Photos are from October 2007
There are two main restaurants (Maria's and il Pescatore) along Constituyentes and then the main buffet in the pool area.
Maria's
Maria's was probably the favorite. It just seemed less formal and the staff were very willing to improvise with the selections. Ordering from 4-6 choices in 4 courses is a limited menu but was able to find something special. I had the salmon and it was a bit dry but very good...the appetizer was a little cheese empanada with a mole sauce on it. Wanted another one but didn't request it as the salad was coming... but it went very well with the mango margarita. Dessert was pretty much "Ok"....all desserts seemed to be the same...like they had been in the refrigerator a bit too long.
Had the Mayan coffee ...or should say started to but just got
Xtabentum on the side with my coffee. Started a trend...soon everyone around me
was getting a shot or two to go with their coffee.
il Pescatore (Italian)
Had the steak both times eating at il Pescatore. The first
time with baked potato and a burgundy gravy, the second it came with deep fried
mashed(instant) potato. Also had a pasta course with the picante sauce which was
spicy and more than I wanted knowing the steak was coming. The first steak was
just right, tender, and as I ordered. The second was not near as good and I
almost requested something else. The shrimp cocktail was good but small shrimp
(6). The wine was Portuguese as were most of the wines normally served.
The Mayan coffee was interesting and was a bit sweet to go with their dessert selections. The dark chocolate was very rich tasting.
Both restaurants were loaded with Royal guests. Got the impression from their
idle conversations that they were "slumming" to be at the GPR. However they
seemed to enjoying themselves. Dress code was not enforced at either restaurant
so saw T-shirts, sandals, and shorts every day we were there. Both restaurants
are open "to the public" and have their menu on display if folks off the street
wish to pay the menu prices (195 pesos for the steak entre) The same is true of
Pelicanos at the Royal. When Asiana at the Royal moves outside the Royal I
assume it also will be "open to the public".
Main Buffet
The buffet had 5 main stations plus several cold island
stations. Station one was cold (salad fixings and dressings) and #2 was hot food
like pork loin slices, chicken, beef, and potatoes and vegetables. It varied day
to day...sometimes the potatoes were mashed, or oven baked, or fried, or boiled.
The meat usually had at least 3 choices here. Station # 3 was a "select the
ingredients and I'll grill it" station; and sometimes it was stir fry things,
other times fish, chicken, pork or beef. It was very popular and usually had a
line or 4-6 people. #4 was the hand carved station (beef or turkey, pork, etc)
and in the morning they did waffles, french toast or pancakes "while you wait".
The 5th station was again hot food, veggies and meat but not the same as #2.
Usually there were two soups, one at station 2 and the other at 5. The island
cold areas were (1-desserts, 2-meats & cheeses, 3-salads, 4-varied) plus the
bread/rolls station and a beverage area (although they usually served the
beverages). It was great to be able to pick your piece of fish and have them
cook it for you. The salmon was great although things like sauces were limited.
I usually went with fresh lime or made one out of the salad dressings. Found
olive oil, garlic, onion and a few other ingredients and went with the flow.
The buffet restaurant is great for that early morning sunshine at breakfast.
Parrillada Beach Buffet
The beach buffet was popular and I agree with other posts that
you should eat when they first open. They need to refresh the meat/chili/and
things like fries more often and in smaller quantities so they don't get
cold/soggy, etc. I saw them take food from underneath the counter to refresh the
food. They did not take it out of coolers or hot packs...nor did I see them
bring from a kitchen to re-supply. That food sat there and got picked over for
4-5 hours. By mid-afternoon it was only chips and jalepenos for me (pretty hard
to get bad ones of those) and LOTS of drinks. You will never get drunk or
dehydrated if you have lots of their standard bar drinks. Thank goodness for
loose liquor policies.
Last update was on 12/28/2009
email: message@thatec.com