My travel style is what I would call an open-ended planner. I need to have my flights and living arrangements booked ahead of time, as well as a hard to book restaurant or two. However, I also prefer for my days to be fairly free so I can explore without feeling the pressure of a schedule. Some of my favorite travel experiences were also the unplanned, spontaneous ones. One such notable discovery was a charming wood-fired spot, Primo in Playa del Carmen.
My girlfriends and I were in the middle of a 10-day Tulum, Playa del Carmen, and Cancun trip. For our last night in Playa, we decided to do a last minute dinner at Primo, a stylish al fresco restaurant next to our Airbnb that we had been admiring all stay. The tiny spot looked packed every night, but they were able to accommodate a late night walk-in.
From our dining table, we had a front row view of the eye-catching open-kitchen, where everything is cooked in a wood fire, underground oven, comal, or grill (including a Big Green Egg). The dishes were elevated Mexican, with colorful presentation and plenty of fresh herbs. My favorites were the roasted cauliflower and grilled octopus.
I thought the cocktails outshone even the food though! Mixologist Abramo is the one man team behind an incredible bar menu that could hold its own among metropolitan cities with a great bar scene. After noticing our enthusiasm with the first round of cocktails, Abramo went ahead and made custom cocktails to our tastes, plus an excellent pairing with the two desserts we ordered. He eagerly detailed the process and complexities behind each thoughtfully made drink.
Service was great all around, with part of the staff able to speak fairly good English, and they were very patient with all our food questions and requests. Primo was hands down the best meal of this Quintana Roo Mexico trip. If only we had tried this spot on Day 1 of our Playa stay! We would have been repeat guests for sure.
