17 Great Restaurants in Bacalar That You Must Try
There are so many Bacalar restaurants that it would take a couple of months to see them all. However, I recently returned to this magical town of Quintana Roo and enjoyed trying new eateries or returning to the ones I already knew and loved.
If you want the short version: book a sunset table at La Playita on the lagoon, do one slow breakfast at Picaflor in the garden, and eat at least one round of tacos at Mr. Tacos by the plaza. Those three are Bacalar’s range in one day, and if you work up the appetite floating down Los Rapidos first, even better.
I can say that the restaurants in Bacalar offer a great variety of local and international cuisine, and the food options have improved greatly overall.
In this post, I will share my honest reviews of the restaurants in Bacalar that I have tried. I will also list those that I have heard lots of great things about but have never tried because of a lack of time.
If you are still putting your Bacalar days together, start with my complete guide to the Bacalar lagoon and all the things to do there, then use the guides on getting from Tulum to Bacalar and floating down Los Rapidos to plan the trip in and the lagoon’s best swim, so you arrive hungry and earn every meal on this list.
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Lagoon-Front and Special Occasion
I stayed in Bacalar multiple times and ate out quite a lot. Here is a list of my suggestion based both on my experience and on people’s reviews.
1. La Playita Bacalar
This was one of my favorite restaurants in Bacalar. I loved the setting, right on the lagoon, the ambient and decoration, all wooden with tables scattered around the beautiful garden and by the pier.
The food is delicious and with a great choice and great attention to the presentation.
They have wifi and I guess you can spend some time on their pier and enjoy their hammocks and water after a great meal.
2. Savora Bakhalal
It is located in the main square, I love the upper-level terrace, especially at sunset. The menu is very rich and also a little more expensive than the average but worth it. I had the vegetarian tacos, very tasty. The staff was also very pleasant.
3. Siete
Out on the Xul-Ha road: regional cooking with local ingredients, shrimp aguachile and wood-fired Yucatecan pork in a jungle setting with lagoon views. It is a drive, not a stroll, which is exactly why it feels like an occasion.
4. Jaguara
Jaguara is the lagoon-shore showpiece: a beach-bar setting on the northern costera with swings and hammocks right in the water, and plates that arrive looking almost too composed to eat. The menu runs Mexican with a seafood lean, tacos and aguachiles done prettier than they need to be, and yes, it is one of the most expensive tables in Bacalar, which reviewers agree it mostly earns for the setting alone. Come for a late lunch when the light is on the water, and treat the bill as rent for the view.
5. Macario
Macario is Bacalar’s date-night answer: modern Mexican fine dining on Calle 5 near the fort, with the octopus as the dish reviewers keep photographing and a Thursday DJ night that turns dinner into an evening. If Nixtamal is the wood-fire soul of this list, Macario is its dressed-up cousin, and the two together mean Bacalar no longer makes you choose between rustic and refined.
Casual Kitchens and Seafood
6. Kai Pez
Located just below the fort, on the Avenida Costera. You will notice it because of the huge car park and a long pier. Right by the water this laid-back, nothing pretentious restaurant is located.
I had a great ceviche for my dinner and I was really impressed by the presentation. It’s quite a popular restaurant.
7. Nixtamal cocina a fuego y leña
I found this restaurant on Google and I decided to give it a try. I was right. Located in a lush garden, Nixtamal offers delicious grilled dishes in a laidback and yet stylish environment.
The menu offered is mainly based on grilled fish or meat, but also vegan options and Mexican dishes.
The service is great, and the presentation of the dishes is very cool.
As a welcome token, they bring you a shot of kombucha upon your arrival, followed by baked black tortilla chips with delicious homemade dips.
It makes a great dinner option.
8. Finisterre
When you hit the travel-day moment where only pasta will do, Finisterre is the town’s Italian kitchen: lemon-shrimp pasta, salmon ravioli, and brick-oven pizza, served with lagoon views from the upper part of town. Italians are allowed to be skeptical of Italian food abroad, so consider it high praise that the reviews forgive the location for the pasta.
9. Navieros
Navieros is the seafood counter this list was missing: traditional aguachile, ceviches, and shrimp quesadillas on a colorful patio near the costera, at prices that let you order a second round. If Kai Pez below the fort is where you take the ceviche photo, Navieros is where the locals actually order it.
Breakfast, Cafes and Veggie-Friendly
10. El Manati Bacalar
I loved this place so much, most of all for the concept. Before reaching the restaurant area you will walk through a multifunctional shop, where they sell clothes, organic washing soap cakes, and all sorts of art; then you will have access to a beautiful garden surrounded by amazing murals.
The food is delicious, too, and vegan-friendly.
11. Waah Cocina
Waah Cocina is one of the new restaurants, located in a beautiful artsy space with a swimming pool and a yoga shala.
They open for breakfast from 8 am to 12 pm and then again from 3 to 11 pm. They also offer a day pass yoga and other holistic discipline classes.
12. Mango y Chile
It’s a vegan restaurant, located right beside the Fort, open all day from breakfast to dinner. It offers a choice of vegan dishes such as burgers, falafel, salads, and different beverages. I found my favorite, which is the “leche dorada” it’s a hot drink made of vegan milk and Curcuma! A delish!
The best part of this restaurant is that you eat while looking at the spectacular colors of the lagoon.
13. La Kinta cafe
La Kinta cafe was a pleasant new addition that I found on my latest time in Bacalar. I had to work and this was the only place I found with great WIFI, besides the staff is very friendly.
The food they have is not exactly my favorite but you can find a variety of waffles, crepes, and many kinds of drinks to choose from. Nothing very healthy unfortunately, with the exception of delicious herbal teas.
14. Picaflor
A very beautiful place with a spacious setting in a lush garden and an internal artsy space. Their menu ranges from bakery goodies to eggs and smoothies among other healthy items.
I went there with the intention to stay and work but their WIFI was unfortunately failing so I had to leave.
Open from 8 am to 4 pm.
Tacos, Trucks and Cheap Eats
15. Maracuya food truck
This is a great space for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
The breakfast and lunch are served in the back of the garden, located right on the water in a restaurant called Baraka Bacalar, also great with good WIFI.
The food truck opens at 12 a.m. and serves all sorts of food, from tacos to pizza, burgers, Argentinian chorizo, and even vegan ice cream.
16. Mr. Tacos
Mr. Tacos is perfect for a quick and cheap dinner, if you find space. It’s a tiny restaurant located by the plaza and it is very popular for, you have guessed it, their delicious tacos.
I didn’t manage to get in because it was always busy when I wanted to eat, but this is more proof that it may be delicious and very cheap.
Bacalar’s food scene grows every season, and these are the newer names locals kept mentioning on my last visit that I have not properly tested yet: Jaguara for open-fire cooking, Macario for modern Mexican, and Enamora on the lagoon side. I would rather flag them honestly than pretend I have eaten everywhere; if you try one before I get back, you know where to find me
17. Los de Atlixco
Los de Atlixco brings proper tacos al pastor to Bacalar, spinning trompo and all, in a funky neon-and-murals room where the crowd is more local than the lagoon-front ever gets. The crispy shrimp tacos are the reviewers’ second call, the margaritas are honest, and together with Mr. Tacos this gives the budget end of Bacalar two real answers.
Restaurants in Bacalar: Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best restaurant in Bacalar?
For one meal, La Playita at sunset on the lagoon: the garden, the pier, and the water doing its seven-colors show behind your plate. For the best pure cooking on my list, Nixtamal’s wood-fire kitchen is the one I would defend in an argument.
Do Bacalar restaurants take cards?
The bigger lagoon-front places mostly do, but Bacalar still runs on cash more than the Riviera Maya. Bring pesos, especially for the taco spots and food trucks, and note the ATMs in town run dry on busy weekends.
Do I need reservations in Bacalar?
Only really for sunset tables at the lagoon-front spots in high season (December to April, Semana Santa). Everywhere else is walk-in. High season fills the sunset tables the same way it fills the rooms, so if you have not booked your base yet either, my guide on where to stay in Bacalar covers the areas and hotels worth grabbing early.
Is Bacalar good for vegans and vegetarians?
Surprisingly, one of the best small towns in Mexico for it. Mango y Chile is fully vegan by the fort, El Manati is vegan-friendly with its garden setting, and even the Maracuya food truck does vegan ice cream. Nobody goes hungry here for skipping the fish.
Restaurants in Bacalar: Final Thoughts
Bacalar’s food scene has grown up faster than the town itself. A few years ago, eating here meant fish tacos and whatever the lagoon-front hotels served; now there is a wood-fire kitchen, a proper date-night table, vegan bakeries, and a taquería with a spinning trompo, and the prices still belong to a small town rather than a resort.
My advice is to eat the way the lagoon sets the rhythm: a slow garden breakfast, a light lunch you can swim after, and one table booked for sunset, because in Bacalar the water at seven in the evening is half the meal. And leave at least one dinner unplanned. This town rewards walking until something smells right, and that is how half the places on this list earned their spot.
