Food, Drink & Nightlife

Where is the best brunch in Tulum?

Verification in progressLast reviewed May 30, 20263 min readTulum
Chris, PlayaStays founder, photographed in Playa del Carmen
Written by
& the PlayaStays local team
Founder, PlayaStaysOperating in Tulum since 2018

Direct answer

Matcha Mama for the Instagram-y açai-bowl brunch (Hotel Zone). Raw Love for vegan health brunch. Burrito Amor for breakfast burritos in the Pueblo. Charly's Vegan Tacos for the Pueblo's plant-forward move. Hotel Zone brunch is $$$; the Pueblo gives you the same quality for half.

Tulum invented the bohemian-wellness brunch aesthetic — açai bowls, matcha lattes, smoothie bowls in coconuts. Matcha Mama is the iconic Hotel Zone visual. Raw Love does the vegan health version. In the Pueblo, Burrito Amor's breakfast burritos and Charly's Vegan Tacos do the same thing for 40% of the price. Hotel Zone brunch is its own price tier.

What to do

Follow these steps

  1. Once in your trip: do one Hotel Zone Instagram brunch (Matcha Mama or Raw Love — accept the price as part of the experience).
  2. The rest of the trip: brunch in the Pueblo at Burrito Amor, Charly's Vegan Tacos, or The Real Coffee.
  3. If you're vegan/plant-based, Charly's Vegan Tacos is the standout regardless of zone.
  4. Tulum tends to require cash at smaller spots — bring pesos.

Full details

Tulum's brunch culture is famously different from Playa's — leaner toward wellness/yoga aesthetics, more plant-based options, more elaborate (and photogenic) presentations. It's also significantly more expensive in the Hotel Zone, where the same smoothie bowl can run $14 USD when it would be $5 in the Pueblo.

Hotel Zone (Instagram-y wellness):

  • Matcha Mama — açai bowls, matcha lattes, smoothie-in-a-coconut. Possibly the most Instagrammed brunch spot in the Riviera Maya. Quality is real, prices are not normal.
  • Raw Love — vegan-forward. Smoothie bowls, raw desserts, kombucha. Cult following.
  • Posada Margherita does an Italian-leaning breakfast — pastries, espresso, omelets.
  • Habitas / Casa Malca / Be Tulum — hotel brunches if you want to pay tourist prices for elevated versions.

Pueblo (real prices, similar quality):

  • Burrito Amor — Tulum institution. Breakfast burritos, eggs, conchas, real coffee. Healthy-leaning but not preachy. The Pueblo's wake-up move.
  • Charly's Vegan Tacos — plant-based Mexican breakfast. Soy chorizo, vegan chilaquiles, jackfruit cochinita. Surprisingly good for non-vegans too.
  • Antojitos La Chiapaneca — opens late but does breakfast tacos on weekend mornings.
  • The Real Coffee + Roastery — proper espresso, breakfast plates, locally roasted beans.

Beach-side brunch options:

  • Mateo's does a beachfront breakfast.
  • Hartwood isn't open for brunch (dinner only).
  • Casa Banana does a small breakfast menu — quieter than dinner crowds.

Vegan-specific:

  • Charly's Vegan Tacos (Pueblo) — the standout.
  • Raw Love (Hotel Zone) — bowl-driven.
  • The Real Coffee — vegan-friendly with most milk-alt options.

Hotel Zone vs. Pueblo brunch pricing reality:

  • Hotel Zone açai bowl: $14–18 USD
  • Pueblo equivalent: $5–8 USD
  • Same fruit, same toppings, different rent

Local context

Tulum's brunch scene is the most Instagram-driven food category in the Riviera Maya. The Matcha Mama coconut-smoothie photos and the Raw Love bowl shots became cultural shorthand for Tulum itself. The reality: the Hotel Zone wellness-brunch scene is genuinely innovative (real ingredients, often organic, good execution), but the prices are unjustifiable when the Pueblo serves comparable food. Locals (and digital nomads who live here long enough) drift to the Pueblo spots.

Common mistake

Doing brunch in the Hotel Zone every morning of your trip. The Hotel Zone wellness aesthetic is great for one Instagram morning but the bill compounds — $20/person × 5 mornings = $100+ on brunch alone. The Pueblo serves the same food for less.

Recommendations

Specific picks

Matcha Mama

$$$
Hotel ZoneWellness aesthetic

Iconic Tulum açai-bowl spot. Matcha lattes, coconut smoothies. The Instagram move.

View on map / site →

Burrito Amor

$$
Tulum PuebloHealthy Mexican breakfast

Pueblo wake-up institution. Breakfast burritos, eggs, conchas. Real coffee, healthy-but-not-preachy.

View on map / site →

Charly's Vegan Tacos

$$
Tulum PuebloVegan Mexican

Plant-based Mexican breakfast. Soy chorizo, vegan chilaquiles. Solid even for non-vegans.

View on map / site →

The Real Coffee + Roastery

$$
Tulum PuebloCoffee-focused café

Locally roasted beans, proper espresso, breakfast plates. Pueblo coffee anchor.

View on map / site →

We recommend these because we know them — not because anyone paid us. Hours and prices change; verify before you go.

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Chris, PlayaStays founder

Hi, I'm Chris — founder of PlayaStays.

I've stayed in Airbnbs across more than 35 countries — from design-led glamping in Patagonia to penthouse condos in major cities. I've learned what makes a property great: photography that earns the click, messaging that holds Superhost standards, and pricing that reads the local market instead of a template. We bring that same eye to every PlayaStays Airbnb in Quintana Roo.

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