Zamas Brunch in Tulum
by Emily
I have SO much love for Tulum (see full vacation guide here). And even more love for Zamas Hotel, where we rented an epic casa for our long weekend. I knew we were in for a good breakfast when I noticed the open air, open beach restaurant decorated with pineapples, color-block furniture, Mexican mosaic tiling, and straw roofing. After checking in, we shared our first round of drinks here when we arrived and it became our go-to place to congregate during the trip.
Every morning to soak up the many margaritas and tacos from the night prior, we headed to the Zamas restaurant for light breakfast, and every morning it was a total life saver. Our smiling waiter was there to greet us each day (seriously, he was never not smiling!), and took our elaborate soy milk latte orders in stride. You’d think in a more remote, shabby-chic place like Tulum that soy lattes would be difficult to find, but at Zamas, there were no limitations to our complex coffee requests. I was a total fan.
We also started each day with a bevy of colorful juice drinks, turning our breakfast table into an drinkable rainbow. The green juice, lamara green, was a combo of ginger, cucumber, celery, mint, lime, and apple, and was a fan favorite. Other friends ordered the lamara brava, with beets, orange, carrot, and habanero. The best part of these fresh juices? The price tag. In NYC, if you order something like this at your trendy juice shop, you’re looking at a $10 expense. At Zamas, these juices were $3 dollars. Best deal ever!
And aren’t they beautiful to look at?!
We also ordered fresh fruit for the table, which was a seasonal selection and also incredibly fresh.
For mains, a few of of the girls in our group ordered the oatmeal with raisins, brown sugar, and banana. I’m not usually an oatmeal fan, but I had order envy when I saw the abundant toppings.
It was also piping hot and cooked to perfection. Everyone who got this loved it, so if you’re in the mood for something more simple, this is a great brunch dish for you.
We also shared the “fancy toast” with avocado and goat cheese. I haven’t had a lot of avo-goat cheese combos, and I loved this. Simple but delicious.
My sister ordered the Mexican omelet with mushrooms, chaya, and caramelized onion. She loved the flavor of this — the cheese was really unique, the omelet was well cooked, and the potato side was delicious.
I couldn’t resist the huevos rancheros, of course ordering the heartiest egg dish on the menu.
Crispy tortillas were served with black beans, fried eggs, and ranchera salsa and topped with avocado slices. This was full of flavor and was a perfect hangover cure!
For brunch dessert, we ordered the ricotta doughnuts with cacao chocolate dipping sauce and housemade jam. These were insanely good. I told myself I was only having a small bite and I couldn’t stop after the first taste. Anything with raw chocolate dipping sauce is a winner in my book, and it was the first time I’ve had ricotta in my doughnuts. Love!
We soaked up the beach views, the wi-fi and our abundance of liquids for the duration of our trip to Zamas, and it was always difficult to tear ourselves away from our comfy tables in the sand when our breakfasts were finished. I went through total breakfast withdrawal when I returned to NYC!
The Bitches say: A+. For an authentic and local Mexican breakfast with a variety of brunch items ranging from light fare to traditional staples, you don’t want to miss out on Zamas. Also, it’s insanely cheap for the quality of food, which will make you want to go every morning of your vacation.
Zamas Hotel
Carr. Tulum-Boca Paila Km. 5
Zona Hotelera
77780
Tulum, Q.R., Mexico