Cena (supper)

Supper in Mexico is often late in the evening by North of the Border standards

Many of these places are open only at night and quite a few don't open before 8 PM.

Check the Local Cuisine glossary page or use the search box for definitions of unfamiliar terms. 

Locate restaurants on the Restaurants page.

Check hours - many places have reduced schedules during the pandemic

There are many wonderful choices for supper in Cozumel

A: 30 Avenida between Calle 2 & 4 Norte 

P:  120 82 82 

Inexpensive, excellent Mexican-arabian food - tacos (beef, chicken, and pork - this is a Lebanese-Mexican Christian family) served on small pitas, falafel, kefta, excellent hummus and tart homemade yogurt. The owner grows his own grapes for leaves for the stuffed vine leaves and for grape juice. We especially love the kibis de bola.

Benitos 

$$ 

A: Calle 17 at 15 Av 

P: 869 09 14 

Popular Italian place with a wood-burning oven for pizzas and empanadas. Pleasant covered courtyard seating. Daily specials .

A: Playa San Juan Costera Norte Km 4.5 

P:  872 01 00 

Beautiful torch-lit beachside setting with delicious, creative food and drinks. Open only Friday and Saturday nights. Closes in low season. 

A: 298-A Av 10 between Rosado Sales & Calle 3 

P: 119 28 79 

Brewpub with a range of their own reliable standard beers and some temporary specials. Wood-burning oven for pizzas and empanadas. The lionfish pizza is especially noteworthy, as are the caramelized onion empanadas. 

Chi 

$$ 

A: Calle 3 Sur at the corner of Av. Rafael E. Melgar 

P: 869 81 56 

Chinese food with a great view of the ocean overlooking Avenida Melgar 

A: Calle 3 Sur at the corner of 5 Av 

P:  101 95 89 

Serves Mexican classics, properly prepared. These include chamorro (pork shank) and the famous and delicious Chiles en Nogada, traditionally available only seasonally in mid-September for Mexican Independence Day (on the Enlish menu here as "stuffed chiles with walnut cream sauce"). Indoor space and outdoor seating on the sidewalk. 

A: Calle 3 between 5 Av and Melgar 

This small downtown taqueria has some very interesting tacos with handmade tortillas. The shredded shortrib is great, as is the portobello (which is not something I usually like). They have some nice drinks including have their own custom-brewed bottled beer. 

A: 5a Av. Sur at the corner of Calle 3 Sur 

P: 101 71 08 

Wonderful Argentinean-style empanadas (using wheat flour crusts instead of corn masa) with tasty and unusual fillings - try the "Del Sur" (cheese, plum and bacon)! They also have Argentinean steaks and yerba mate and sometimes feature tango dancers in their spacious vaulted dining room. Lovely place with great staff.

A: Avenida Rafael Melgar entre Calle 10 y 12 Nte

P: 120 15 03 

Seafood place on the waterfront, with a playground for the kids. Great ceviche and fish, not to mention fizzy limeade (limonada con gas). The "Mummy Shrimp" with cheese and wrapped in bacon are a favorite. Closed Mondays. 

El Moro 

$$ 

A: 75 Bis Av. Nte #124 between Calle 2 & 4 Nte 

P: 872 30 29 

Well-loved but hard-to-find place popular for years and specializing in seafood and Mayan food.  Worth the trip. Closed Thursdays. 

A: Av. Rafael E. Melgar at Calle 10 Nte 

P: 120 27 92 

In a lovely villa on the waterfront, this is a beautiful place to enjoy great food and drinks. Pleasant and relaxing. My favorite place to go for drinks in the evening. 

El Pique 

A: Av. Coldwell (30) between Av. Benito Juarez & Calle 2 

P: 872 46 28 

Among our favorite taquerias on the island, it has a quiet back courtyard reached through the busy front of the restaurant. Their tacos al pastor are outstanding, but don't automatically come with pineapple unless you specify ("con piña"), which you should. Queso fundido (and choriqueso and quesongo) are excellent here. 

A: 5a Av. Sur #456 between Calle 5 and 7 Sur 

P: 869 10 86 

Pleasant outdoor courtyard perfect for celebrations. Traditional Mexican basis with modern updates. Reservations recommended.  

La Choza 

$$  

A: 10a Av. Sur at the corner of Calle Rosado Salas 

P: 872 09 58

A strong, reliable favorite. Offers a range of seafood and traditional Mexican items. Chicken mole is particularly good. Famous for their yellow salsa, which you can buy to take home. Their avocado pie is better than it sounds. Free parking in nearby lot. 

La Cocay 

$$$ 

A: Calle 8 Nte #208 between Av. 10 & 15 Nte 

P: 872 55 33 

Lovely indoor and outdoor setting and mediterranean fusion dishes. Wood-burning pizza oven - we come here for the duck pizza. Closed Sundays. 

A: 65a Av. Sur #960 between Calle 13 & 15 Sur 

P: 869 12 18 

Lots of great seafood options here. The best is to choose your fish from the cooler and have it fried whole. 

A: Calle 10 Nte between Av. 65 Bis & 70 Nte 

P:  869 83 43 

A bit difficult to find, but worth the trouble especially for great lionfish dishes, particularly ceviche and pez leon xcalacoco (breaded in coconut). Two-for-one lionfish dishes on Thursdays! 

Le Chef 

$$  

A: Av. Rafael E Melgar 201-4 Entre calle 4 y 6 Nte.

P: 878 43 91 

Creative offerings of fresh local ingredients inspired by French and Mediterranean techniques. Their lobster and bacon sandwich is deservedly famous. 

A: Calle 3 Sur between 5 Av and Melgar 

P:  869 08 12 

Despite appearances, they don't serve New England-style lobster rolls, but this would be impossible using local clawless spiny lobsters. Instead, they serve delicious lobster cooked on a griddle with cheese stuffed into rolls with avocado. They also have shrimp and arrachera. Their salsas are especially noteworthy - cilantro coconut or 4 chile go particularly well with lobster, and the sweet chipotle goes well with arrachera. They make burritos, but we don't like them nearly as much as the rolls. 

A: 30 Av. Sur at Calle 7 

P: 869 04 70 

Really wonderful small taqueria not far from the house. They make their tortillas by hand, which greatly improves a taco. In addition to great al pastor, they also have a trompo of shawarma going for tacos arabes. They feature "burras calientes" and a number of other things I haven't seen elsewhere locally. Fantastic agua de piña con chaya. Portions are large to huge. Massive, inexpensive pizzas actually have too much meat on them. The owner is friendly and enthusiastic about his food. 

Los Sera's 

$  

A: Av. Pedro Joaquin Coldwell (30) at the corner of José Maria Morelos betw. Calle 3 & 5 Sur  

Taqueria that some prefer to El Pique. I'll admit it's close. Of particular note here is their pizza al pastor, which is very inexpensive and delicious. 

Los Tacotales (formerly Los Otates)

A: 15a Av. Sur between Calle Dr. Adolfo Rosado Salas & Calle 3 Sur 

P: 869 10 59 

Very popular with locals and tourists alike. Famous for pozole, they also offer a range of tacos, tortas, burritos (unusual in Mexico), and even burgers (but no fries). Free WiFi. Free parking.  

Mister Taco 

A: Av. Benito Juárez between Calle 60 & 65 Sur (across from the fire station) 

Don't let appearances fool you - this visually unimpressive taco stand is very busy for good reason. Some of the best tacos al pastor around, but not much else on the menu. 

Nando's Hotdogs

$

A: Calle 11 Sur near 30 Av

If you want a bacon-wrapped, cheese-stuffed hotdog in Cozumel, this is the place to get it. Nando has a new location on Calle 3 Sur between 10 and 5 Av and some carts, but we go to Calle 11 for cheap late-night food when we don't want tacos. It's popular and usually has lines. Try the "crunchy" style with rajas. N.B.: even the "sencillo" ("plain") dog still comes stuffed with cheese and wrapped in bacon - it's just not topped with anything. 

A: Av. Rafael E. Melgar #628 between Calle 7 & 11 Sur 

P: 878 40 20 

Great view, swim-up bar 

O'Hana 

$$ 

A: 5 Av Nte between Calle 6 & 8 

P: 105 51 54 

Honestly, all we've ever had here are nachos, which have been very good, and the pizza that's the reason we go. We order the nachos because the Chicago-style deep dish pizza takes a long time to make from scratch. It's worth the wait, especially if you get it topped with their homemade Italian sausage. Yes - I order Chicago-style pizza in Cozumel. 

A: Av. Rafael E. Melgar #27 at the corner of Calle 8 Nte 

P: 842 21 41 

Attractive setting in the Los Cinco Soles store on the waterfront at the north end of downtown, they offer some tasty and unusual dishes. You might think a restaurant inside a souvenir/gift shop would be a tourist trap, mediocre at best. It's not - this is an elegant place with great food popular with locals. We particularly like their chiles rellenos stuffed with plaintains and walnuts. Different lunch and supper menus, somewhat unusual for Cozumel. 

A: 65 Av Sur at Calle 15 

P: 869 11 07 

Family-oriented taqueria. It's clean, well-lit, has plenty of street parking, and a play area for the kids. It's the nearest I've found to the vibe of the original Parilla Mission (when it was on 30). 

A: Av. Rafael E. Melgar #602-6 across from Mega 

P: 872 44 05 

Good views, nice vibe. Particularly good if you're craving a salad or something that's not Mexican but is still caribbean or tropical, though their Mexican dishes are very good. Their chicken wrap is good and they have good burgers. Might be one of the best places to feed a group with divergent preferences.

A: Av. Rafael E. Melgar at the corner of Calle 11 Sur 

P: 872 10 97

Gorgeous setting overlooking the water. Wood-fired pizza, pasta, Italian meats and seafood  

Taqueria los Chilangos 

$

A: Av. Pedro Joaquín Coldwell (30) #579 between Calle 3 Sur & Morelos

Specializes in huaraches and quesadillas. They also have nice tamales, and refreshing avena to drink. Despite the name, they don't appear to offer tacos, though huaraches are very similar. Don't confuse it with Cocina Economica los Chilangos, which is open only during the day. 

A: 5a Av. Nte between Calle 5 & Benito Juárez (pedestrian) 

P: 872 49 70

Famous for innovative margaritas, they also Mexican and Tex-Mex dishes including a good chile relleno. And goulash.