Discover Authentic Mexican Culture with Cocktails at Riviera Maya’s Zapote Bar

“I want to show that Mexico is more than just fajitas, Coronas, and margaritas.”

For many travelers who have their sights set on the resorts of Mexico, their cocktail fantasies might exclusively orbit around endless margaritas—frozen with salt on the rim. However, as refreshing and delightful as a perfect margarita can be, at Zapote, the beautiful new bar at Rosewood Mayakoba in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, the cocktail menu aims for much more.

Juan Pablo Loza, Rosewood Mayakoba’s director of culinary operations, dreamed up Zapote years ago when he was tasked with revamping the resort’s food and beverage offerings. “When they hired me in 2015, I set out to showcase, through new dining concepts, what Mexico truly is,” Loza explains. “We needed more than the existing menus—three restaurants when I started—to express the richness of our culinary heritage.”

Loza was traveling around Mexico, researching how he could incorporate his homeland’s robust food culture into the blueprint of a luxury beach resort when he realized he needed to add a world-class bar to the property’s food and beverage offerings. His inspiration struck at Mexico City’s Licoreria Limantour, a renowned establishment in the World’s 50 Best Bars, where he experienced award-winning libations six years ago.

“When we tried their drinks, I was amazed, and that’s when I asked my team: ‘How can we call ourselves one of the best resorts in the world if we’re not serving at least one drink like this?'” Loza recalls. The years leading to the February 2021 opening of Zapote were spent nurturing the ambitions sparked in that bar visit. Limantour eventually became a collaborator for both the beverage selection and the decor, as Loza envisioned an experience that captured the spirit of Mexico.

Moreover, Zapote is designed to offer a unique experience that deviates from what most travelers expect from a beach bar. Rather than a party-like tropical atmosphere, the focus is on intimacy, elegance, and authenticity.

“In this region, haciendas are very unique; they’re beautiful houses in the jungle,” Loza describes the inspiration for Zapote. “I wanted to evoke the feeling of being invited to have a drink in someone’s hacienda. That’s the concept we tried to bring to Mayakoba.”

The indoor-outdoor bar comprises various spatial vignettes built around natural materials found throughout the Yucatán Peninsula. A combination of warm wood and stark stone creates an old-meets-new aesthetic seen through a contemporary lens. Various seating arrangements—from communal tables to intimate nooks—provide options for guests to enjoy Zapote in their preferred style. Lush plants throughout contribute to the hacienda ambiance, complemented by thoughtfully curated decorative items reminiscent of what a well-traveled family might collect. 

As stunning as the bar appears, it is the food and drink that truly make Zapote shine—this is where the tribute to Mexico is most pronounced. The signature cocktails celebrate local flavors through the use of wild herbs, Indigenous fruits, and potent Mexican spirits. For example, paranubes, a rum from Oaxaca, is featured in a milk punch with mamey and pineapple. Another beverage, Katun, a Yucatán gin, is combined with mayayo, one of Zapote’s most popular drinks, utilizing sour oranges grown in the hotel’s garden. Overall, each drink reflects a bright, summery quality.

“This place is hot all the time, so we knew we wanted our signature drinks to be refreshing,” Loza notes. And yes, a Casa Dragones margarita is definitely on the menu.

The food menu also follows an unexpected Yucatán theme. Loza centers his kitchen at Zapote around trendy live-fire cooking while incorporating a distinctive Middle Eastern influence, a nod to the Lebanese immigrants who settled in the region in the 19th century and significantly impacted local cuisine.

“The food can be labeled Lebanese-Mexican,” Loza shares, referring to the tapas-style menu that includes pita served with various spreads, like the guacahini—”it’s as if a guacamole and a hummus had a baby.”

Among Loza’s favorites is shakshuka, a well-known egg dish he reinvents by infusing the tomato sauce with habanero and adding pumpkin seeds, ingredients that echo a popular local tamale called Brazo de Reina. “It looks like shakshuka, but it tastes like Brazo de Reina,” he notes, further emphasizing the fusion of cultures.

Thus, Zapote not only serves exquisite beverages and dishes but also aims to enlighten its guests about the rich culinary tapestry that is Mexican cuisine. Loza concludes, “I want to show that Mexico is more than just fajitas, Coronas, and margaritas.”