Joy G.
Yelp
As a matter of fact, this was a random panic pick for brunch and it turned out to be one of my favorite restaurants that our group went to this trip. On the surface, Lola Valentina seemed like the super trendy, neon-lit Instagram-reel places that I normally avoid like the plague, complete with rope swings at the bar counter. Not to mention its location on one of the side streets in Centro that remind me of Little Italy where you have (mostly) men trying to pull you into their restaurant.
Anyway - here were my favorites:
1. The hibiscus mango virgin margarita. Absolutely delicious. With alcohol, these would be deadly. (That said, the avocado smoothie that my friend ordered was terrible, essentially guacamole in smoothie form, with no sugar to speak of. Some honey or medjool dates added would've been heavenly.)
2. The fish tacos. If I come back to Isla Mujeres, I'd do an island fish taco-hopping tour. The version here was breaded, with a fantastic sweet dipping sauce. The only thing missing is the guac that they used with the chicken tacos. Really sizable portion. Chicken tacos were a close second, especially with both the guac and the peanut dressing.
3. Coconut shrimp. We had coconut shrimp at another place the night before and these blew those out of the water. Massive, with a decent amount of shrimp under the breading, and came with the most delectable rice that I could've eaten on my own.
Our waiter (Manuel) was super friendly; food and drinks came out promptly. Despite the "cash only" sign on their menu, they accept everything.