Vento - Playa del Carmen Mexico

The restaurant recently pivoted and now is an Italian restaurant. Service is very good, and most of the food was solid especially the prosciutto and melon and the calamari. I dont quite know why the resort needs two Italian restaurants, but we appreciated that there was an indoor, air conditioned option.

Our experience at this resort so far was the buffet and the market. So we were a bit skeptical about vento. We came here with our baby and unfortunately my wife had to leave early due to an unruly child. We asked Ivan our waiter to see if he could get the food to go. This was not normal practice. He was so accommodating. He sent the food up via room service. Ivan was awesome. (Our server)! He was so friendly accommodating and explained every dish to our requests. This place was much better than the other restaurants. We had beet salad, lamb and seafood. All very excellent. The best dessert (we tried them all) was the poached pear. Pass on the Baklava. I'll be back. Thank you Ivan for a wonderful experience.

The general theme of my review is that the food is over-cooked. This was true of the octopus carpaccio appetizer, the beef fillet, and the turbot. Attached is a picture of the fillet that was ordered medium. We ordered three appetizers and two entrees and there is nothing positive that stands out. If I had to pick one, it would be the falafel appetizer albeit the strange portion size which consisted of a semi circle pita bread with a single oval shaped (long axis ~4cm) flattened falafel. The description of the item actually said pita bread stuffed with falafel but instead it was a miserable looking piece of falafel on half a pita bread. Additional feedback to the kitchen: couscous (from the turbot dish) had the texture of mush, consistent with the over-cooked theme. The lamb koftes on a stick were too too dry. The baba ghanoush was odd; not sure how to describe it. Hummus was okay. The Cyprus salad was too bland. The blue cheese mousse that comes with the fillet would have went well with the mat had it been cooked properly. The chocolate mousse was okay/below average. The pasta dish for the kids had no issues. As I re-read my review, I realize it's very negative; I'm sorry but it just was not good enough.

Holy cow. Where to begin? Wife N and I are staying here at Paradisus Playa del Carmen La Perla. We're playing the field so to speak, and heading to a different one of the 13 property restaurants each day/night we're here. We'd heard great things about this place, and came here with high expectations. We started with an order of two appetizers: the Octopus Carpaccio (Apple, arugula, mint, citrus and green bell pepper vinaigrette) and a Hummus plate with Lamb Kafta, Pita, babaghanouj and olive oil. While we were awaiting our apps, they served fresh baked bread with two butters: paprika butter and cumin butter. Wife liked the paprika but I was very partial to the cumin butter. Super floral and perfumed I've never thought of infusing butter with cumin but it worked so well I'm ready to go home and grind some cumin up myself. The appetizers arrived. Okay, if the appetizers are any indication of the quality of the food to come, this place is going to be fabulous. I've never had an octopus carpaccio, let alone one like this. Octopus was perfectly steamed, not over at all but tender, with a slight crisp but wasn't rubbery at all perfect. The other flavors on the plate complemented it perfectly. I wouldn't change a thing. The hummus plate was awesome. The lamb kafta (meatball on a stick, so to speak) was the best I've ever had, and I've eaten at Mediterranean places in L.A. the lamb was so tender and flavorful. It just melted in my mouth. The hummus was as good as I've ever made at home, and better than I've had anywhere else. It's not like a decent hummus is particularly difficult to make, but these guys just nailed it. A glass of white wine for Wife N and red for me. House wine. Both were perfectly fine. The dinner arrived. Wife had the Duck in Hibiscus flower and Cardamom sauce with mille feuille (of potato) and grilled corn with vegetables. Maybe it's the wrong time of year, but there was no grilled corn. Menu fail, but I won't fault them too much the dish was excellent. The flavors were spot on; Wife N loved the duck, though I thought it was a bit over it was medium at the core but medium well outside. She thought it was just fine. My dish was Turbot (fish) with a Mussels beurre blanc, vegetables with saffron and eggplant, couscous with a yogurt sauce. The beurre blanc had congealed slightly and was darker than I'd expect, but all flavors were there. A single staff of asparagus adorned the cous cous and a decorative smear of tangy yogurt complemented the plate. Flavors were all spot on. Couscous is...couscous (sidebar: I've never been a couscous fan but I ate it all anyway as I'm a glutton for punishment and hate wasting a speck of food). Wife said it was good couscous. On this one, I'd go with her opinion. Desserts: Wife N had the Domo de Chocolate with mascarpone and a chai tea sauce. Presented as a beautiful round ball, the server then pours the hot chai sauce over and the ball melts, opening to produce the mousse within, bathed in a luscious tan sauce. It was awesome. My dessert: I ordered the Pear Confit with Vanilla, Hibiscus flower and Cinnamon essence, perfumed with poached roses and a quennelle of lemon sorbet. Glancing at my Yelp status, I've written somewhere around 240 reviews over the past 7 years. In all that time, never once have I been presented with a dessert that elicited so much emotion that I wept. Yes, you read correctly. I had a dessert so good I was crying over it. I don't know what Heaven looks, tastes, or smells like. But if they're serving this dessert there I'll be just fine thank you very much. In all, one of the best meals I've had, definitely up there in my top 20. Paradisus Guests: this restaurant is included. You'd best make your reservation now.