La Habicheula - Restaurant in Cancun

La Habicheula is an amazing restaurant in Cancun, Mexico. We were taken to La Habichuela by our friends local to Cancun, and like most locals knowing their turf, they didn’t go wrong in their recommendation! We absolutely loved it! It’s one restaurant I would definitely recommend to everyone visiting Cancun. Everything about it was spot on; the ambience, the food and the service…couldn’t fault anything on our visit. Also, the price for the food was quite reasonable too! This is a restaurant that has been running proudly since 1977 and I’m so glad my husband and I (along with our then 1 1/2year old son) had the chance to experience it on our visit to Cancun! It has received awards both nationally and internationally, but aspires to remain true to its values that it started off with as a small family business years ago.

La Habichuela was an experience of the Yucatan – the Mayan culture and cuisine. You can tell the Mayan theme right away upon approaching the restaurant. Inside, there is Mayan artwork covering the warm wooden walls and a collection of ancient artefacts that really set the theme. The light inside is quite lovely if you visit in the daytime (which is when we went) – the kind that comes through trees and is softened by the time it reaches you… In the evenings it is supposed to be quite crystalline and romantic. The restaurant is very fresh and green everywhere inside, but additionally, it has a big, beautiful garden patio as well where you can choose to sit instead, which is quite a lovely experience in itself.

The food is mostly seafood (it’s Cancun!) although there were quite a few meat dishes, as well as a few vegetarian options to choose from. The menu is quite an interesting read in itself! It firstly explains the restaurant and its concept. All the dishes have a relatively good explanation. The menu even features a Mayan-English dictionary that you can peruse whilst waiting for the food!

As if the explanations on the menu weren’t enough, the staff is extremely helpful with recommendations and descriptions of the food. Because we went with our Mexican friends, they wanted to order quite a few things for us, but the staff were still keen for us to understand the dishes and what’s special about them, probably even more so because we were so keen to learn – therefore between them and our Mexican friends we were very well informed!

Some of the dishes on the menu are prepared at the table, so the whole experience is quite theatrical. Ask the staff for which ones they are, and if you order any of them, then sit back and enjoy the show!

After we first settled in at the restaurant, a basket of Mexican breads was brought to each of us individually to choose from. We were given butter in cute little wooden pots to have with our bread. I fall in love with good bread and butter any day, so this had me happy already. Our pretty drinks arrived quickly, soon followed by the starters. We had mixed sea food salads (calamari, octopus, prawns – to name a few ingredients from the salad) as well as tortilla crisps.

After our starters were cleared away, we were brought a sorbet amuse bouche to clear our palates. We gave a tiny amount to our son, and he was (as we expected) not amused with the very sharp taste that chilled the mouth out! It was a good touch though by the restaurant.

For our mains, all of us ordered the famous ‘Cocobichuela’, along with sides of Mexican rice and salad. This is their most popular dish, and we all loved it! It’s basically a curry of lobster and shrimp served in a large coconut, along with pineapple, roasted plantain, rice and other tropical fruit. It was delicious! It’s not hard to see why it’s such a signature…I’ve never had anything like it!

Even though we were quite full by now, dessert was a must. A lot of the desserts (and coffee) had alcohol in them, so do look out for that if you don’t take alcohol.

We ordered a Crème Brule for that reason. We also ordered ‘the Pyramid’, which was quite a striking dessert, with a chocolate Mayan pyramid served with 2 sesame snakes and icecream. Our friends got some coffee as well which was flamed quite theatrically at the table.

Overall, I couldn’t have enjoyed the meal more! I would visit it more than once if I could, whenever we go back to Cancun.

One important tip is to make reservations ahead of time before you go. Also, I believe its closed on national holidays, even though the website does not state that (I’m not sure about this) so do double check in case you happen to go there on a holiday. Also, when sitting out on the patio garden, you might want to consider an insect repellent, it really is quite 'natural' there! If you have any specific dietary needs, it’s best to call ahead and enquire.

Restaurante La Habichuela Calle Margaritas #25, Downtown Cancun, Quintana Roo. Phone: +52 (998) 884 31 58 Reservations Email: reservaciones@lahabichuela.com

OPEN Daily from noon to midnight.