Don Cafeto

Here’s the skinny on this place if you’re looking for an afternoon snack… the escabeche is amazing and is served free with chips and pico de gallo. The ceviche was good… simple and fresh, but not as memorable as ceviche I’ve had elsewhere. The beers were served extra cold and the service was good.

Good chicken fajita. Generous pickled vegetables with some heat, gratis.

Super meh. While the Aztec soup and lime soup were ok, the entrees were the equivalent of eating in a random street diner– our fish tacos, Mexican fish, and Mayan fish tasted like frozen TV dinners.
This restaurant came out to $ 17 – 18 per person USD, which is actually pretty pricey. That’s culinary prices. This should have been about half that price, but alas tourist traps.
Definitely not the quality of yucatecan or Mayan food I had eating in Merida. I’m excited to try Mateos here though, everyone says it’s really good.

Everything you’ve read so far about this place is true. Four of us ate here for lunch after visiting the Mayan Tulum Ruins. Couple of observations. The «salsa» they bring to the table is ridiculously hot. It appears to be normal Salsa Fresca but it’s anything but. Incredibly spicy. The Sopa Azteca is to live for. Really, really good. The chicken or mixed Fajitas are also excellent particularly with corn tortillas. However, my companions all ordered the Chicken Tacos and what they got was more like a deep fried chicken chimichanga. Everything was fried. If you’re looking for tacos, order the Fajitas and make your own. Otherwise, everything was delicioso.

My fiancé and friends came here twice while spending a week In Tulum and weren’t disappointed. Everything was delicious each time we went. The food was affordable, drinks were good and the cuisine was great if you’re looking for authentic Mexican cuisine. The restaurant is right in the main strip in the Puebla so it’s a great spot to eat before going out for drinks.

My husband and I came to Don Cafeto for breakfast. They have indoor and outdoor seating area, and after perusing the menu, we ordered one Mayan breakfast. This breakfast plate comes with café con leche, eggs, toasts with jam and butter on the side, a salad and orange juice.
Though the plate looks small, it was sufficient for two of us. Nothing extraordinary about the meal, it was good. Cannot necessarily say it was outstanding.
Friendly service. Good food. A good place to stop for breakfast.

We had three different breakfasts (Aztec, Mayan, pancakes) and they were all exceptional. The decaf and regular coffees were both tasty. The service was excellent and able to accommodate my need for explanation on some items. Parking out front was packed so we parked a few blocks down and around the corner.

My friend liked this place so much we went twice during our week long visit there. He saw the escabeche and wouldn’t stop talking about it until we went. We showed up around 8 PM on a weekday — live music FTW! I had the mole enchiladas which I really enjoyed — some of the best mole I’ve ever had. My friend got the shrimp tacos which he really liked too. We went back a few days later for breakfast — we both got the Azteca breakfasts which were huge platters of food. Tasty coffee and juice too. You should check it out.

Totally agree with all the other posts. Great food that has a lot if items traditional to this area. The best part of the meal was definitely the escabeche, best escabeche I’ve ever had. They put some love into that little pickled veggie mix.
I was vegan at the time I ate here (lent) but I still worked it out with the breakfast special. They looked at me crazy when I said chilaquiles with no eggs or cream hahaha. My friend who was eating meat and dairy at the time got the same dish with all the usual ingredients. We both enjoyed our meals.

Don Cafeto is a good choice on this main strip in Tulum if you want straightforward and more traditional food. Where they really exceed is their escabeche, which came highly recommended by my fellow Unilocaler Don B and comes out free before your meal. It’s very spicy, but so tasty… and they give you a ton of it!
As for the food we actually ordered, it was hit and miss. I loved my fish filet with garlic — the fish tasted so fresh and the garlic wasn’t overpowering. My husband was less than thrilled with his mole enchiladas.
One thing I often think is that the sad little side salads with the ranch dressing on our dishes is completely unnecessary. I’m not sure if they do this thinking it’s what the gringos want, but it goes untouched.
There were a couple of dudes playing live music on the night we went, and we got a table outside to enjoy the hot evening. It seemed like a place that welcomed locals and tourists alike.
One unpleasant surprise probably had nothing to do with the restaurant itself. We excitedly ordered micheladas, expecting the more tomatoey flavor we’re used to in the states. I guess over there they do it with a sauce that’s very heavy on the Worcestershire, and we just couldn’t acquire the taste that evening. A sad waste of beer, but an educational experience indeed!

El mejor lugar para desayunar en Tulum, sin duda! delicioso café, el omelet de chaya con queso mejor!

i had breakfast here and it was good. great coffee, try the mayan breakfast with carne. def. a local joint, i saw some people i knew here and it was nice that almost every table looked out onto the street.

Copious appetizers come free, so think before you order one. Service is very quick and the food is great, especially the fajitas and the shrimp tacos. Sangria was very nice but the mojito was a bit busy.

El mejor desayuno de tulum esta en Don Cafeto. pidan desayuno Azteca muy recomendable, la atención es de reyes!

If you are looking for a more traditional food option during your stay in Tulum, give this place a shot. We stopped there for brunch and it was so good that we came back 3 times (for brunch too).
The Desayuno Azteca was pretty good (I love chilaquiles!), as well as the Arrachera. In terms of drinks, I had a really good watermelon licuado and my friend really liked his Margaritas.
The service was great.
A little music, more fans and a cozier lighting could help upgrade this place to 5 stars, although I personally loved it!

Very solid breakfast spot in Tulum town. The service was great, food was tasty, portions were large enough for a day of adventures, coffee good enough. Certainly an authentic place — lots of locals there and seemed like Don Cafeto has lots of friends — pictures of him with lots of people and others line the walls.

Fantastic service. Quality of food was great. This was the most authentic of all the choices in the tulum ruins market.

The free escabeche is magical! Strong margaritas (get the grande, and always on the rocks). Guacamole is yummy, but do not eat the innocent looking salsa. It will scorch your mouth!

We had Sunday brunch here! (It always has brunch available) Mayan or Aztec breakfast or pancakes eggs and, bacon.Yum. Mayan comes with toast and jam, tortillas, pickled vegetables, baked tortillas chips with red sauce and cheese and eggs or Carne… Lettuce and beans and guac. Mayan comes with ham egg and cheese on tortillas. Coffee and orange juice included in the Aztec and Mayan breakfasts… salsa is super spicy good.
I highly recommend…

Fuimos una noche con mi amiga, estaba lleno siempre durante los demás días. Así que decidimos probar. El mesero un amor, la atención impecable. Te dan un bowl de nachos con pico de gallo y unos pickles como aparece en la foto. El pico de gallo es muy picante tanto que me trajo agua el mesero de cortesía. Pedimos dos enchiladas muy gustosas! Pedí una limonada riquísima y mi amiga una cerveza. Volvería para probar otra cosa. No fue de A mi gusto las enchiladas pero tal vez porque trngo otro tipo de paladar. Pero probaría definitivamente otros platos por algo siempre está lleno!

Oh how I missed my trusty Unilocal app! With our phones not working in Mexico, we had to rely on a bakery for a recommendation on a good restaurant. They suggested Don Cafeto mentioning that it is popular with both the locals and tourists. The restaurant was empty when we walked in at 5 pm.
After scanning the menu we ordered the Mexican platter. Though priced higher than most other items, it included several Mexican specialties. While we awaited our main course, a complimentary escabeche, a colorful bowl of zesty marinated vegetables, was placed on the table, along with chips and salsa. The escabeche was good. I particularly enjoyed the carrots and peppers while sipping on a cold Mexican beer I had never heard of before. The salsa was very, very spicy. After one try, most of my group decided to avoid it.
The Mexican platter was large and looked impressive. However, it was completely devoid of all flavor. The front page of the menu advertises absolutamente sabroso (absolutely tasty). Based on this dish, a more accurate description would be absolutamente soso.
Come here for the cold beer and the escabeche but stay away from the Mexican platter.

Great spot to sit at one of the sidewalk tables and have breakfast. They had the best coffee I’ve had in Tulum and the breakfasts are also pretty good. Just be careful of the escabeche (pickled peppers, garlic, and veggies). I made the mistake of trying one of the peppers when all I had to drink was hot coffee — The peppers hot really hot!

Best escabeche I’ve ever had in my life! Seriously, this stuff is insane.
For the uninitiated, escabeche is not ceviche (fish marinated in lime), it’s vegetables that have been pickled Mexican style. And Don Cafeto’s kills it in the escabeche game. The stuff comes out free when you sit down, and the bowl is brimming with carrots, garlic, potatoes, onions, hot peppers and a whole mess of pickled, oily goodness. Think a cross between Italian preserved peppers in oil and pickled veggies, with spice added.
The game here is to sit and order some drinks, enjoy some escabeche, and then maybe head elsewhere for a full meal. The drinks are tasty, but the rest of the food leaves a bit to be desired. I sampled the queso fundido, which is just melted cheese with the optional chorizo or champignones. Tasty enough. But the rest of the food looked (from glances at other tables) to be fairly standard fare.
For a more exciting full meal, check out El Pollo Bronco just down the street.