Gourmet Dining in the Riviera Maya
The Riviera Maya is more than beaches. It has become one of Mexico’s serious food destinations, with kitchens that combine local ingredients and international technique, and a presence in the Michelin Guide Mexico that now includes a starred restaurant. If fine dining is part of how you travel, here is where to book.
Top Fine Dining Restaurants in the Riviera Maya
1. Le Chique at Hotel Xcaret Arte
Le Chique holds a Michelin star (Michelin Guide Mexico 2024, 2025 and 2026). Chef Jonatán Gómez Luna’s avant-garde tasting menu travels across Mexico’s regions, with techniques borrowed from molecular gastronomy and plenty of theater at the table. In March 2026 the restaurant moved from Azul Beach Resort in Puerto Morelos to Hotel Xcaret Arte, an adults-only hotel in Playa del Carmen. Book well ahead: it is a long, multi-course dinner made for couples who want the full show.
2. Hartwood in Tulum
Hartwood, open since 2010, cooks everything over open fire in a handmade wood-burning oven and grill, in a kitchen that runs off-grid on solar power. The menu changes daily with whatever local fishermen and farmers bring in, so each dish tastes of that day’s catch and harvest, smoky and rustic. Dinner here feels like a direct line to the land and the sea. The restaurant is recommended in the Michelin Guide Mexico, and in high season a reservation is essential.
3. NÜ Tulum
NÜ sits at the jungle edge of Tulum’s beach road, all candlelight and greenery. The kitchen builds a modern Caribbean menu on ingredients from the Maya jungle and the sea: produce from local farms, fish and prawns from a local fisherman, and wood-fired dishes with bold, smoky flavors. Michelin Guide inspectors have recommended it three years running, from 2024 to 2026. For a romantic dinner, it is one of Tulum’s safest bets.
Wine and Mezcal Pairings
Several Riviera Maya restaurants offer wine and mezcal pairings with their tasting menus. Arca, another Tulum standout led by chef José Luis Hinostroza, cooks its seasonal menu over fire and backs it with a bar built on mezcal and other agave spirits. The restaurant ranked No. 22 on Latin America’s 50 Best Restaurants 2025, its bar placed No. 27 on North America’s 50 Best Bars 2025, and it is also recommended in the Michelin Guide Mexico.
