I know: if you live in a major American city, harbor an appreciation for yoga or green juices, and are between the ages of 25 and 35, then it’s fairly likely that you or someone you know is just leaving for or just coming back from Tulum.

And hey, that’s great! Tulum is growing fast and has a lot to offer. The sand on the beaches is white and soft–so much nicer to dig your toes into than those snowboots you’ve been wearing for the past month or more. The water is turquoise and about as warm and gentle as a bathtub. 800-year-old Mayan ruins cling to cliffs overlooking the ocean. Hidden cenotes–crystal-clear freshwater pools formed when areas of limestone collapsed–seem to appear out of nowhere in the jungle, beckoning you to jump in for a refreshing dip. The UNESCO-listed ruins at Chichen Itza are less than two hours away. Toucans call from the trees. The sun shines unremittingly.

But for me when I travel, food comes first. This isn’t only because of how much I love getting down with a good feed. It’s also because eating other foods offers a sense of what life is like for people who call somewhere else home. What foods and stories form the bedrock of other people’s lives? What do they tell me about the place?

So before heading to Tulum, I dutifully Googled to find what fellow travelers and bloggers recommended. But when I got there, I realized something: their picks were all green juice and trendy dinner spots and no, well, Mexico. Every blogger seemed to have sourced their recommendations from the same two-kilometer strip of road along the beach; each restaurant they recommended was full of expats and extremely hip Instagram People.

For me, that just wouldn’t do. So I was off to the races. I wanted to try a selection of places that represented all of Tulum: the places where locals shop and dine out, the regional specialties, the beach palapas popularized by hippies, and maybe one hip spot (because that’s Tulum now, too).

Suffice to say: I ate a lot. What I’m sharing with you now is the best of the best.

Six months ago: Salade Niçoise, My Way or Yours + A Taste of Provence
One year ago: Moroccan-Spiced Roasted Cauliflower and Carrot Salad with Chickpeas and Couscous
Also in armchair travel: Provence and Lyon

Tulum Food Guide

Chamico’s

The deal: Seafood on the beach. And when I say on the beach, I mean it: the restaurant is really just a collection of plastic tables and chairs on a quiet bay north of Tulum, with a few hammocks strung between the palm trees for good measure.
We ordered the fried fish and prawns with garlic. The fried fish was fresh as can be. We should have swapped out the prawns for one of two things: the lobster tails or the whole fried fish, both of which we saw cooking as we left in the late afternoon.
The location means this place draws a mix of local and tourist families, with nary a hipster in sight. Since this is a bit outside of Tulum, I would recommend making a day of this: beach, eat, beach, margarita, more beach.
Hours: Opens around 10 (but it’s a beach, so arrive whenever you want), closes around 3, or whenever they run out of fish.
Price: Plan on spending about 150-200 pesos per person.
Where: On an unnamed road on Soliman Bay, about a fifteen-minute drive north of Tulum. You’ll need this map. Having your own car would be ideal; otherwise, I would recommend taking a collectivo (local bus) to the turnoff from the highway, then seeing if you can hitch a ride or a taxi to the end of the dirt road (about 1.5 miles/2.4 km), where you’ll find a grove of palm trees. Then head toward the yellow tables on the beach. Having attempted it myself, I would not recommend biking there–too far on a busy highway.

Cocina Economica – La Tia De Kaua

The deal: Places like this restaurant–located in a tiny town about 80 miles west of Tulum–are why I travel. We found out about this place from our guide at Chichen Itza, which is about 12 miles away. Hankering for lunch after our tour, I asked our guide, “Where is good to eat around here?” He offered the name of a buffet frequented by tourists, located just outside the ruins. Sensing his ambivalence, I changed my technique: “Where do you like to eat around here?” His eyes lit up as he described a local joint in a small town down the local highway.
Enthusiastic + local: it’s the kind of recommendation you trust. So we found ourselves at a palapa–an open-sided, palm-roofed building–in a tiny town in the middle of the Yucatan Peninsula. When we walked in, two women were making tortillas by hand: one formed the dough, the other tossed it onto an iron griddle that was heated over a fire (and then flipped the tortillas with her bare hands). Another woman was grilling pork.
I don’t speak Spanish, but we finally communicated “It all looks good, we’ll eat anything!” And oh–oh my. Out first came a black bean soup that was unlike any bean soup I’ve had in my life. It was smooth and light and almost citrusy, not thick and gloopy. Then came out fresh tortillas, grilled pork, and homemade salsa (smoky, yet still tomato-y). Finally, they brought us both a tortilla that had been somehow inflated, stuffed with an egg, and then fried on the griddle. Altogether, it was the best meal I had in Tulum, or indeed that I had had in a very long while.
Hours: I went at lunchtime–at 11am, we were the first ones there. I have no idea how late they’re open.
Price: 200 pesos for a gut-busting lunch for two, including a generous tip.
Where: This restaurant a roadside palapa (that is, an open sided palm-roofed structure) in a tiny town that lies on the local highway 80 miles (130km) west of Tulum and 12 miles (about 20km) east of the ruins at Chichen Itza. Here is an approximate location on Google maps.
But the directions our guide gave us worked perfectly:
From Chichen Itza, drive east on local highway 180 (not 180D, the toll road).
When you enter the town of Kaua, start counting speedbumps.
After you go over the third speed bump, you’ll see a Six convenience store on your right.
About 20 meters after that you’ll see a palapa on your left. The thatch roof will be dark brown–this is from the smoke from the grills inside.
Find a parking spot and head in!

El Pollo Bronco

The deal: The second-best chicken I’ve had in my life (and only because nothing can beat the rotisserie chicken with schmaltzy potatoes in Paris). They spatchcock the chicken so that it lies flat and therefore cooks evenly in a very hot open oven situation. Breasts and thighs alike end up juicy and tender. And the dry rub seasoning—I don’t know what they did, but they did it right. Served with rice, tortillas, and salsa; pay extra for guacamole.
Hours: Unclear, but this is definitely dinner food.
Price: One whole chicken + fixings costs 160 pesos and feeds four. (Plan on 1/4 chicken per person.)
Where: On the corner of Av. Tulum and Calle Beta Sur (map)

Antojitos La Chiapaneca

The deal: Epic al pastor tacos in a no-frills environment. Tacos come naked; you add your own toppings. Tourists know about this now, so there may be a bit of a line around dinner time. It’s not a linger-over-your-dinner kind of place, so the line moves quickly, and the tacos are worth the wait.
Hours: Opens at 3pm. Closed Mondays.
Price: Tacos run 8-10 pesos each. Yeah, that cheap.
Where: Near the corner of Av. Tulum and Calle Acuario Nte. (map)

Campanella Cremerie

The deal: Great, great gelato. Think Italian gelato creaminess but locally-inspired flavors, such as pineapple-basil, caramel flan with pine nuts, passionfruit mousse with hazelnut cream, and coconut. (If old habits die hard, chocolate, pistachio, and amarena were also available when I visited.) Pro tip: their cones are not sturdy–both of mine crushed during use. Opt for a cup.
Hours: Seemed to be open all afternoon. Closes at 11pm.
Price: I seem to remember about 40 pesos for my cone.
Where: On Av. Tulum between Calle Aquaria Nte and Calle Jupiter Nte (map). You could go here for dessert after dinner at Antojitos La Chiapaneca–it’s a few steps away.

Flor de Michoacan

The deal: Go here the first day you arrive in Tulum, and then be drawn in by the siren song of cold, perfect paletas every day thereafter. Their paletas are less like American popsicles, more like someone blended your favorite fruit with just a touch of sugar and froze it onto a stick. Ready to be delighted, amazed, and perhaps slightly disgusted? I can personally recommend the following flavors: mango with strawberry, esquimo de coco (coconut covered in chocolate covered in coconut), arroz con leche, coconut, blackberry, watermelon, and cappuccino. They were all 10s. Get one and enjoy it sitting in the lovely shaded terrace out back, wondering how you got so lucky.
Hours: I never tried to go in the morning, but the Internet says 7am-10pm.
Price: 35 pesos for a fruit-based paleta, 40 pesos for milk-based
Where: Av. Tulum between Alfa Sur and Jupiter Sur (map)

Zamas

The deal: Slightly-elevated food in a great atmosphere. I got a roasted stuffed poblano which, though a bit more expensive than I might have liked, was very good. If you’re on a tight budget, I might recommend instead going here either for an early breakfast or a late afternoon drink; if not, that poblano was a great lunch. The location is what makes this place really worth visiting: it sits right on a little outcropping on the beach, so every seat in the open-air restaurant has a stunning view of the ocean. Popular with tourists, but not pretentious.
Hours: 7:30am-11pm
Price: I think my lunch–a rice- and bean-stuffed poblano and a hibiscus juice–came to about 300 pesos. Other lunch items were more expensive.
Where: On the beach road here

Arca

The deal: This is Hip Instagram Tulum. We arrived at Hartwood at 5:45pm and it was, I kid you not, already full for the whole night. So we ambled over to Arca, had two excellent cocktails while we waited for a table, and ended up having a seriously interesting dinner: a starter of roast corn and Oaxaca cheese, topped with grilled shrimp; a delightfully rich and smoky roulade of pork; a whole grilled fish with jicama-coconut slaw; and a chocolate mousse with sweetened tamarind puree.
Hours: Opens for dinner at 6pm; be there at 6pm sharp if you want a chance at a walk-in table. I would, however, recommend making a reservation, instead.
Price: About 70USD per person, including a glass of wine each.
Where: On the beach road here.