Playa Del Carmen Dining & Nightlife Review: Paxche/5th Ave/Kitxen

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Yaxche – slightly touristy, but still completely Mayan

I’m going to try and focus on a lot of the meals we ate and give quick, simple tidbits about each. Starting in Playa Del Carmen, our first night we went to a highly-recommended spot called Yaxche, and explored the vibrate 5th Ave (“Avenida 5”) district.

Here’s the review for Paxche:

  • Pros: Good “authentic” Mayan food, good/spacious restaurant layout
  • Cons: A bit touristy, outside dining can get very sticky (this should have been obvious, but it was actually kind of deceiving upon entry)
  • Must Try: Duck Tacos (“Kuts Tacos”)
  • Know Before You Go: There are a lot of panhandlers and gimmicks in the area, so tread carefully before engaging in dialogue with any of the vendors (although – on a related note – Yaxche did have a guy taking photos of couples at their tables and came back around with your image on a tequila bottle with the date/name of restaurant… I told myself I’d pay up to $20 for a novelty item like that and ended up talking him down to 200 Pesos, so I was a happy camper even though I probably didn’t heed my own advice)

As far as Kitxen goes, we were very excited to find a spot that had local, live music. It was funny, too, that almost every other song was a cover of a catchy American tune (a nice touch that showed how much influence our music has internationally – and how much the people of the area enjoy catering to their main tourists). “Avenida 5” as a whole is a blast – tons of little shops and boutiques where you can get some great deals and practice your Spanish and negotiation skills.

Til Next Time,

Michael