A major part of the charm of The Riviera Maya, and Playa del Carmen, is the international flare and influence that comes with people traveling from all over the globe to either live or visit the area. There is a large Italian community that lives here year round who flock to our pristine beaches. Swedes have also taken a liking to the beautiful Mexican landscape owning businesses such as local favorites; Babe's Noodle House and La Rana Cansada. The Dutch discovered it years ago escaping the cold winters of Holland to enjoy the warm tropical weather that we all love so much. Argentineans consider the Rivera Maya a perfect destination, and because of this we get to enjoy amazing Argentinean grills with amazing food that everyone raves about. Of course our neighbors to the north, in the United States and Canada, have been long time fans of Mexico in general, but specifically choose to invest millions of dollars in real estate in the Rivera Maya to secure their slice of paradise. Germans, Spanish, Nationals from all over Mexico, South Africans, Israeli's, and Uruguayans, are just a few more nationalities that have made the Riviera Maya a top-notch international destination.
With their tag line reading “Bar and Restaurant with a Twist” Ula Gula will impress you with their original recipes and top-notch service. Although Ula Gula opened 4 years ago I hadn’t eaten there before last Friday. When a restaurant has survived the Playa del Carmen scene for more then a year there is definitely something to their concept. Argentine owned and operated, I had only ever heard great reviews, and when a friend invited me and the Web Guy out for dinner I suggested Ula Gula. We arrived and were immediately seated at a great table with a view of 5th Avenue perfect for people watching. The waiter came over with the menus’ and took our drink orders returning quickly with a tray full of perfectly poured cocktails.
He offered to give us menu suggestions, and we decided on a couple of starters for the table. We settled on the De Rio Salad ($80.00 pesos) the Kubik Tuna ($90.00 pesos), and La Vegetariana ($90.00 pesos)and all were definitely great choices. The De Rio was a munificent salad with fresh red leaf lettuce, arugula, carrot, and prosciutto served with a light homemade sesame vinaigrette, and we all shared it with gusto and “mmm, mmm’s” between bites. The Kubik Tuna was 6 large cubes of fresh tuna seared on the outside and served with soy, wasabi, and an arugula salad and it was a perfect compliment to the salad and made my taste buds dance with glee. I must say that this was my favorite of the starters and I horded it eating 4 of the 6 pieces of tuna! La Vegetariana was a considerable portion of grilled vegetables served with a brie cheese sauce, and balsamic vinegar caramel, and it was colorful compliment of flavors. With a fresh bread basket that was brought to the table with a choice of homemade focaccia, onion rolls, and rustic bread it was almost enough food not to even order an entrée!
We then ordered our entrees with the entire table deciding on fish dishes. They offer a daily fish, which was grouper, and then you can choose from a variety of styles. Two of us ordered the Mediterranean, a generous piece of fish cooked perfectly, and accompanied with a parsley gorgonzola sauce, cucumber and green olive salad, and was settled on a rich serving of mashed potatoes that made me want to lick my platter clean. With an extensive pasta and grilled meat section of the menu you could come back many times and never order the same thing twice!
Web Guy ordered the Marley style grouper ($165.00 pesos) which came in a smoked tomato broth, with sweet potato croquette, prosciutto, and red bell pepper, and it was perfectly balanced with zesty flavors. We ended the meal by sharing a dessert, Fondant de Chocolat ($60.00 pesos), which if you are a chocolate lover will have you smiling from ear to ear. A hot little chocolate cake filled with warm liquid chocolate, and served with vanilla ice cream and peach sauce made me want to cry with joy.
I have to say that this was one of the most pleasant dining experiences that I have had in the 4 years that I have lived here in Playa del Carmen. The service was attentive, the food was exquisite, the location was perfect, and I would highly recommend Ula Gula to anyone who wants a great experience. The ONLY complaint I had was that the menu is printed in very small fonts, and if your eye sight isn’t like it was when you were 20 you may need some help reading it! And is that really a complaint?