01 Food tours
Original food tours, curated with our local tastemakers to showcase the neighbourhood kitchens, markets and family-run eateries that define Playa del Carmen.
Playa Plates
Playa del Carmen
Eat Playa at lunchtime — al pastor, mahi ceviche and agua fresca from the marisquería.
Carmen Cocina
Playa del Carmen
Taste Yucatán meeting CDMX on the beach — al pastor, mahi ceviche and empanadas.
02 Meet the tastemakers
The local food experts who help us research, refine and lead every A Chef's Tour.
Tacos al pastor spun on the trompo, mahi mahi ceviche with lime, empanadas de jaiba, agua fresca in every colour. Playa's kitchen is Yucatan meeting Mexico City on the beach.
04 The pantry
- Masa, fresh corn dough for the tacos al pastor
- Achiote, Yucatecan annatto seasoning for cochinita
- Habanero, tiny blistering chilli in every table salsa
- Sour orange, for marinades and refreshing dressings
- Fresh mahi mahi, from the Caribbean off the coast
05 In the kitchen
- Spinning tacos al pastor on the trompo with pineapple on top
- Curing ceviche fish in lime and habanero
- Baking tikin xic fish under banana leaf and achiote
- Wrapping marquesitas crepes around Dutch cheese
- Blending aguas frescas from hibiscus, tamarind and horchata
06 Eat this first
- Tacos al pastor, chile-marinated pork sliced from the trompo
- Ceviche mahi mahi, Caribbean fish cured in lime and habanero
- Empanadas de jaiba, blue-crab empanadas from the beachfront
- Marquesitas, crispy sweet crepes stuffed with Edam and cajeta
- Aguas frescas, fresh fruit waters in every colour from the marketside jars
What happens inside a hammam kitchen
A morning with the cooks who feed the neighbourhood before dawn. Charcoal, dough, the smell of a bakery working its second oven.
09 Recipes
A collection of authentic recipes we couldn't leave behind.
Fluffy corn masa filled with pork shredded in red guajillo-ancho salsa, wrapped in corn husks and steamed. The classical Mexican tamal, red edition.
Oaxaca's street mash-up: a crunchy tostada base piled with hot esquite corn, mayo, cheese, lime and chile. The prehispanic dish gets a modern platform.
Fried tortillas stuffed with black beans and topped with shredded turkey, pickled red onion and avocado — the Yucatán's crunchy answer to the tostada.
Fresh fruit blended with water and a splash of lime — the mercado thirst-quencher. Jamaica, horchata, tamarindo, sandía or piña, poured from big glass tanks.
A silky caramel-topped custard, richer and denser than the European original. Mexico's most-eaten dessert, born in nuns' kitchens 300 years ago.
Pineapple-marinated pork carved off a spinning vertical trompo, caught on a small tortilla with a flick of chopped pineapple, onion and coriander. Mexico City's most famous taco.
10 Field Notes
Quick field notes to help you get accustomed to Playa del Carmen.
Weather
Tropical Caribbean. Hot and humid year-round (28–32°C). Hurricane season June to November; December to April is peak dry season.
Currency
The Mexican peso (MXN). US dollars widely accepted but often at a poor rate. Pay in pesos. Cards work almost everywhere.
Language
Spanish. English is widely spoken thanks to tourism. Yucatec Maya heard in the region.
Etiquette
Casual and beach-focused. Modest dress at cenotes and Mayan sites. Fifth Avenue is a tourist strip, expect to be approached by touts.
Getting around
Fifth Avenue is walking-only. Colectivos to Tulum, Cancún, and Cozumel are cheap and easy. Uber has friction with taxi unions, check current status; taxis rarely use the metre.
Prayer
Predominantly Catholic. Small Mayan practices survive in the wider region. Sunday services in the small downtown church.