A Cancun institution since 1977, set in a colonial-style house with a tropical garden, fountains, and a Mayan-replica statue near downtown's Parque Las Palapas. The signature dish is cocobichuela — a lobster-and-shrimp curry served inside a hollowed coconut with mango rice — but the wider menu of Yucatecan and seafood classics is reliably good. The waterfront sister restaurant in the Hotel Zone, La Habichuela Sunset, has fancier sea views but is more touristed and pricier.
The downtown original is the better choice — book a garden table for the full effect. Closed Mondays. Prices are mid- to upper-range by Cancun standards but reasonable for the quality and the setting.
Address: Margaritas 25, Centro, Cancun.