the heat.

Due respect to the lauded kitchens of Mexico CityOaxaca, and Puebla, but these days travelers will find some of the country’s most exciting and downright delicious dishes coming from wood-fired ovens and grills in Tulum’s primeval Yucatán jungle. The first time I visited the area was roughly 15 years ago, when, like many tourists, I made the two-hour journey south from Cancún to explore the ancient Mayan ruins of the same name. Back then, there was just one lonely stretch of road, Carretera Tulum-Boca Paila, that separated the jungle from the white-sand beach, where a handful of eco-friendly posadas offered stressed-out urbanites the chance to unplug and practice yoga on the beach.

Soon, celebrities such as Cameron Diaz, Reese Witherspoon, and Justin Bieber started to come, and the party was on. But it wasn’t until 2017, when René Redzepi chose it for the fourth installment of his Noma pop-up concept – LondonTokyo, and Sydney preceded it – that Tulum became synonymous with good eating. You’ll still find the laid-back inns, the no-frills taco stands, and the yogis perfecting sun salutations on the beach, but now both sides of the carretera are lined with designer hotels, independent boutiques, and restaurants where chefs whip up big flavors in tiny jungle kitchens.

On your next trip to the Riviera Maya’s boho-chic escape, arrive hungry.  

Advisor Tip

Make sure you leave room in your suitcase to bring home a few finds from Tulum. My favorite shop is Caravana for its flowy cotton pieces by Italian designers – they also have a boutique on Mykonos.

Shawna Huffman Owen

The dining area at Arca. 

Luis García

Arca

Chef Jose Luis Hinostroza, formerly of Chicago’s Alinea and Copenhagen’s Noma, moved to Tulum to spearhead René Redzepi’s pop-up in 2017. Cooking in a wood-fired oven with Yucatán spices, produce, and seafood suited him so well, he stayed and soon became a partner and chef at Arca. Plan on a rotation of shareable small plates that go from fire to table as they’re ready, and make sure to try “The Whole Squash,” a roasted celebration of the local zucchini-like tatuma, presented on a bed of its sautéed greens and sprinkled with its flowers and toasted seeds.

Hartwood

When it originally opened back in 2010, this carbon-neutral, open-air restaurant’s concept was to blend into the environment, as if it had been there forever. Little has changed over the years: Diners sit at candlelit tables, and the daily menu – ceviche, jicama salad, and grilled octopus served on banana leaves are recurring items – features whatever chef-owner Eric Werner sources from local fishermen and nearby farms. “There are so many newly explored fruits and vegetables of the Yucatán,” says Werner. “It’s our life’s work to understand them and present them to our guests.”

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A rib eye with grilled onions at Gitano.

Luis García

Gitano

Cooked in a wood-burning oven or over an open flame, Gitano’s shareable dishes fuse the culinary traditions of its staff’s diverse corners of the country. Nightly live music or DJs, plus disco balls, chandeliers, and twinkling lights that dangle from the forest canopy, lend it a nightclub ambience – wear your dancing shoes to dinner.

Wild

Burned out from producing music festivals around the globe, Karen Young moved to Tulum four years ago to try something new and ended up opening a restaurant in the jungle. She recruited friends to help create a place that blends modern design and local Mayan craftsmanship in the form of sculptural wood and concrete structures that rise from the ground like palm trees. The internationally inspired menu draws on Yucatán produce and fresh fish and seafood from Punta Allen for hits such as braised and grilled octopus on a squid-ink sofrito.

A touch of the tropics at Safari. 

Luis García

Safari

A 1971 Airstream trailer parked next to a small fire pit serves as the kitchen for owner Luis Aguilar’s “campfire food.” Grilled fish, ceviche, tacos al pastor, truffle yucca fries, and chilled Pescadores beer are always on the menu. Hungry locals and visitors, often with kids in tow, arrive early to score one of the handful of tables in the open-air dining room.  

Cenzontle

This popular Mexican-owned restaurant is often credited, along with Hartwood, with launching Tulum’s culinary scene. If you don’t know where to look, you might miss the entrance – an overgrown meandering path that leads to a hidden garden. The vibe is easygoing, and the line for a table is often long, but the wait’s worth it just for the pork ribs, which are slow braised and seasoned with Veracruz vanilla and pasilla chili paste.

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Kaan Luum Lagoon, a popular swimming spot in Tulum. 

Luis García
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Time for Tulum: Villa Escapes on the Riviera Maya

  • Journey Mexico

    Journey Mexico

    Virtuoso advisors can work with Journey Mexico to customize adventures throughout the country. One example for a week on the Riviera Maya: six nights in a four-bedroom, staffed beachfront villa in the Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve. Daily activities range from a boat tour of the reserve’s mangroves to snorkeling with sea turtles to privately guided explorations of the Río Secreto caves and Tulum and Cobá ruins. 

  • Luxury Retreats

    Luxury Retreats

    Travelers staying at three-bedroom Casa Chakte – one of 14 Luxury Retreats properties in Tulum – can walk across the street for dinner at Hartwood or follow the villa’s garden path to a private beach. A concierge service helps guests book private chefs and attend to other needs. 

  • Villas of Distinction

    Villas of Distinction

    Villas of Distinction’s 12 Tulum homes include the modern four-bedroom Villa Verde in the new Aldea Zama neighborhood, with floor-to-ceiling windows, outdoor bathtubs, a rooftop patio with a lounge and hammocks, and a 50-foot lap pool surrounded by palm trees. 

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