Tulum Travel Guide [2020] - Best Food in Tulum

Tulum, Mexico, is oftentimes misportrayed (most likely being paid to vacation there) as being primarily an Instagrammable beach paradise where luxurious hotels, beach clubs, and frozen drinks reign supreme. I knew there was a more authentic side of Tulum to be explored and I wanted to share our experience with that side of Tulum with this "Tulum Travel Guide" with a focus on the authentic Mexican food we found in Tulum. (mostly tacos lol)

On our trip, we decided to stay outside of downtown and away from the busy (and overly expensive) hotel area near Tulum Beach at a brand new boutique hotel by the name of Casa Altamar which we absolutely loved. The staff there is amazing and because there are only four other rooms aside from your own, it truly feels like a private beach oasis. They have their own dock and a private beach where you can take their kayaks out and borrow their snorkeling equipment for a world-class snorkeling experience just a few hundred yards from your beachfront room. I can't recommend Casa Altamar enough, this place is a gem and it feels like you are truly in a secluded area of Tulum that is still somewhat undiscovered.

Casa Altamar is a beautiful boutique 5-room hotel in Tulum, Mexico, located north of the Tulum Beach area by about 15 minutes. With a private pool, beach, dock, and waitstaff, it truly feels like a private, secluded resort.

While in Tulum, I wanted to try all of the best street tacos I could find and I wanted to narrow down my favorites for this video to provide a (somewhat) comprehensive guide on where to find the best street tacos in Tulum. As you will see in my video, my favorite tacos are Al Pastor, so I tried many different types as I could stomach before I found my favorite pastor tacos at a place called La Riviera Costeña located in Tulum Centro.

However, the best tacos we had on our entire trip were from a place in the colonial city of Valladolid called Taqueria Rosario. The owner and his wife, who owns the tortilleria directly next door/attached to the taqueria, have been in business together for over twenty years and he serves up the best Cocinita Pibil tacos I've ever tried. After you finish up the tacos, head over to Cenote Zaci for a swim in one of the best cenotes in Mexico.

On the higher end of things — the side mostly portrayed on social media — is in the Tulum Beach area which is located about a 20-minute drive from downtown. There you will find all of the luxurious accommodations such as Papaya Playa Project, La Zebra Hotel Tulum, Azulik Resort, El Pez Hotel Tulum, Ahau Tulum, NEST Tulum, and Be Tulum, to name a few. And listen, I can't knock this area too much. The beach and the restaurants here are top-notch including ARCA, Hartwood, Casa Jaguar, Gitano, Ka'an Tulum, Posada Margherita, El Tábano, Kitchen Table, and Loyal Order Tulum.

Don Pacheco, owner of Taqueria Rosario in Valladolid, Mexico. Home of the best cocinita pibil tacos I’ve ever had.

We didn't get to visit all of them on our trip, but the people who work at Casa Altamar recommended those places to us and swore by them. I have also come across many of them in my research as being the top spots along Tulum Beach. While we were in the area, we had lunch at La Zebra and hung out on the beach while enjoying a bucket of beers and some mezcal along with some chicken nachos to snack on. Prices were very fair considering you're sitting right on the beach with full waitstaff and a beautiful view. After hanging out on the beach all day, we caught the sunset on the rooftop of Puro Corazón and then headed to dinner at ARCA where we had one an amazing meal in their incredible restaurant enshrouded by creeping jungle.

ARCA Tulum is a beautiful and delicious restaurant located in the Tulum Beach area of Tulum, Mexico, founded by Jose Luis Hinostroza, a former Chef de Cuisine from NOMA.

ARCA was founded by a young chef, Jose Luis Hinostroza, who is a former Chef de Cuisine from NOMA. Hinostroza now brings some Nordic locavore spirit to Tulum with his open-kitchen concept located in the jungle of Tulum Beach. Hinostroza is the California-raised son of a Mexican family. He worked at Alinea in Chicago and El Cellar de Can Roca in Spain before heading to Copenhagen restaurant Noma. That trip brought him to Tulum to spearhead Rene Redzepi’s Noma Mexico pop up in 2017 and he never left. We had an excellent dinner, most of which I didn't get a video of because I was enjoying my meal with my girlfriend, but take my word for it when I say this is not to be skipped. However, you will probably spend as much money on this one meal (we spent about $280 with food and 4 cocktails) as you do on all of the tacos and street food you could possibly want in an entire week in Tulum Centro. Budget it into your plans, trust me!

If you have any other questions, please feel free to email me (contact@dankeatsblog.com) or direct message me on Instagram at @DankEatsBlog where I also have a highlight story with all of the places we visited with the locations and brands tagged where possible. Please like and subscribe to my YouTube channel and follow me on IG for more food recommendations!

Salud!

Tacos al Pastor from La Riviera Costeña located in the downtown Tulum area. These were my favorite Pastor tacos I tried during my trip. They had a perfect blend of acidity from the lime, sweetness from the pineapple, spiciness from the salsa and marinade, and salt sprinkled on top.