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El Facon Parrilla & Bar: Restaurant Reviews

5a Ave Via 38 Entre 38 y 40 | Col Zazil-Ha, Playa del Carmen 77710, Mexico
+52 (984) 803.1700
Ranked #100 of 396 restaurants in Playa del Carmen
4.0 of 5 stars 10 Reviews
Price range: $17 - $29
Cuisines: Bar, Grill, Steakhouse, Argentinean
Restaurant details
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10 reviews from our community

100% Recommend
    8
    1
    1
    0
    0
Rating summary
    Food
    Service
    Value
    Atmosphere
Date Rating
bboyneko
Savage, MD
Top Contributor
64 reviews
45 helpful votes
“Beautiful ambiance, best Arrachera and Chimichurri”
5 of 5 stars Reviewed May 3, 2011
1
person found this review helpful

This restaurant is located in what I keep hearing referred to as "the new avenida quinta" in the far northern end. It is quiet, sophisticated and beautiful, unlike the much more tackier portions of 5th Street a few blocks south. We sat outside and perhaps because it was Sunday there was a deal for free wine with dinner.

We got a free tiny starter appetizer which was a bruschetta type of dish with a mild cheese and a spicey kick. Then there was bread served with three sauces, an amazing tasting fresh Chimishurri sauce, a fantastic butter/cheese spread that I have had at Argentine steak houses before, and a spicey sauce.

I got a wonderful glass of Tempranillo, which was honestly the best Tempranillo I have ever had. It went wonderful with the marinated Arrachera I ordered. It came on a wooden board with delicious fries.

Don't forget the empanada appetizers, they are fresh and delicious. Our server said the restaurant is Mexican operated but they use Argentine cooking styles for everything.

The flan desert we ordered was very good as well.

The only negative is when I went inside to use the bathroom (which was beautiful and clean) it felt approximately 500ºF in there due to the Parilla cooking the amazing meat. I think because there was no one sitting inside maybe they decided not to run the air conditioning.

The service was very friendly and polite, and the prices very reasonable. I think we paid something like $45 U.S. or so for two for a decidedly higher end dining experience including tip.

The outdoor tables in the evening had a beautiful ambiance and you could feel a cooling breeze. Highly recommended for a romantic dinner that won't break the bank and if you start to get tired of corn tortilla tacos and fish and coronas while staying in Playa del Carmen.

I highly recommended you order the thin steaks and not the fat steaks you might be used to in the United States. Try the flank or the Arrachera steak instead, arrachera being a Mexican specialty.

  • Visited May 2011
    • 5 of 5 stars Value
    • 5 of 5 stars Atmosphere
    • 5 of 5 stars Service
    • 5 of 5 stars Food
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Steveclipse
1 review
“Jacques Pepin eats here”
5 of 5 stars Reviewed February 25, 2011

I knew the guy seated next to me looked familiar
Turns out to be Jacques Pepin the celebrity chef who worked with Julia Child and has his own cooking tv show
He apparently eats here once a week
That's a good enough endorsement for me
Everything was great and the prices are low
Check out el facon

    • 5 of 5 stars Value
    • 5 of 5 stars Atmosphere
    • 5 of 5 stars Service
    • 5 of 5 stars Food
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Eriktagle
1 review
“Perfect place”
5 of 5 stars Reviewed February 21, 2011

A perfect place to have lunch and dinner. We just love it.

    • 5 of 5 stars Value
    • 5 of 5 stars Atmosphere
    • 5 of 5 stars Service
    • 5 of 5 stars Food
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maritz7
mexico df
1 review
“The best new restaurant in Playa”
5 of 5 stars Reviewed February 19, 2011

We were recently at el Facon and had an amazing time and dinner. All the staff is always making sure everything is ok, we even met the cheff and owner who were concerned at all time about the service and that alone made us feel like at home. The steaks we had were perfectly cooked and the empanadas very tasty. It is located down at the main street which locals call "the new 5th Av." away from all those tourist traps and loudness. The atmosphere is romantic and warm. We highly recomend it and be back the next time we come to visit PDC

    • 5 of 5 stars Value
    • 5 of 5 stars Atmosphere
    • 5 of 5 stars Service
    • 5 of 5 stars Food
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willgomiles
Chicago, IL
Senior Contributor
41 reviews
34 helpful votes
“We hope we just were there on a bad night.”
3 of 5 stars Reviewed February 16, 2011
2
people found this review helpful

We really hope that we just happened to be there on a bad night or I don't think they will be around next year. We had the sirloin and it was very bland and very very fatty. The Flan was also poor and lumpy. I don't know if we will give them another try or not.

  • Visited February 2011
    • 3 of 5 stars Value
    • 4 of 5 stars Atmosphere
    • 3 of 5 stars Food
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Emiliano Quintana, Owner at El Facon Parrilla & Bar, responded to this review
February 26, 2011
Hi,

We really appreciate your review and all the team is working hard on improving our quality, presentation and preparation standards so we can provide our customers what they're expecting from us as a restaurant. Hopefully we'll have you back in the near future to meet your expectations.

Best Regards,
El Facon Parrilla & Bar.
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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of TripAdvisor LLC.

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