La Bamba Jarocha
Tortilla Chips, Crackers, Salsa
Guacamole
Octopus Ceviche
Pineapple stuffed with Shrimp, Garlic, Cheese
Bread
Fried Snapper, Mashed Potatoes, Garlic
Fried Bananas, Media Crema
Flan
Pecan Tres Leches Cake
Surrounded by bamboo curtains, with murals of fisherman decorating the walls, La Bamba Jarocha will not find its way onto most tourist agendas, but for those visiting Playa Del Carmen to experience its culinary scene the Restaurant at Calle 30 Norte offers tremendous value and exemplary customer service for some of the best Seafood in town.
Well known amongst locals, and routinely packed from 10am until 10pm daily, it was after a quick temperature check that three diners were sat at room’s center, the laminated menu consisting of seven pages featuring everything from Ceviche and Tostadas to Soups and whole Fish.
Lined with televisions and Mexican music overhead, a family-friendly atmosphere undoubtedly part of the open-air space’s appeal, it was while weighing options that Chips and Salsa were offered, the “spicy” frankly hot but everything else well-suited to freshly made Guacamole plus an abundant portion of tender Octopus Ceviche.
Dissuaded from Soup by Playa Del Carmen’s heat and humidity, but unwilling to forgo what a waitress described as the house special in Spanish, course two consisted of scored and fried Snapper alongside Mashed Potatoes, plus a hemisected Pineapple hollowed out and filled with plump Shrimp, stretchy Cheese and plenty of Butter plus Garlic.
Saying yes to soft Bread for sopping up Sauces, and barely a drop left behind, Dessert consisted of Fried Bananas with thickened Cream, Flan topped in bitter Caramel Sauce and moist Tres Leches featuring a ribbon of Pecan Cream between the layers of springy sponge towards the bottom.