Many of you Cozumel veterans may remember La Cocay restaurant, previously located in the Corpus Christi neighborhood by the church. Seventeen months ago, they closed their doors to take a short break and to break ground on their new location. After a few delays (typical when constructing a new building) and anxious waiting, La Cocay is now open for dinner in its new location, Calle 8 Nte, between Ave. 10 and Ave. 15 Hours are Monday through Saturday, from 3:00pm until ???? They will play this by ear for the time being, but Gary said as long as there are customers, they will stay open
La Cocay has a log cabin exterior, with a warm lodge feel inside. Dark wood vaulted ceilings, rustic wood furnishings, stainless steel accents, and soft jazzy dinner music provide a classy environment. The décor is definitely a mesh of styles, but well executed for warm and intimate setting. Table settings include white linen napkins, candles, and fresh flowers.
In addition to the fully air conditioned inside dining area, they have deck/garden seating outside for a view of the lush garden lit with white lights for a more romantic setting. Outside there are ceiling fans as well as unobtrusive and very quiet floor fans in each corner, so the heat really wont be an issue outside.
La Cocay has a new main chef, but he is not new to La Cocay. He worked in the kitchen as Assistant Chef for many years in the old location. The rest of the kitchen staff remains virtually the same as well. The food was even better than I had remembered!
Youll find some of your old favorites on the menu including the Napa Salad, Pork Tenderloin, Pepper Crusted Sashimi Tuna, and Filet Mignon, but youll surely find some new favorites as well.
They have a full bar including bar seating as well as an extensive wine selection.
A new feature to the La Cocay menu is the Tapas menu. Tapas are canapés served with different toppings, including Garlic Shrimp, Chicken Liver Mousse, Eggplant Terrine, and several others. All tapas plates are $50 pesos and you get your choice of three flavors. Youll get two of each flavor for a total of six pieces.
On the appetizer menu, youll find unique shrimp, calamari, duck and other gourmet concoctions. Appetizers range $60 pesos to $85 pesos
We decided to give several things a try and basically did a sampler style dinner with a few appetizers and sharing a main course. At out table, we had:
Calamari rings sautéed in basil and garlic cooked to perfection excellent!
Duck Firecrackers Duck spring rolls with tropical corn, tomato, and mango (?) salsa excellent!
Garlic Shrimp Tapas when we ordered, we didnt realize we had a choice of three, so we got all garlic shrimp, but they were delicious!
Tequila Sautéed Shrimp with Roasted Nopal and chile de arbol This was definitely everyones favorite appetizer, we actually ordered a second order! You MUST try this one!
For the main course, we split the Plantain Crusted Fish with Honey Glaze and Cilantro Rice and lightly steamed veggies. This doesnt sound light, but it was a very light and refreshing summer-time entrée. I cant wait to go back and have it again!
Prices are extremely reasonable, and our total bill (with no alcohol, just four non-alcoholic beverages) came to right at $50 plus tip for all of the food mentioned above. Keep in mind that we only had one full entrée and five appetizers/tapas.
All tapas $50 pesos
Appetizers $60 to $85 pesos
Entrees $110 - $290 pesos, average $150 - $160
Sorry I cannot report on desert
I didnt save enough room
next time! I decided before I walked in the door that I was changing my free food day to yesterday, although they would have been able to prepare a dish without any white stuff for me had I requested
In summary, La Cocay is as fabulous as I remember it and then some! Excellent service, warm atmosphere, and great hosts. I give them a 9 on a scale of 10
cant give them a 10 just yet
This one definitely makes my top five list Make sure you give it a try on your next visit!
I'll make note of the address next time I go!
