La Cabana del Pescador
aka Lobster House

Zona Hotelera Norte, Cozumel, Quintana Roo, Mexico

Though the Fodor's Guide describes this place as "kitschy," it served up by far the best meal I ate in Cozumel. Perhaps enhancing the experience was the fact that there were no other people there, hence no touristy vibe at all whilst I dined.

It's a very cool little place, located in Cozumel's northwest hotel district. Dimly lit, with coconuts and fisherman's nets on the walls, plus a slightly comical gangplank that takes you toward the bathrooms. The food is simple but fucking awesome – lobster tails, rice, and whatever it is you drink (we were doing rum and cokes). You basically just name your price, and get whatever weight of lobster fits your budget.

We could afford about $20 per person, per plate, and what we got was totally satisfying. The lobster was fresh and succulent, although I wish they'd used butter instead of margarine for dipping. Best of all was the crazy-fucking-good key lime pie that the genial waiter brought out for dessert – easily the best key lime pie I've ever eaten. This more than made up for the margarine B.S.

Though Cozumel is supposedly known for its fresh seafood, the good stuff is tough to find, since so many of Cozumel's restaurants are such egregiously lame tourist haunts. So it was all the more gratifying to have an amazingly delicious meal here, without any sense of being a stupid-ass tourist. I normally steer clear of anything a guidebook might recommend, but in this case I'll have to agree with Fodor's.

Review by Elroy Washi, October 2004