Carboncitos

Carboncitos is a gem in Playa. We have eaten there about 5 times I’ve the past couple of years and have yet to hit a dud on the menu. Last night my wife had the fish of the day, Gruper, sautéed in olive oil and garlic to perfectio, I had the crab stuffed peppers, that were spicy but to much. The calamari is to die for, very lightly breaded and cooked to perfection. The wait staff are attentive and a blast for the kids, especially when they come to the table with drinks stacked 4 high on their head.
On the whole Carboncitos is by far our favorite in Playa.

I’ve been to Playa twice and stopped here on both trips. I try to eat where the locals eat instead of all the tourist traps on fifth Ave. The food was ok but I don’t know if I will go back the next time I’m in Playa. The service is great and very friendly and yes the drinks do get served on their heads. I think the margaritas there are good but only the regular margarita on the rocks. I tried a mango margarita and my boyfriend got one of their others blended drinks. I didn’t think they were all the great and they were way too sweet. We ordered the salsa wheel and I didn’t think all the extra dips were worth it. Stick with the regular chips and dip they give you and you’ll be better off. We also ordered the queso with mushrooms. I think the mushrooms ruined it but the cheese was good. For our entrée we ordered the meal for two and it was ok. I mostly are the chili relleno which was good. So we decided to go back and I got the chili relleno but I was sadly disappointed when I discovered all my cheese ran out of the pepper. I would say the meal was ok but I don’t think I’ll be going back. There are much more authentic places to eat closer to 30^th ave and if you actually want to eat authentic Mexican food I would go to one of those places.

We ate here a couple of times and found them consistently good. Ceviche was delicious as were tacos and other staples. We found the serving staff to be in high spirits on both occasions, balancing drinks on their heads and making jokes. A nice place at a fair price.

From the outside, Carboncitos looks like another restaurant catered towards foreigners. But this truly is a quality restaurant both from a service and food standpoint. We loved our dinner at Carboncitos. The servers are very professional, which took me by surprise. They put on a little show with serving the drinks on top their heads and adding a little flare to making dessert table side. But you’re not just paying for the service at Carboncitos, the food is truly awesome as well. My wife and I had the enchilada with mole sauce and stuffed peppers with crabmeat. They tasted excellent. Both dishes felt like the cooks definitely took their time in making the dishes. This place is highly rated by my account… definitely worth a visit who wants a good time on their vacation!

Great ambiance. My babe loved his grilled fish although we wish it was whole. Not a fan of my fajitas but it’s hard out here for a mostly vegetarian eater sometimer pescaterian.

Bad. Uninspired food. Not sure how you make Mexican food taste so bland. Also, they don’t accept credit cards but don’t warn you before hand. Way over priced. Our most expensive and worst meal in Playa. Went to Axiote the night before (world famous chef) and spent less.

Over the past week the family and I have been to quite a few restaurants and by far our favorite was hands down Carboncitos. The food was great, the ambiance was perfect, the staff are friendly, and the price was very fair. We will defiantly be coming back again soon. Great work you guys, you are a top notch place for a great dining experience.

One of my favorite restaurants in Playa! The best tacos al pastor I’ve ever had. We’ve also been here for a small breakfast — fresh fruit with granola, honey, and yogurt, which was great. If you get something other than tacos, some menu items are a bit pricey. Also have had the seafood soup and ceviche. Both were great. But again — get the tacos al pastor. You don’t regret it. They indulged my drunken request for Selena. The waiters are super nice.

You’ve got Al Pastor, with the pineapple spinning around, so where was my pineapple in the taco?
The pork was salty, and would have been nice to sweeten it up with pineapple.
The chicken tacos were so bland.
not good at all. at least they were ridiculous inexpensive (for tacos), compared to other places…

To preface, I need to state that we eat dinner out in Playa at least 60 times a year, and I have provided consulting services to numerous restaurants over the past 37 years.
My wife and I ate dinner here a few weeks ago and had a horrible experience.
The prices were high (we were shocked when we opened the menu), the food mediocre at best, and the ambiance similar to eating in the middle of a prison camp (not that I have but I can imagine…)
I wrote a more detailed review on TripAdvisor for anyone interested The owner replied in the same fashion he did for lenore d.‘s review, below, and was extremely defensive.
I am never eating at this restaurant again.

Great owners and the perfect place to have had a rehearsal dinner. Every single guest was wowed by this restaurant as well as the food. It’s an absolute must do if you’re in Playa del Carmen.

Away from the noisy 5^th Avenue this place had a ton of charm. The waiters serve your drinks very creatively and they were tasty too. Caesar salad made table side was fantastic. My filet was perfect, my husband had shrimp stuffed with crab meat which was great. Dessert, bananas flambeau, was again done table side and was delicious.
Highly recommend this place for dinner.

As a frequent visitor to Playa over the last ten years Carboncitas is one of the most consistent restaurants. I love the enchiladas verde (4) with beans and rice. The Mexican platter for two is another great pick and the drinks are pretty darn good… they don”t skimp on the spirits.

I was looking for a fabulous place to eat and found this place on Unilocal.After being totally sick of our all inclusive food, we decided to end our trip with some dining in the town. We were not disappointed. Great ambiance, delicious food, and great prices.
The salsas were so good and homemade. The server even brought us out a local pumpkin seed spread that blew our socks off. I went with the black chicken which our server recommended and I’m still thinking about it today, it was to die for. All the dishes were delectable. Check out my photos.

After lots of hesitation where to have diner from all of the choices that playa del Carmen offers, we chose Carboncitos. As always, excellent service. I won’t be wrong if I say spotless! Server was great so as the personnel that was helping with bussing and bringing the food. Overall, highly recommended.

Loved this place! They have amazing drinks and the food? Omg! It was delish!!! I ordered the enchiladas and bc we are vegetarians they were able to accommodate us and made them just cheese (they were still amazing!). My fiancé had the vegetarian burrito and he said that with just a touch of salt and salsa it was perfect. We were able to get a deal for buy one drink and get the other free. I got the mojito and loved it! Fiancé got the tequila sunrise and he really enjoyed it. The servers even bring your drinks on top of their heads so it’s pretty cool. The only downfall to it is that they only accept cash but there is no sign and didn’t say anything until the bill was brought. We didn’t carry much cash so fiancé had to run to the nearest atm to get some. But other than that, AMAZING!

A great place for food and drinks in Playa del Carmen while walking down 5^th Avenue. The service here is fantastic and the waiters are a lot of fun and have great balance also. Have been here twice got the queso fundido the first time, was some of the best I’ve had. 2^nd time we got coconut shrimp and fish tacos both were very excellent. Love the atmosphere here during the day and evening.

Oh Carboncitos… Me gusta.
One of our favorite places to go in all of PDC. I am in love with the Ceviche Stuffed Avocado. They market it as an appetizer, yet it is big enough to be a full meal, or share with an amigo! I get it every single time I go. I know I know. I really should branch out, but I do look forward to it. it’s like an old friend.
Speaking of friends, this trip a new friend turned me on to the Lime Soup. Again an appetizer, but big enough for a light meal. It’s so flavorful and full of chicken! The lime garnish reminds me of a sun as well. The Lime Soup and the Salsa Wheel and you have a lovely light dinner.
I also partook in the Habanero Margarita. Holy Moly. It’s made with Don Julio Anejo Tequila and some smoked habanero peppers in the mix. It will blow your head off. Just a note here. the margaritas here are not the best I have had. Super tart. Some people in our party added azucar to help ease that and it seemed to work.

Delish! Don’t forget your pesos or USD as they do not accept credit cards! They serve your drinks on their head and are very entertaining.

No se que haríamos sin restaurantes más sencillos y enfocados para los locales, que ofrezcan calidad pero también valor. Que no sólo se enfoquen en el mercado turístico sino que ofrezcan a la gente normal que recibe su sueldo en moneda nacional una alternativa para comer rico.
Los carbón opta es uno de estos lugares. La calidad de la comida es digna de estar en la quinta avenida, pero se llena de locales y residentes en su mayoría. Esto porque en verdad es bueno, bonito y barato. El concepto es sencillo, comida mexicana y especialidades del mar con un buen sazón casero preparado principalmente en una parrilla o grill.
Las parrilladas y las carnes son excelentes, el pulpo chamuscado y la mariscada muy abundantes. Las bebidas son buenas también con cócteles originales de buen sabor y tamaño. Pide la Margarita de habanero, no están picosa como suena.
Los Carboncitos es un lugar súper dedicado a la calidad y con una atención inmejorable. Un David en tierra Goliats.

Llegamos a este restaurante por la recomendación del primo del amigo de un amigo. El restaurante se encuentra muy bien ubicado a pocos pasos de la concurrida quinta avenida. Es un lugar hermosamente simple, la iluminación tenue es ideal para una buena cena romántica pero también para compartir con amigos, pero de los de verdad.
Partimos pidiendo unas margarita pero con habanero, exótico pero delicioso. La atención es increíble, muy atentos y simpáticos para que disfrutes una buena velada. La carta es bastante variedad, tienen por ejemplo camarones al ajillo, camarones al tequila, pescado tixin chic, parrillada de mariscos, langosta, ensaladas,
camarones al ajillo, pescado tixin chic, camarones al tequila, pulpo asado y varios platillos igual o más sabrosos, toda una experiencia de simpatía y de buen comer.
El restaurante carboncito te llevará a una gran experiencia de sabor y amistad en un solo lugar.
Dato para que tengan presenten, lleven efectivo porque no aceptan tarjeta.

Carboncitos, bueno, desde el nombre estoy que babeo. Es el restaurante del súper hotel El Cielo, empezando bien. La comida es deliciosa, todos y cada uno de los platillos. Yo soy fanática del pulpo bien preparado. Me encanta su sabor si está bien cocinado, si no, sabe como a chicle y sin mucho sabor. Pues en Carboncitos probé un pulpo asado, increíble. Es como un súper sabor que se te deshace en la boca, delicioso. Los camarones también están increíbles y hay variedad de platillos todos mexicanos fusión, muy rico. En cuanto a precio — calidad está excelente, te aseguro que saldrás con un muy buen sabor de boca y tu bolsillo relajado.
Es un restaurancito súper acogedor, la atención es de primerísima, son súper amables. Están súper bien ubicados, en el mero centro de la tan concurrida 5ta avenida con la calle 4, es un súper rinconcito que vale la pena apartarle una noche para afilar tenedor.
Lleva efectivo porque no aceptan pagos con tarjetas bancarias.

Aside from the crystal ocean waters and warm tropical nights that make Playa Del Carmen such a wonderful place to visit and daydream about… there is a little restaurant right off of the busy Quinta Avenida which has made a delightful indelible mark upon my palate, Carboncitos.
Carboncitos offers your standard Mexican Restaurant dinner fare, but does it so exceptionally well.
Over my last two trips to PDC, I have visited this restaurant five times. Not a thing on the menu was less than just great.
I would highly recommend the salsa platter, which may seem so boring in face of the other sizzling delights, but trust me, it’s great. Especially the pepita salsa.