La Cueva del Chango, Mexican restaurant in Playa del Carmen, Mexico.
La Cueva del Chango is a Mexican restaurant in Playa del Carmen set within an open garden full of rock walls, ponds, and tropical plants. The tables are arranged outdoors or under a light canopy, surrounded by natural stone formations and running water.
The restaurant opened in 2004, focusing from the start on traditional Mexican cooking along the Riviera Maya. It gradually became a familiar stop for visitors and residents alike in the Playa del Carmen area.
The name La Cueva del Chango means "The Monkey's Cave" in Spanish, a nod to the wild, natural setting that defines the place. Guests eat surrounded by real rock formations and dense tropical plants, which gives the meal a feeling quite different from a typical restaurant.
The restaurant is on Calle 38 Norte between 5th Avenue and the beach, and easy to reach on foot from either side. Going earlier in the day or outside peak meal times helps avoid a wait, as it tends to fill up with visitors.
Some tables have glass panels set into the floor, so you can watch fish swimming in the ponds directly below your feet while you eat. The ponds are not decorative tanks but actual living water features built into the structure of the dining area.
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