Hola from Puerto Morelos!
Welcome to Part 3 of our end-of-2023 Town Update. We had so much to cover, that we broke it up into three issues. Did you miss Parts one and two? You can find them here and here.
In this issue, we will focus on Restaurant News. As we told you in Part One, a lot of restaurants moved around over the summer, but some new ones have sprung up too. For hours, menus, websites, locations, phone numbers, etc. check our Puerto Morelos restaurant guide. We keep track of all the changes so you don’t have to!
Contenedor Restaurante opened on the square in July. It is in the former “Namaste” space on the square (beside La Sirena). They say they are a “seafood fusion” restaurant. Contenedor Restaurante has seafood entrees as well as tostadas, tacos, salads and some pretty tasty-looking drinks. They are open every day except Tuesday from noon to 10:00 PM. (Namaste still has its location in the Colonia.)
Maira Bonita restaurant opened recently in a new building on Niños Héroes. When you walk in, we’re pretty sure that your first impression will be, “This place is adorable!” They are a cafe, but also serve dinner. They have a very wide and very different menu. For breakfast, they have choices like omelettes and chilaquiles. Dinner includes pasta, meats, and seafood. They are open all day. Early reviews are very good, including by the stunning chef in the photo above.
Muses is a new Greek restaurant with a familiar face. Sakis Gennatos, formerly of La Sirena and Lauro’s has struck out on his own making his native Greek cuisine on the beach at Diving Lodge. They are open in the evenings from 6:00 to 11:00 and have a full Greek menu with lots of appetizers, souvlaki, lamb, Greek salad and of course, homemade Baklava. Lots more on the menu including vegetarian choices.
El Che Carlito has opened on Rojo Gomez, right around the corner from Blue Morelos in a space formerly occupied by Doragon Restaurante Japonés which closed. The restaurant is named in memory of a renowned local chef. It is helmed by Chef Pablo, formerly of Los Gauchos. They serve pizza, empanadas, sandwiches and salads. They are open late afternoons until 10:30 PM every day except Tuesday.
Perla Negra is another small place on Niños Héroes. They are “mar y tierra”, so surf and turf. Meat and seafood. Drinks & desserts too. They are open every day, from noon until 11:00 PM.
La Margalante opened on the north end of Rojo Gomez in August. They are in the old “My Little Italy” (which has closed) space. In that spirit, they have Italian on the menu, including pizza, but they also have Mexican food, steaks and seafood. They are open daily from 3:00 in the afternoon until midnight.
Not new, but the restaurant “Oops, Que Chido” has changed its name to Prats Restaurant. The menu looks similar to what they were offering before, steaks, salads, soup, and pasta. They are located next to El Campanario.
This is El Timon de Shark, a good-looking seafood place in the Colonia. Its menu is all about seafood…shrimp, fish and ceviche. Easy to find, just south of the Circle K store on Timon.
Wings Factory in the Colonia Chedraui parking lot changed its name to Wings FC, but as far as we can see it’s the same restaurant. We’re talking beer, we’re talking wings, we’re talking fries and burgers. By the way, FC stands for “Fire Club”, so I’m assuming that some of those wings pack a punch! It’s open from 3:00 PM to 10:45 PM daily. (I guess the staff wants to be OUT by 11:00!)
The PitStop is a new place in the Colonia on the north end of Zetina Gasca, across from the football field. Their specialty is sliders, which they sell in groups of three. They also have fries, chilli cheese dogs and that all-time favourite northern indulgence, poutine. They are open 8:00 am to 2:00 pm and 5:00 pm to 10:00 pm Wednesday to Monday.
And in some non-restaurant news… There’s a new attraction in Cancun that we definitely will be skipping. Diversiones Polo Norte in Plaza La Isla 2 offers a chance to experience 15 minutes of winter. Not a thrill for us, as we already experienced our 15 minutes of snow and ice about a billion times over, but it might be an adventure for tropical folks who have never had the pleasure of getting their tongue stuck to a lampost. Plus, think of the selfie opportunities! The temperature is kept at a brisk -24C (-11F).
If we ever really miss the cold (has not happened so far) we can always spend a few minutes in the fruit and vegetable room at Costco. We nicknamed that room “Canada”. The North Pole at the mall will cost you 200 pesos for that 15 minutes of chill, which includes the loan of a jacket and gloves. “Canada” in Costco is free with the purchase of a membership. (but will likely cost you much more by the time you get out!)
That wraps up our news for 2023. We hope that you have a wonderful 2024 and that we see you soon at Casa de los Viajeros in Puerto Morelos. We still have some March 2024 dates available.
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