El Bistro at Ziggy's Beach Club ***

El Bistro opened a while back as part of the new Ziggy's Beach club at Cabanas Tulum. This great spot on the south end of Tulum beach is really great. Restaurants that are perfect for kids??!!??!! This is it.

I have 2 kids and taking them to a restaurant is not always the easiest thing. And I want to have a good time too. Well this place is great.

El Bistro is perfect for alll groups but especially for families for a few reasons. 1- it is very large. There is a lot of space for the kids to be in without interrupting the other people enjoying their day in the sun.

There is a great 2x1 drink special ALL DAY!!!!!! Serving up all of the Rivera Maya's best cocktails! The beach here is amazing- soft clear - great waves... And just to seal the deal... there is a wooden swing and a screened in trampoline!!!!!!! I mean REALLY!!???!?!?! It was perfect, and made an already great day - even better.

I have been here on 2 occasions and the food has been amazing both times. The kid friendly menu is was really appreciated. The portions are a good size and the food is made with quality ingredients. I hate getting food for my kids that is a total after thought --and this food was really good.

This time I was here with my brother and my husband and the food once again did not

disappoint. I had a shrimp in garlic dish, hubby had calamari and bro had a fajita.

It was all very good.

We ordered one of the most annoying drinking ever made.... the Miami Vise. This drink is half strawberry daiquiri and half pina colada. It is a total pain in the butt because it requires the bartender to make 2 - already annoying drinks.

Now- do not get me wrong- bartenders make lots of annoying drinks and the do it gladly.... but if you ask a bartender to make several of these- please show your appreciation. Because they are sooooo good and so easy to order many of- but tip accordingly- because they are not easy. My hubby was kind enough to take one for the team and order the 3rd one in our group so the bartender could make only this one drink. I always like to order a shot of rum on the side and put a splash in each drink because it can get too sweet for me.

The food was amazing and we had a really good time. I would defiantly recommend eating here. It has a very well rounded menu and there are options that will please everyone. And those of you with kids.... this is PREFECT!!! Options for the kids, a play ground, and a perfect beach... what more could you want.

I had heard that there might be some live music or beach parties here. If so I will keep you all posted. This would be a great place for a party or wedding.

Cabanas Tulum- El Bistro at Ziggy Beach

I have seen this new restaurant on TUlum beach from the road a few times and it looked like a place I wanted to try. Well, really I want to give all of them a try. But I finally got my chance to try El Bistro at Ziggy Beach.

Okay okay... I played ditch from cleaning the house and catching up on all of the stuff that I really needed to do and went to the beach instead. Always a good idea on a beautiful day in Tulum. I could not stop myself from trying this place. My battery on my camera went dead but you can bet that I will be going back.
All 3 of the menus look great. The breakfast even had eggs Benedict- I will be back for that.

We did not have much money so we took advantage to the great new special they have right now which is 2 for 1 on any drink and i think all day. We each got 2 margaritas- served a bit sweet but in the perfect glass. When we asked them to make the 2nd one a little less sweet they made the drinks a little more to our liking. ( I hate it when some places just totally ignore you on that) We split the chicken Cesar wrap and it was great. The tortilla was much like what I remember from living in San Francisco and the taquerias there. I might try one of the burritos on the menu.

This new restaurant on Tulum Beach is part of Cabanas Tulum. Although it will be changing names in the future. I know there was a lot of talk about Cabanas Tulum on tulum.info so I was excited to hear that a place that got such great reviews in the past looks like it is headed for a bright future.

I will post pictures as soon as I have them.

Om Restaurant on Tulum Beach ***

I had a fantastically wonderful time recently having dinner at Om on Tulum beach. This dinner was especially fantastic because I was meeting up with people from Tulum.info. This is a great forum on Tulum and is full of people who really love Tulum. So armed with some great friends we headed down the beach road. Om sits toward the south end of the beach road and is a nice and easy drive.

There are a lot of places on the beach road and some of them really do look a lot alike and have the same sort of ambiance. But Om has really created a very different feel and you can notice it from the very beginning at the entrance from the road. The peaceful ambiance is accented by the large Buddha fountain at the front entrance and the calming bridge and pathways that lead to the rooms and the beach front restaurant.


I have not had the opportunity t o stay or visit friends staying at this hotel but I did see the rooms and they are very well appointed. Going with general theme of the Rivera Maya the rooms are simple and clean-lined with accents of color and local crafts and art. The use of organic materials creates a beautiful harmony with the beach and lush jungle that surround it.


The restaurant is very beautiful. The large open palapa can be closed off in the case of heavy winds and provides fantastic views of the beach and the crashing waves. The large pieces of red fabric that flow above the restaurant create a royal and powerful ambiance that I really liked.


I did enjoy the margaritas which were served in the correctly sized small glass rather then that huge thing that sometimes comes to the table. The owner was there and was, as always, a great entertainment. I really enjoyed sitting with him, my new and my old friends at such a beautiful dinner.

There are a few things that stuck out as far as dishes went. The first was the fish and chips. The fish was in large sections that had a coating to die for. And everyone loves a well done french fry and proper catsup- which can be hard to find sometimes. There were a few great pizzas on the table and that is what this restaurant is known to do well.

One of my friends ordered this beautifully wrapped/stuffed chicken breast. It looked incredible. I am pretty sure it had chaya (a Yucatecan version of spinach) and cheese and I am sure a little more.

There were a few shrimp dishes, one with Thai sweet chili sauce. This was a little too candy tasting for me but that is more me then anything. I cook a lot with Thai chili sauce and do it to my own liking so when it is done by someone else then it is usually too sweet for me. My friend loved her food- in fact- Everyone loved their food.

The highlight- besides the amazing margaritas, decadent food and wonderful friends... was the pizza nutella. This dessert is rich and wonderful. A light and perfectly cooked wood oven pizza crust slathered in rich and yummy nutella and served with some roasted nuts and wonderful tropical fruit preserves.

There is nothing greater (in my opinion) then friends and food. This is a combination that makes me so happy. And this night was full of all of my favorite things. I am so happy that I finally got to put names and faces together and eat such amazing food.


Evangelo is a truly gracious host and a wonderful person and it was so great to spend time with him and the Tulum.info crowd. If you are traveling in Tulum and want to check out www.Tulum.info there is a wealth of information from people who have been to Tulum and want to share the good and bad.

Festival of Jazz with Fatima and David Gilmore

Starting tomorrow evening the south side beach of Tulum will be resonating with the remarkable talents of International music sensations Fatima and David Gilmore. These 2 incredibly talented performers will be at Ocho Tulum for this upcoming week and visitors are sure to get a great show.

Fatima, a New York based singer and songwriter was originally born in Germany. Born to a German mother and a Sudanese father, Fatima grew up listening to a wide variety of music both in German as well as Arabic. At 17 she received a scholorship to study at the ‘Musikhochschule’ in Berlin. And at 22 she moved to New York.

Since in New York she has worked on many wonderful projects and collaborations with very talented musicians and performers from around the world. And works on music that combine various languages and draws from both European and Arabic- African influences. As a backup singer and dancer, Fatima has worked with many African and Caribbean artists and has performed at venues through out the world.

To hear some of her music you can visit her website

The second part of the duet is David Gilmore. The global beats and amazing jazz that this talented musician round out this exciting performance. Born and raised in Cambridge Massachusetts during the 70s, David was surrounded by various forms of music and began to study with 2 of Bostons well known musicians, John Baboian and Randy Roos. Shortly after he moved to New York where he attended New York University and studied under saxophonist Joe Lovano and pianist Jim McNeely. It was during these years that David grew further as an artist.

Finding himself collaborating with other artists each with different influences and styles, David began to form his style and develop as a composer. Playing as well as composing and producing records, David has had the opportunity to work with some of the music industries most talented members. He has received awards and recognition and continues to wow audiences with his original and captivating music.

For more information on David Gilmore and to hear examples of his music you can visit his website.


Ocho Tulum has once again brought a new and exciting way to spend an evening in Tulum. Head on over to Ocho Tulum, plop down on one of the beach beds - grab a tasty cocktail and one of the killer appetizers by chef Eric Fischer and get ready for a night of amazing jazz with Fatima and David Gilmore.

Ocho Tulum's Yoga Retreat **Ocho is now operating out of Blue Tulum***

I have not been to the new Ocho by Blue Tulum. I have stayed at the Blue Tulum resort and it was very nice. If I do ever have the opportunity to stay at the new hotel I will bring you the report.




The yoga retreats at Ocho Tulum really are an amazing expereince and one that a few lucky people got to expereience this past week on the glistening beaches of Tulum, Mexico. Yoga retreats are renowned the world over as an amazing way to reconnect to your body, mind and spirit while harmonizing with the natural surroundings.

There is no better place to do this the Ocho Tulum. The whole mystic area that is the Rivera Maya envelopes one in a deep sense of history and connection to the Earth. The energy of the people of times long past are still felt in the waters of the cenotes and in the trees that flow calmly in the wind. The whole area of Tulum draws in a mystic and peaceful feeling.

The feeling and energy that this area has lends itself as the ideal place for such relaxing and rejuvinating activities such as the Ocho Tulum Yoga Retreats. Ocho Tulum as a hotel adds its own element with its dedication to the enviroment and haromnizing with the elemnts around them. To read more about the hotel Ocho Tulum, click here.



The Yoga retreats at Ocho Tulum bring focus and connection with mind, body and spirit with many different activities ranging from mantra beach walks, yoga workshops that connect thought and meditation to poses, beach boot camps designed to burn fat and increase your heart rate to day trips to amazing colonial towns like Villdolid to rejuvinating cenotes. An amazing spa on the premisis is the perfect place to pamper your tired feet, enjoy a healing massage or recieve an invigorating facial.

The meals prepared for the guests of the reatreat are prepared with as much love and flare as the rest of the menu the head chef, Eric Fischer, prepares each night. A commitment to vegitarian and vegan dishes is observed year round by this chef but is given special highlight during these beautiful retreats that they host.

The packages include 6 days, 5 nights, 2 yoga classes a day, 3 meals per day, a massage, a spa treatment (including the renowned Mayan Clay treatment) 1 day trip to a Mayan ruins site, and air port transfer. The schedule includes enough time to relax and enjoy the beautiful beach and surrounding jungles and sends guests home with a deeper connection to their bodys as well as their uncounscience, and retored and ready to take on the world that lays outside the Caribbean.

For more information about the amazing yoga retreats at visit the Ocho Tulum website here.

Ochoberfest!!! The best of Germany hits Tulum!

One thing that I really love about Ocho Tulum is that it is constantly hosting events that encompass a different feel then many of the run of the mill happy hour fiestas that you might think of when you think of the Rivera Maya.

After living in Munich, Germany- Tulum is defiantly not the place I would have expected an Oktoberfest invitation to be in my inbox. But there it was. The colors of Bavaria flew high over the beach chairs usually reflecting the red, green and white of the Mexican flag. And even better... the taste and smells of really amazing German beer and sausage filled the wind off the sea.



In speaking to head chef Eric Fischer I could hardly wait for the event to happen. The food sounded so amazing. The same well flavored sausage and potatoes dishes that I was used to eating in Munich were about to be served, by the amazing staff of Ocho Tulum's incredible kitchen, right there on the beaches of Tulum.

The beer in Germany is a special breed. It can be very different then beers here in Mexico. Not better- but very different. I got excited even seeing the bottles on the tables!


This event did not disappoint. The food was absolutely amazing- as I was expecting. And the deep rich beers of Germany kept the guests happy and dancing on the sand well in to the night. Ocho Tulum brought an exciting and worldly flavor to their already exciting and well reviewed restaurant and beach club. I cannot wait to see what event is going to be next.