When preparing this report we read our comments on restaurants from our visit to Holbox 15-years before and found references to “…the three main themes in restaurants: seafood, Italian and pirates. And there is what might be considered Holbox fusion dining: Italian seafood pirate restaurants.”
We ate very, very well on this trip. We love seafood and since its early beginning Holbox has been and still remains a fishing village and every seafood dish we ordered was as fresh as we could imagine.
We noticed the Italian/Seafood/Pirate themes still remained to some degree. We managed to find a good Italian seafood restaurant as well as a really excellent place with a Pirate theme but on this trip we also added some very good more-local style spots.
On our first night in Holbox we were tired from a full day of travel and just wanted something lite to eat so we set out from Hotel Para Ti in search of a little snack bar named Antojitos Norma that google maps indicated was a block away on Ave Damero.
We turned right from the entrance of the Para Ti and took the first right onto Av. Damero. We walked back and forth where our map indicated it should have been but we couldn’t find it till we stopped in a small corner juice bar and asked directions.
We ended up walking a block off Damero down Calle Canane and found it just around the first corner on the right, which turned out to be on Díaz just down from the opposite corner from our hotel. (i.e. we should have turned left and left from the hotel.)
The word “Antojitos” translates as “snacks” so don’t go to any restaurant with that word as part of its name thinking you’re going to get white tablecloth and fancy flatware. Rather Antojitos Norma is one of those great little places you find across Mexico that make you feel like you are sitting in the kitchen of an old friend. It turned out to be the perfect food for the moment.
The front of this place is a small bar with 3-4 stools looking into the kitchen and a couple tables on the side. The clientele is mostly local including a big takeaway business but we were warmly welcomed and luckily found an empty table. There’s not much of a menu to consider but from listening to the orders of some of the locals who walked up, we got the impression they would cook just about anything you asked for. We were pleasantly surprised that the meal prep started with pressing and cooking tortillas to order.
Antojitos Norma turned out to be such a great choice for a lite late-night tasty treat that we ended up eating there twice during our 7-nights on the island. Over those visits our favorites were the salbutos de pollo (chicken), panuchos con cerdo (with pork) and empanada con asado (with roast meat).
A couple nights after our first (but before our second) visit to Norma’s we decided we wanted more snacks but when we arrived we found Norma’s was closed for the night.
As we stood on the corner considering our options, we spotted El Sazon Jarocho, another Antojitos half a block away and after seeing a number of locals coming and going, decided to try it.
The two guys hard at work inside were welcoming and agreed it was hot inside the little room so they said we could wait outside and they would bring it to us. We kept it pretty simple with just a couple salbutos de pollo and while not as good as Norma’s, it was really not bad either.
It’s quite a climb up to the dining room of Casa Nostra Roof Restaurant but once there, it is a very comfortable and attractive space. We were served a nice fresh baked breadbasket with our salad of mixed octopus, shrimp and fish with lettuce and olives. Our tuna steak with fried potato cubes was very fresh and well-seasoned. We ordered medium rare and while what was served was probably closer to rare it was still very good.
We got our Italian fix with very nice freshly made pasta served with a tomato, cheese & veggie sauce that was extremely hot. The restaurant was a bit busy on the night we visited and there were a couple very demanding tables that the wait staff had to spend extra time with but overall, we received friendly service. With glass of wine our meal for two came to about $45 USD.
Salma Restaurante & Bar was a little too far to walk to from the Para Ti so we took a taxi and found ourselves in a part of the town not far from centro that was completely undeveloped in 2006 but that now seems one of the centers of nightlife. It was a lively area with lots of people walking about checking out nice restaurants, bars and upscale shops.
We had read some really good reviews of Salma Restaurante & Bar and we were immediately impressed with their covid protocols when the hostess took our temperature before we even entered the door. Of course, that’s not why we were having dinner there.
Upon confirming a normal temperature, we were walked past the bar and past a grill with an impressively flaming wood fire and towards the rear of the restaurant to a table featuring open air dining and a good view into the kitchen through a service window. Along with the cool music the place was decorated with a strong Mexican Pirate vibe. While the DJ kept the music going it really wasn’t too loud towards the back where we were seated.
Many of the reviews we had read raved about the quality of the craft cocktails but when we saw on the menu that the bar stocked Gracias A Dios Agave Gin (our favorite gin since we first visited the distillery in Oaxaca several years ago) our drink orders were pretty simply: a GAD Gin & tonic and a shot of a very smooth tobala mezcal!
Waiter Victor went over dinner specials when he returned to the table with our cocktails and some complimentary chips and a couple nice salsas. From start to finish of our meal, Victor and every other staff member provided very good service.
We shared an order of Stuffed Squash Blossoms as an appetizer and entrées of Short Ribs Tacos and Fiery Grilled Sweet Shrimp with roasted chilis, onions, spicy sauce, red cabbage, chimichurri and coriander. For dessert, we shared a Maracuja (passion fruit) Cheesecake with vanilla ice cream.
Everything was terrific. So good in fact that we decided to come back for a 2nd meal later in the week. On that 2nd visit our reservation was a little before 7:00 so we took advantage of the 2 for 1 happy hour drink special to test out the bartender’s skills. We ordered a “Crater” (Cilantro infused mezcal, Chile Ancho Reyes liquor, passion fruit, agave honey and lime juice) and a “Centauro” (Mezcal Amaras Espadin, ginger ale, agave honey, lime juice and angostura bitters.) The Centauro was a little sweet for our taste but both were very good drinks.
We shared an order of the Local Pumpkin (cooked with tomato sauce, goat’s cheese, toasted pumpkin seeds and honey), another order of the wood fired grilled sweet shrimp and what turned out to be my personal favorite meal of the week: Wood Fired Roasted Octopus with banana puree, beans cooked in pork and some very small rounds of Valladolid chistorra sausage.
It had been another terrific meal and by taking advantage of the drink special, the total charge on my credit card including tip came to less than $57 USD for a wonderful evening.
On our last night in Holbox we realized we hadn’t been to a real taquería so we hopped into a taxi in search of Taco Queto. Turned out that it was back in the same lively area of town as Salma.
As much as we hate this kind of moniker, Taco Queto has the reputation of serving the “Best Tacos in Holbox”. When we walked in the door and saw Al Pastor meat and a pineapple spinning on a trumpo, we knew we were in the right place.
Along with the al pastor, we also enjoyed chuleta con queso (pork chop with cheese) tacos. While a little on the small side were pleased to note both corn and flour tortillas appeared to be house made.
Most likely due to a larger percentage of tourist as patrons, the décor and service was more refined than most taquerías we’ve visited in Mexico but all-in-all this was a fairly typical traditional and reasonably priced taco dinner.
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Earlier in the week we stopped in at Arte Sano Vegetarian for lunch one day. We started with a great “Tropical Guacamole” made with avocado, bell pepper, carrots and pineapple. Our entrées were a Vegan (no cheese) Stuffed Pepper with bell pepper, onions and some other veggies and Veggie (chickpea) Tacos, which had a good texture and taste. We had a glass of excellent mint infused lemonade and a melón (cantaloupe) liquada. The entire meal was an interesting and satisfying vegan experience.
As noted on the Holbox 2021 page, on 3-days while we were staying at the Para Ti we rented a golf cart and headed out to beach driving in the direction of Mosquito Point. We found a nice small beach club with a restaurant/bar across the sand road on a section of beach without many other tourists and settled into lounge chairs under shade cover.
We eventually ordered lunch, which was served on the beach at a small table the waiter set up between our lounges. We did this several days and enjoyed guacamole & chips, fajitas, mixed ceviche and fried whole fish. The food was surprisingly good and the Dos Equis Lager was extremely cold. Regrettably, I’m afraid I didn’t get the name of this place.
After we changed hotels from the Para Ti to the Mystique Holbox by Royalton, we walked to Le Jardin Panaderia/Cafeteria for breakfast on a couple mornings. This place is actually closer to the Para Ti than the Mystique but with breakfast included at the Para Ti, we didn’t have occasion to visit.
We found it to be a very friendly and comfortable space. We were met by the owner who explained the process (claim a table, decide on what you want from the menu and then order from the counter.) The French styled baked goods looked and smelled great but we were trying to watch our calories and managed to avoid those temptations.
We had a good breakfast of an omelet, coffee and a large glass of green juice. This place is kid friendly with some very cool vintage toys in a room just off the dining area.
The Fresco Bar & Grill is the Mystique Hotel house restaurant. It is an open-air tent on a slightly elevated platform right on the beach. We enjoyed lunch there a couple days and breakfast there on another.
Over our visits we had a good Club Sandwich (with fries) and Mixed Ceviche one day and Fried Fish Tacos and Caesar salad on another. We also enjoyed the lemonade.
We had breakfast at Fresco one morning and had a nice omelet with our choice of fillings with a small garden salad. The coffee was a little weak but not horrible.
Across all meals there, we found the food at Fresco to be very good but a bit pricy, which is probably to be expected of a hotel chain restaurant.
We were very happy with the service at the Fresco from waiter Hector. He served us all 3-times we ate there and went out of his way to make us feel welcomed and comfortable.