December 2021: At long last, an update from your favourite town in the Mexican Caribbean, Puerto Morelos. We have so much news to share with you! It’s too much for one post, so we will spread it out over a few.
Suite #3 January 7-22 and Feb 23 to March 19 And Suite #1 January 1-7
Hope you are doing well wherever you are! Puerto Morelos has been quiet, and yet very busy at the same time over the summer. Where to begin? We’ve got SO MANY new restaurants to share with you, and some other news. Our vacation rentals at Casa de los Viajeros are filling up nicely, but we still have some openings for you! Please contact us for more details.
For Puerto Morelos news, let’s start with the obvious.
The New Square
The new square finally opened to the public on May 19, 2021. The destruction of the old square and the subsequent difficult months dealing with the heart of the town surrounded by two fences while the construction progressed was very tough. It was a great relief to everyone when the fences finally came down and people could stroll through the centre of town again.
Because of the way the new square was handled, it will likely remain a controversial topic in town for a while, but it looks like it’s been pretty much embraced by the public. The kids LOVE the new playground, and as events return to the big new amphitheatre it will be embraced more. The public bathrooms being re-opened are also very welcome. We are wondering what happened to the public WiFi though, and why the new clock that was added more recently is stuck permanently at 5:45.
Construction on Ave Rojo Gomez
As we write this, Avenue Rojo Gomez, our “main drag” where all the restaurants are located that we are going to tell you about in this post, is being ripped up and repaved with stamped concrete. So far the work has gone quite quickly and looks very nice, but there is still a lot left to be done and the Christmas break is coming.
The work was required so that our water company could upgrade their pipes. After they finish their work, other crews are pouring concrete and stamping it as a replacement for the potholed asphalt we used to have. It will look similar to the roads around the square when it is finished.
New Restaurants
We could type for a long time and never cover all the new restaurants in town. If you have been away from PM for more than a year, some places have opened and then closed in your absence! For this update, we will focus on the main road in town on the beach side, Rojo Gomez. Come walk with us!
Starting at the square and working our way north, first up is yet another T@cos dot com. There are now three T@cos dot com in Puerto Morelos. Yes, we have two gas stations, two Chedrauis, two OXXO’s beach side, and three T@cos dot com. The new one is over the new jewellery store on the northwest side of the square. It shares a menu, and I believe a kitchen with another T@cos dot com location across the street (can we call it #2?). The “original” T@cos dot com, now labelled as such with a funky neon sign remains as well. (We’ll call it #1)
There is also My Little Italy at the top of the street, selling Italian pizza and pasta.
Moving north on the east (beach side) of the street, we had a big taco place called “Taqueria Los Chachalacos”. They are a small chain restaurant with locations in Cancun and Tulum. We mentioned them in our Town Update in the spring. I say “had” because they have since closed. They promise to be back soon, but the rumour mill says they are done in Puerto Morelos.
Next to them is a relatively new place called Spyder Cafe. They have big burgers, electric bike rentals and tattoos. We also mentioned them in our spring town update.
Across the street is a brand new restaurant called Península. We are hearing very good reviews about this lovely-looking establishment, but have not had a chance to check it out yet. They are serving classic Yucatecan dishes like lime soup, fish tacos, and cochinita pibil but with a contemporary flair.
On the south side of Peninsula is Crepe Street, this is the cafe where diets are broken because they specialize in delicious desserts, crepes and big milkshakes. They have coffee to of course, but you are going to need something sweet too! (You are on vacation after all)
Beside Península, still heading north, is the new El Moro restaurant. Stay with me now, this gets a bit complex. El Moro’s restaurant used to be right in front of their hotel. Now they have opened it on the property next door to them on the north side.
To build it, they knocked down a small building that used to be many things, including a phone repair shop, a barbershop (pictured above), a gift shop, and for long-time visitors to Puerto Morelos, “Goyo’s office”. They also renovated an old house that for a few months was a very cool music venue called “Lauro’s” owned by PM’s own rock star, Hector Romero. We first told you about them in our December update. It was a very busy and fun place for a few months. Unfortunately, it closed. We happen to know that Hector will open again a new location soon (more on that later).
But I digress, it is now Restaurante Casa Moro. El Moro has also changed their name to Casa El Moro (from Hotel El Moro and before that, Posada El Moro). They are serving wood-fired pizza and as a grand opening special, 2 X 1 drinks, which is drawing people in.
Next to them is the relatively new location of El Campanario. They are doing a booming business in their new spot and their grill is busy six nights a week. Nacho still plays the saxophone most nights. We also mentioned their new location in our spring update.
Next to El Campanario, a completely new restaurant to tell you about. Icaza has two locations in Cancun, and now one in Puerto Morelos. The space they are in was formerly a gift shop/gallery called “Artisolo”. The shop closed many years ago and the building has sat empty. Now Icaza is serving up breakfast and brunch with some interesting variations on traditional breakfast/brunch favourites.
Next to them, you have the venerable Cantina Habanero, which is hosting live music again. Across the street are La Pizza Nostra, known for their pizza, steaks and empanadas, and El Pirata which is now offering Saturday Paella classes for just $200 pesos (which includes the class, paella and sangria!) and the “farm to table” experience at Koox Ich Kool.
Next door is a popular cafe, Las Robles. They have breakfast, salads, vegan choices and coffee of course.
Still moving north, we have The Burger Underground, which has more outdoor seating now and Panna e Cioccolato which will tempt you with gelato and other cafe treats. And across from them is the new Ruta 40, a small takeaway place that serves empanadas.
A few steps further north lands you at Don Mexkal. They are hosting live music again in their spacious outdoor garden, and they are the local experts on all things mezcal. They stay open a little later than most places, they have cost us a lot of sleep over the years because we stay there too late, but we always, always have a good time.
A few steps away is a newer place called Che-Itza. They have inexpensive Mexican food.
After them, on the west side of the street, you will find Tanino’s. This restaurant often has music, including our favourite local band The Nobodies.
Are you still with me? Hope so, we have not even gone a block yet!
Moving on, another new place
Next to Blue Morelos is a new Asian restaurant called Doragon Japanese Restaurant specializing in sushi.
And about half a block north is now a new little restaurant row that is popping up. Across from Salciccium Food Truck Village, which closed in May, and shows no signs of reopening as a restaurant, is I Wanna Pizza. This local favourite has also been closed for the last year and a half, but the owner is working hard to get it reopened and tells us this should happen any day now.
Al la Burger used to be on the south side of I Wanna Pizza. It closed a few months ago and the space has been taken over by… are you ready for this?…. the new Lauro’s! Hector and his team converted the old burger space into a rock and roll stage in record time, and they opened past weekend, picking up exactly where they left off, with food, drink and lots and lots of music. Their new location is much bigger than their previous spot, so there is much more room to rock!
To the north of I Wanna Pizza, there is another new Asian restaurant called Yum Yum Wok. They are serving up made-to-order noodle bowls and more. Their location is where the fish restaurant Tony the Tiger used to be. And next to them is a Mexican restaurant called Jalisco House. They serve tamales, tacos, etc.
And that is it for now… If you made it to the end of this post… CONGRATULATIONS! That was only 1.5 blocks of the changes in Puerto Morelos. We will have more to come. Subscribe today and don’t miss Beach Reads from In Puerto Morelos.
