Yaxche

I had high expectations based on other Unilocal reviews, but was disappointed in the mediocrity of the food here. ‘Authentic’ isn’t really all that authentic if you consider that there were no horses or cows prior to the Spanish arrival.
The restaurant lends itself more towards a theme atmosphere. It’s like a rain forest café, but worse.
I had the cochanita pibil. It was good. Not great. The service was very friendly — 5 stars there. However, that was offset by the attempts at selling us a picture of us at our table and a bottle of tequila.
I wouldn’t eat here again.

First time there and first time for Mayan food. It was fantastic. We had drinks, appetizers, main course and desert plus coffee… Mayan coffee. It was all great. Interesting combinations with flavors that were so good. I experienced things I had never tasted let alone heard of but they were fantastic. After all of that to finish it off with Mayan coffee all I can say is WOW! A flaming mix of liquor and coffee prepared by artists that make the perfect ending to a superb meal. I would give it more stars if I could. A definite must for all.

El peor servicio! El Chef le falta ir a una escuela de servicio al cliente.
Estaba con un grupo grande de adultos con niños chicos y cuando me llego mi plato principal (Arrachera) sabia a pura grasa. Regrese el platillo despues de 10 minutos como no pasaba al mesero, y me comentaron que lo unico que podian hacer es cambiarme el platillo, pero no quitarlo de la cuenta. Con niños chicos en la mesa, era imposible esperar a que traigan otro platillo y esperar nos otros 20 minutos para que salga.
Cuando me trajo la cuenta el mesero me comento que el Chef decía «que estaba buena la carne» y no la podia quitar de la cuenta. Aparte de eso tuvieron la falta de respeto y trajeron el platillo en una bolsa para «llevar.»
Le regrese la bolsa al mesero y le dije que se la de al chef por q a el si le gusto. No vuelvo a regresar a este restaurante! Hay mucho mejores opciones en Playa!

I went to this place many years ago and had a good experience. We tried it again and had a really bad one. We first ordered a ceviche, the fish was absolutely rancid. We each had a bite and asked the waiter to take it back. He then brought us a sample of another ceviche, which was as bad as the first. We decided to skip the appetizer and have the main course. My girlfriend had fish wrapped in a banana leaf. The spices and vegetables inside were very tasty until you tasted the fish, which was as bad as the ceviche. She couldn’t eat it and we just decided to give up .I’ve eaten seafood all over the world, and this was horrible. As an added point my girlfriend has worked at a Sushi bar for 12 years and knows when fish has turned. When they brought our check they didn’t remove the ceviche from the bill. We asked our waiter why his response «the chef tasted your ceviche and said there was nothing wrong with it.» I have never had a dinning experience where they wanted to argue with you about spoiled food. I could understand if we didn’t like the flavor, but this fish was rancid. We argued and finally they removed it from the bill. On another note, I had a steak which brought back memories of ponderosa or sizzler, overcooked and tough. Maybe it’s an isolated incident, but my advice is ask for a sample of the ceviche before you order it. Ask them what kind of fish they are serving you, chances are that was a predatory fish like barracuda. The restaurant itself was clean with nice ambiance. For the money I would go a block off of 5^th for better food at a fraction of the price.

Never tried Mayan food before this restaurant so I don’t have much to compare it to but we really enjoyed our meal here. The staff was friendly and helpful and advised us what to order.
The vegetarian panuchos were to die for! Highly recommended!

Decent. But definitely not authentic.
Poor service. Took forever to take an order of one.
Too expensive for dishes that could be found cheaper locally and more authentic

Great restaurant! Must visit. The food was outstanding and so was the customer service! I look forward to eating at this place again.

We had a wonderful experience here. We let the waiter direct us to some great food choices accompanied by local wine. My favorites were the turkey Salbutes and the Chicken Kinich. The Chicken was very tender and juicy. All the flavors worked well together. It had unique dishes and a good atmosphere.

Disappointed. Convinced friends to come here based on Unilocal reviews. Food Just okay. Service lack lustre and seriously pressured to give a tip. Would not recommend.

It was so hot here w/​no fans. The food was nasty & with no flavor. The margarita I got was so watered down I was super disappointed. The shrimp tacos were fried which the menu doesn’t say and the shrimp wasn’t deveined. If I’m paying $ 17US for shrimp tacos, they need to be grilled and deveined. I sent them back and got fish tacos instead. They were ok. Overall super overpriced and not worth it. The server was wonderful & kind that’s why I gave it 2 stars.

This was one of the better restaurants we tried in Playa. The staff was great and my wife LOVED her jalapeño margarita. We shared chips and guacamole and a queso rellano, both of which were good, but not amazing.

Though service was a bit disorganized, food was served quickly. Food was great quality and authentic. We have eaten in all areas of Mexico including Yucatan and this food is authentic. Please don’t confuse this with Americanized to Tex-​Mex food. If you are expecting burritos you will be disappointed.
The cochinita pibil was one of the best we have eaten. All the food was well seasoned.
Can’t comment on desserts though.

Way overpriced for Mexico. It seems the best meal on the menu was the cheapest thing they had… Marinated beef steak. I had grouper … Blah. My other son had expensive shrimp that tasted like it was doused in local grocery store bbq sauce. With all the choice on 5^th avenue, we regret spending the extra money and going to Yache.

A local recommended this, so I had high expectations.
Sadly, we were sent to the belly of the beast of tourist traps. I give two stars for good service and presentation. The staff is generous, service centered, super busy, but well trained. And one star for food. If this is authentic Yucatan food, then I’m never going there. But I know better. The food was average.

I thought I knew what a 5 star dining experience in Playa del Carmen was until I tried Yaxche! My experience at this restaurant was absolutely superb.
To begin, our waiter — Pablo — was so kind & interactive with our group. He helped a few of the guests learn some Spanish phrases and he walked is through our questions about the menu & did not steer us wrong.
The margaritas were perfect. They were so refreshing and not too sweet. I loved the Jalapeño Margarita with a chili powder rim.
The food was exquisite. Every dish was cooked to perfection with so much flavor. The fish and shrimp were so fresh and prepared perfectly.
We ordered 4 desserts and they were all delicious — especially the Chocolate Chimichangas and the Banana & Mango Crêpe Flambee which was prepared at our table by our own waiter. Do not pass these desserts up!
This was a true 5 star dining experience in Playa del Carmen & it will be hard to beat.

simplemente excelente comida yucateca en Playa del Carmen, el plato de entrada con la combinacion yucateca, delicioso. Luego la cochinita pibil de lujo y despues el plato de poc chuc, el mejor, todo acompañado de aguas frescas buenisimas de tamarindo y chaya, felicidades!!!

Yaxche es el restaurante que HAY que probar en Playa del Carmen. No hay excusas válidas para no hacerlo. El ambiente es ideal, esta muy bien atendido y tiene una amplia carta de platos típicamente mayas y yucatecos. La cochinita pibil es la estrella del menú y es exquisita. Además hay una buena carta de tragos (todos de muy buena preparación y servidos en gran tamaño). Pienso volver cada vez que venga a Playa del Carmen.

Naturally when you travel to a foreign country you ask the locals where they like to eat… and sometimes you need help so you turn to Unilocal!
We chose this restaurant for the great reviews, location and the menu looked amazing. However, when we sat down for dinner it was another story. Traditional «Mayan» cuisine? Not the case. We were served with smelly ceviche, frozen veggies and scalding hot pork. We will never eat here again. If you should choose Yaxche, stay away from the ceviche… it stinks literally.

Had the tamale sampler – meh. They were cool and about two bites each. The salad was fine. The chochinita pibil was nice. The gave us more tortillas when we asked. The jalapeño margarita was nice. Honestly, Los Angeles has better food of this style. So I don’t see the hype.
Service was nice.

Oh how fun! A gorgeous two-​story restaurant catering to us tourists, tired of our resort food. It is authentic, so don’t expect to recognize much, unless you are well versed. I don’t think you can go wrong with anything on the menu.
Also, I love that they offer a souvenir bottle of tequila with your picture on it. ADORBS. We bought it. ^_^

We had such a tremendous time here! The service is beyond amazing! The food is so interesting and delish. If this restaurant was in America it would be 10x the price and booked solid every night of the week.
My boyfriend and I are vegan and the staff went out of their way to make us an amazing meal with no animal products. The couple we were with were not vegan and they also loved their duck entrée and pork entrée.
Ask for chips and salsa — they come with a pumpkin seed /​coriander salsa — can you say NEXT LEVEL SALSA!!! I was almost in tears the food was that good.
All in all — one appetizer, two vegan meals, and 4 drinks plus tip came to about 850 pesos — on the pricey side of the playa but compared to the US it was a deal. We even got a tequila bottle with our picture on it for an additional 250 pesos– normally we don’t do tacky /​touristy things but we were just enamored with the restaurant and had the best meal of our trip there!
This is a must do when in playa!

This place was around the corner from our hotel the Adventura Mexicana so after a long flight from Los Angeles we checked in and headed for some yummy Mayan food. We were not disappointed!
We enjoyed some of the small plates from the appetizer menu– shrimp tacos, tamale sampler and a ceviche. It was all tasty and a delight to start off our trip! If you have to eat on 5^th this a chill place to do so with local food flavors.

Quedé encantado con la comida que fue la razón por la cual me animé a probar Yaxche, por lo general no me atrae mucho la comida tradicionalmente mexicana, sentía que le faltan algo, como sabor. Nunca estuve tan equivocado, y la razón principal fue que nunca me la habían preparado tan bien. Hasta las salsas eran de otro mundo, en serio me veo regresando a éste lugar al menos 2 veces al mes. Ya que sus precios son moderados y no afectan mis ya raquíticos bolsillos. Por si la. comida no otorgara ya un ambiente tradicional y antiguo, el local es simplemente asombroso, el estilo es realmente captivante. Captura la esencia de algo rural y a la vez modernista, terminé muy sorprendido con todo lo que vi y probé.

Este restaurante es grande, se ve imponente desde afuera. Muy colorido, y mexicano. Sin duda tiene un toque de maya. Las mesas son negras y hay toques y adornos amarillos y naranjas. Sin duda es atractivo. El menú se compone básicamente de platillos mexicanos, cochinita pibil, guacamole, poc chuc (tipo carne asada), etc. Cabe destacar la sopa de lima y el café maya, a la hora del postre es rico, con licor xtabentun de miel y anís. La experiencia es mejor para los extranjeros creo, que para el turista mexicano, pues son platillos tradicionales. Muchos de los platillos los puedes encontrar en puestos de la calle por la ciudad, como los salbutes y panuchos.
La atención de todo el personal eso si, es impecable. También esta todo muy limpio y la comida es de buena calidad.

I was visiting Playa del Carmen from NYC. Prior to my visit I had heard great things about this place and knew it was a must-​visit while there.
I’m so glad I got to experience Mayan Cuisine. I had the «Kay Kool» which was a fish filet covered in black bean sauce, with sweet corn, banana and vanilla purée, rice and vegetables. The dish was a little spicy and flavorful. Different than anything I’ve had before. The drinks were infused with different flavors. Mine was a mixture of rum, Campari and berries. It was tasteful and not watered down which I found to be a common with most places in the area.
This place is classy, romantic and quality! I would highly recommend this place. We saved our visit for our last night in Mexico and was definitely well worth it. I will revisit on my next trip. Mayan cuisine is unique. Go try it.

Spanish:
Me encanta Yaxche! Es un poco «carro» pero el servicio y comida es muy rico. Las margaritas son muy fuerte. La salsa verde es muy, muy, muy picante. Los banos son muy limpios. Hay tres opciones: afuera, adentro sin fumar, adentro con fumar. Es muy importante que usted hacer reservaciones. Si quisiera una cena muy rico con comida autentica de los Mayans, Yaxche es tan mejor en 5^th Avenida!
English:
My family and I have a tradition where we end every annual trip to PDC here. The food is delicious but on the more expensive side. The service is tremendous and the drinks are strong. What more can you ask for for your final meal in PDC?
Their salsas are SUPER spicy and they warn you in advance. I LOVE spicy but I couldn’t handle the spice here. I made the mistake of trying to wash it down with Tequila and it was no bueno. The food is «authentic» Mayan so don’t come in trying to get your hands on a taco or arroz con pollo. I highly recommend that you make reservations in advance which can be done over the phone, in person, or on their website. We always make our reservations over the phone and whoever is on the other line always has a hard time understanding my mom who speaks 0 Spanish so I always have to take over.
The place has outdoor seating, indoor smoking seating, and indoor nonsmoking. They get SUPER packed late towards the night so a reservation is highly recommended. They have a BEAUTIFUL bar area with amazing lights so make sure you check that out. The bathrooms are super clean and everyone dresses up a little to dine here. Foodie warning: the lighting is SUPER dark so you won’t be able to take good pics of your food.
Buen provecho!