Cozumel has always been near and dear to my heart. The people are kind and the snorkeling is beautiful. During my land trip in August, I wanted to really dig in and find some new options for all of you. I can honestly say that there wasn’t a place that we didn’t like or enjoy to some degree. It felt great supporting more local businesses during this pandemic especially since 90% of this island’s income is tourism. Let’s hop into this list of the best local bars and restaurants in Cozumel.
If you want good tacos, you need to find the right place. While we were driving, we saw them roasting meats outside and had to stop. We tried a bunch of different varieties of tacos and loved every sing one. They come with fresh made sauces, onions and cilantro. A true taqueria is not fancy. It is simple goodness!
I managed to find the only microbrewery on Cozumel and it did not disappoint. The cocktails and food were amazing as well as affordable. I ordered a delightful mezcal cocktail that worked out to about $4.50 USD. We heard that this place had delicious brick oven pizzas and empanadas so we tried one of each. This place will blow you away with their food and drinks!
I had been wanting to go to the San Luis Mercado in Cozumel. There are a lot of great food vendors and small restaurants to try. We were on the hunt for empanadas and decided on this place. The menu is very diverse but we decided to keep it simple with cheese empanadas and carnitas gorditas. I venture to say that these gorditas might have been the best thing that I ate all trip!
This place is in the same square area as Woody’s and Dick’s Dive. At first glance you would think that these venues are all similar but they are vastly different. Wet Wendy’s has this chocolate peanut butter frozen margarita that is divine! This is a great place for cocktails and snacks. We ordered the tostadas and were amazed!
When researching places with the best margaritas, Woody’s was high on a lot of reviews. This venue had live music and large margaritas. We ordered some excellent empanadas, quesidillas, and the biggest frozen mango margarita that I’ve ever had in my life. Do not miss this stop!
My favorite cocktail is going to go to Dick’s Dive. I ordered their traditional, high end margarita with their own house tequila and it was mind blowing. They also added Grand Marnier to it. It was smooth and delicious. We sampled their seafood tacos. They shrimp and the lobster are definitely worth having!
This was an unintended stop but worked out to be a favorite. This is a simple little diner that is great for breakfast. They take pride in their presentation and flavors. I ordered a gorgeous fruit platter and a delicious crepe. Our total for breakfast worked out to about $15 for two meals, a fruit place and two big bottles of water!
Cozumel has a ton of local restaurants that are sure to make your taste buds happy. I highly encourage you to take some time away from the resorts and cruise ships to support these local businesses. The food is better and it is much more budget-friendly. You could even create your own bar crawl to some of these places. I hope you enjoyed this list of the Best Local Bars & Restaurants in Cozumel!
Curious about staying at a resort in Cozumel? Check out my review of the Secrets Aura all-inclusive resort!
[…] the centro area, hop a taxi over to Woody’s and try most of the bars from my most recent blog post! This is more of a DIY approach but some of the best cocktails are to be had in this area as well […]