- Introduction: A Week Of Rest And Relaxation In Cabo
- Review: Hyatt Ziva Los Cabos Ocean View Double Room
- Review: Zen Spa, Pools And Other Activities At Hyatt Ziva Los Cabos
- Review: Hyatt Ziva Los Cabos Restaurants And Bars
- Review: Final Thoughts On The Hyatt Ziva Los Cabos
- Review: VIP Lounge Los Cabos Airport
There are a lot of options when it comes to food and drinks at the Ziva Los Cabos. We did our best to cover them all but there are some gaps in the information below.
Overall, I’ll say the food was leaps and bounds better than the other all-inclusive resorts we’ve stayed at in the past. It isn’t five star dining like Al Maha. But, the quality is very good. Hyatt has definitely raised the bar.
One Diamond benefit at the Ziva is the ability to make reservations. We did this most nights but it was probably unnecessary since we were usually the first ones in any given restaurant (an advantage to living on the same schedule as a 2 and 4 year-old). If we were eating later in the evening or when the resort was busier with corporate groups, I think we would have found this to be a very valuable benefit.
I’m going to try to keep the commentary to a minimum and let the images of the menus and food speak for themselves. I apologize that some of the photos aren’t great. Many of the restaurants were dark and my phone didn’t do my any favors. If you have questions about anything, let me know in the comments.
Bon Vivant – French
Onion soup, which tasted better than it looked
Scallops à la Provençal
Rack of Lamb
Filet mignon
Crème brûlée (a bit of an odd texture)
Chocolate fondant (the star of the meal according to my wife)
Apple tart (which my kids really enjoyed)
Dozo – Japanese/Asian
Dozo is an interesting space because it’s really three restaurants in one. There are teppanyaki tables in the back, a sushi bar on the side and then regular tables throughout.
There were only a few decisions to make for teppan dining. You’d choose soup or salad and then your protein (options were steak, chicken, shrimp or squid/calamari). The meal also came with edamame.
We ate in the general dining area of the restaurant another night.
Tom Kha Kai
Duck yakisoba
Udon vegetables
We didn’t eat at the sushi bar. But, I did grab a picture of the menu.
El Cortijo – Spanish
Meatballs
Ajillo Prawns
Pigeon Escabeche
Chicken Paella
Seafood Paella
We skipped dessert. But, here’s the menu.
Zaffiro – Beachfront Italian, Lunch and Dinner
Zaffiro wound up being our favorite a-la-carte restaurant. The location is great right on the beach and food provided great options for both the adults and the kids. I can’t find the pictures of our dinners at Zaffiro, but I do have some of our lunch.
Zaffiro dinner menu
Zaffiro dinner menu
Zaffiro lunch menu
Zaffiro pizza menu
La Hacienda – Beachfront Lunch Buffet and Steaks for Dinner
La Hacienda’s location and views are great. Lunch has typical buffet food. The one lunch we had reminded us of the other all-inclusives we’ve been to before. So, I don’t think this is the best option. But, our kids really enjoyed it because it provided the hamburger and hot dog fix they wanted.
At dinner, you could order something from the grill. But they also had a soup and salad bar. Our steaks were really under cooked. My wife’s medium steak would have been rare in any other restaurant. And my medium rare was more of a blue rare.
The quality of the meat was actually very good. So I understand not wanting to overcook the steak. But, they definitely could have used some more time on the grill. I wish I had pictures but we were outside at night and the light was so bad the images aren’t any good.
El Molino – Buffet
Of the two buffets, this one had a more upscale atmosphere and we preferred the food here.
La Plaza – Buffet
The breakfast buffet was in La Plaza everyday we were at the Ziva. There were plenty of options, which was nice. And the quality of food was great – especially the omelettes. But, a week of buffet breakfasts left me wishing there was an a la carte option in the morning.
Coco Loco – Pool Snack Bar
We only had lunch at Coco Loco once but I would probably eat here more often on a future trip. You place an order on a slip of paper and then grab a seat inside or by the pool. The fish tacos were great (even if I didn’t get a picture).
Coffee House – Snacks and Ice Cream
Deli Cactus – 24 Hour Snacks
Room Service Menu
Bars
Bartenders and wait staff were proactive about refills. We never waited very long for drinks and the bartenders knew what they were doing. As a Diamond, we had gold wrist bands to tell the bartenders to use premium brands. This wasn’t the case 100% of the time. But, it really wasn’t that important to me and I never said anything about which bottle they grabbed.
My wife and I joked that this experience with the bars was a huge departure from an all-inclusive resort we visited in Jamaica. The lines were so long that I often ordered 4 beers at a time (don’t judge – they were 8oz pours at best). One afternoon I went to stand in line at the jerk chicken shack and my wife decided to head to the bar for me. I nearly fell out of my chair laughing as she came waddling back to our table with four beers because there were plenty of judgmental looks for a very pregnant woman with all that beer.
Spirit of 68 – Sports Bar
I was really happy the Ziva had a sports bar since our trip overlapped with the NFL’s Wild Card weekend and the College Football National Championship Game. Thankfully, the bar was never too busy and it was always easy to find a comfortable seat. In fact, I think there were more TVs than people every time I was there.
It’s worth noting they didn’t have servers during Saturday’s games. I don’t mind making the short walk to the bar. But, it did create a bit of a backlog for the bartender because everyone wanted to grab a fresh drink during commercial breaks. I also noticed many of the other guests were walking to the nearby Deli Cactus for snacks because they didn’t have anything to eat at the bar.
On Sunday, however, they had servers and salty snacks. So, I think they might have been understaffed or unprepared for NFL games on a Saturday.
El Agave – Tequila Bar
This was a really cool space tucked under the main staircase between the lobby and the pools. We never went at night when the bar was open. But, I did spend some time relaxing here during the day while the girls were napping.
El Piano Bar
I was only in the Piano Bar briefly but it seemed like a nice place to relax, have a drink and listen to some live music. I was really surprised how big it was. I can’t imagine ever having an issue finding a free table in there.
Other Bars
Bar AZul was the great swim-up bar for the heated pool. The bartenders there were fantastic.
There was also an open-air martini bar near Bon Vivant and Dozo called El Mirador. It was a nice place to grab a drink before dinner although there was a bit of a crowd since we weren’t the only ones who thought a pre-dinner cocktail sounded like a good idea.
Bottom line
Overall, the food was better than I expected, the service was very good and the drinks were fantastic. My biggest complaint is wishing there were more options at breakfast. Even with a huge selection, eating at the same buffet felt too repetitive after a week. If I was in charge, I’d open the beachfront La Hacienda for breakfast and give guests the option to start their day with ocean views and fresh air. The ability to make reservations was a nice benefit for Diamonds, even if our early schedule made it less critical for us. In the end, you have to like any place where you can eat your weight in guacamole and still have that be the first thing you miss when you get home.
Hi Mike, thank so much for this review! Right now I am at Hyatt Ziva and this review is very usefull.
I am traveling with a 2 year old and a 7 month old and having pictures and menus ready in my phone helps me tremendously to plan for the day.
This review was absolutely helpful for an upcoming trip with my family (2&5). It is great to see what foods they will be able to eat. Thanks for such a comprehensive review!
My family is looking forward to an upcoming vacation in June 2018. What are the wine and beer options? I realize there is house wine for the AI, but what is it??? Just wondering if I'll have to upgrade. And what beer, bottled or draft, is served with the AI?
Thank you for this. We go Away frequently, and I always hope for something like you've written that includes photos of the menus. I like to know in advance, being a vegetarian, what options I will have.
Is the French restaurant adults only? I thought I read that somewhere. I've been at other adult only restaurants and age 12 is allowed. Is that the case here?
We are at this hotel now, and as others have stated the food here is definitely underwhelming. The steak house is at most average, the meat is prepared ahead of time and then finished after you order. Steaks are very thin and way overdone with the salt. The quality is Olive Garden or worse at the steak house.
The Japanese is truly awful, there are now words for it. Aye at the sushi bar and...
We are at this hotel now, and as others have stated the food here is definitely underwhelming. The steak house is at most average, the meat is prepared ahead of time and then finished after you order. Steaks are very thin and way overdone with the salt. The quality is Olive Garden or worse at the steak house.
The Japanese is truly awful, there are now words for it. Aye at the sushi bar and it's just a slice of fish over so so rice, no wasabi or any kind of garnish, miso is not bad that's about it though.
French restaurant was decent, desert though excellent.
Buffet is plentiful, but just ok, definitely not worthy 5 star rating as all the sites make it out to be from the food taste perspective.
I have low expectation from the rest of the dining locations.
Totally disappointed in the food after reading so many reviews. On the fourth night, my husband developed food poisoning. We ordered room service two consecutive nights due to his illness. The service was fast but the food was cold and horrible. The Japanese restaurant was the worst I've ever had. I'm not a foodie but come on, not one meal was enjoyable. I've been to many all-inclusives, sadly based on food quality alone hyatt ziva was the worst.
Our kids really like Mexican food so they were pretty set most of the time. They do have a kids menu with the typical kids items (chicken tenders, cheeseburger, etc). The only issue is it's the same kids menu in all of the restaurants. So, it would probably get old if they order exclusively from the kids menu for any period of time. But, I'd bet the pickiest eaters will still find something beyond the kids menu.
Great review!
We will be traveling there this weekend with our 5 & 7 year olds. I don't think my kids will be too excited over the menus. Do they offer kid menus at any of the restaurants? What did your kids like?
Thanks
Stayed at the property in early Nov 2015 for my 15th wedding anniversary. I have to agree with others that the food was barely buffet quality in the specialty restaurants. Coco Loco had the best food and the Teppan was the worst I ever experienced. If the specialty restaurants were private, stand alone enterprises, they would all be out of business within a month from word of mouth.
We spent our time around the...
Stayed at the property in early Nov 2015 for my 15th wedding anniversary. I have to agree with others that the food was barely buffet quality in the specialty restaurants. Coco Loco had the best food and the Teppan was the worst I ever experienced. If the specialty restaurants were private, stand alone enterprises, they would all be out of business within a month from word of mouth.
We spent our time around the adults only pool since that was the only one heated during our time there.
For comparison, the Iberostar Grand Bavaro Adults Only Resort in Punta Cana was a much better overall experience in terms of dining quality.
@Beachfan - No issues at all. We always had plenty of bottled water in our room or at the bars/restaurants. And I didn't worry about eating the fresh fruit or vegetables.
Any food or water related GI issues?
@sunrise089 - The pictures here are pretty much broken up by meal. At Hacienda and Zaffiro, I didn't have pictures of our dinners there so you're seeing lunch only. Images of the two buffets cover a single meal (La Plaza is breakfast and El Molino is lunch). The other a la carte restaurants are only open for dinner.
As for customizing, you'd be fine with both examples you mentioned. In fact, the servers went out...
@sunrise089 - The pictures here are pretty much broken up by meal. At Hacienda and Zaffiro, I didn't have pictures of our dinners there so you're seeing lunch only. Images of the two buffets cover a single meal (La Plaza is breakfast and El Molino is lunch). The other a la carte restaurants are only open for dinner.
As for customizing, you'd be fine with both examples you mentioned. In fact, the servers went out of their way to accommodate most requests. The only thing I can think of where they seemed to enforce any "rules" were:
1. The full sushi menu is only supposed to be available at the sushi bar (although they offered to serve us in the main dining room and @Pegasus was offered sashimi without sitting at the sushi bar).
2. A large party (15-20 people) arrived at the Spanish restaurant and wanted to push a bunch of tables together to sit at once big table. The hostess resisted more than once until the guests started just pushing tables together themselves. I sort of wish that rule had been enforced because they were yelling to each other from opposite ends of a huge table and it was very disruptive to others.
I expected most of meals to be at least enjoyable…
That's easily available at any number of all inclusives in the 750-1250/night range and at numerous $500/night resorts where you might spend another $400 on F&B.
Looks pretty much in line with my other all-inclusive food experience. Meh. I never understand why someone would want to eat French, Spanish, Italian and American food while on vacation in Mexico. I would much rather go to a place that had several types of Mexican restaurants with different Mexican cuisines and levels of formalness. They need to hire Rick Bayless or a copycat ASAP.
That said, my girlfriend and I were both *terribly* underwhelmed by the food.
What did you expect given the price point? Cap Jaluca, as an example, is $995/night and a bowl of amazing pasta is $35.
I expected most of meals to be at least enjoyable...
Very much to the American taste.
Another question about the winelist. Why are they not giving any explanations on the different wines? How are you supposed to know which one to choose, I hope you are not supposed to know them all. Here in Belgium there will always be some explanation on how they will taste..
@Janelle - Supposedly, as Diamond, we're given upgraded wine, above the house wine. I googled the bottles and they were about $10 online. They were drink able, but we didn't expect much at that price point.
They gave us sparkling wine as welcome gift and they were about $4 online.
@Jenelle - They have their own house wine. Anything else has to be paid for.
I agree with other commenters. We stayed at the property in October 2015, and outside of the breakfast buffet which I thought was fantastic and Coco Loco which was consistently delicious, all other restaurants were mediocre at best. In all, the food was very, very underwhelming. The menus lead one to believe the food is fantastic, but the execution is terrible and virtually every dish we had was bland.
I am a wine drinker and I see the wine list with prices. But what were the free options for wine? Thank you!
First off, I loved our stay at Hyatt Ziva Los Cabos. That being said, the food was underwhelming. There were some hits, but really overshadowed by all the misses. The steak at La Hacienda was shockingly delicious and we liked Coco Loco very much, but everything else was below expectations. But, all the restaurants and bars were gorgeous so it helped to take away the fact that you were eating mostly crappy food.
Thanks for all the pics, but this review was underwhelming. Can you provide more detail besides the pictures as to what you liked, what you didn't like, and why? We have been to this Hyatt and were able to go to all the restaurants except the Italian one due to weather. I'm hoping you can provide some insight as to the dishes you enjoyed and which were not great. We definitely thought all the food...
Thanks for all the pics, but this review was underwhelming. Can you provide more detail besides the pictures as to what you liked, what you didn't like, and why? We have been to this Hyatt and were able to go to all the restaurants except the Italian one due to weather. I'm hoping you can provide some insight as to the dishes you enjoyed and which were not great. We definitely thought all the food was just 'ok' with Coco Loco being the best by far. Also, I agree with you on the cold kids pool. I have written the hotel and asked them to please heat the kids pool. I suggest you do the same. Maybe if we get enough pressure, they will make the change.
This is a super useful series of posts Mike! I have lowbrow food tastes so I'm loving the option to watch football with unlimited food and drink while my family hangs out at the pool nearby.
I'd echo wanting to know the same things beachfan and LS ask. I'd also be grateful if you could break up the photos by meal, since for some of a restaurants I think I'm seeing breakfast + lunch or...
This is a super useful series of posts Mike! I have lowbrow food tastes so I'm loving the option to watch football with unlimited food and drink while my family hangs out at the pool nearby.
I'd echo wanting to know the same things beachfan and LS ask. I'd also be grateful if you could break up the photos by meal, since for some of a restaurants I think I'm seeing breakfast + lunch or lunch + dinner selections but am not sure.
Also, do they allow any customization of options? If one wanted soup AND salad at the hibachi tables or two appetizers in lieu of an entree would that be permitted?
There is no doubt the food could be hit or miss. But we could typically find something we liked on the menu. We'd over order some times if we weren't sure what we'd like best. I'd say the Spanish restaurant was our most disappointing experience. French was OK (I liked my dish and my wife didn't like hers).
We liked the Italian restaurant but that varied from dish to dish. For example, I didn't...
There is no doubt the food could be hit or miss. But we could typically find something we liked on the menu. We'd over order some times if we weren't sure what we'd like best. I'd say the Spanish restaurant was our most disappointing experience. French was OK (I liked my dish and my wife didn't like hers).
We liked the Italian restaurant but that varied from dish to dish. For example, I didn't like the pizza and my wife didn't like the pappardelle alfredo. But, I really liked the lamb cannelloni. And I'll second that Coco Loco was a great place to grab lunch.
For the teppanyaki dinner, our food was good but the "show" aspect wasn't the most refined we've seen. The real problem there was the portions. I think our family of four would have been fine with just my portion.
Sounds like I missed out on the best liquor by skipping the premium lounge. But, I was fine with the Absolut, Bacardi, Jack Daniels, etc at the swim-up bar. But, be sure to ask for the brand by name or they'll give you the well drinks, even if you have the premium wrist band.
I agree with others... French is probably the best a la carte restaurant there. Asian was the worst. Sad that Coco Loco is the best restaurant even though they only open for lunch/very early dinner. Good shrimp tacos though!
The true premium liquor is at the Club Lounge. Great selection. Very quiet too.
You mention getting premium brands as a Diamond. Can you expand on the types of booze that were considered standard and premium? Absolut, Jim Beam, etc.?
I totally agree with @Aaron about the food quality. We stayed here in mid January of this year. It was our first all-inclusive experience for our family of 7.
Japanese food was the worst we ever had, yes, the worst. They made an exception and allowed us to order sashimi while sitting at the Hibachi table. The sushi rolls were like the refrigerated kinds at your local grocery store. Sashimi was low quality and...
I totally agree with @Aaron about the food quality. We stayed here in mid January of this year. It was our first all-inclusive experience for our family of 7.
Japanese food was the worst we ever had, yes, the worst. They made an exception and allowed us to order sashimi while sitting at the Hibachi table. The sushi rolls were like the refrigerated kinds at your local grocery store. Sashimi was low quality and not fresh. The steak and shrimps were so salty and no flavors.
We had better luck at the Italian restaurant. French restaurant was alright, two in our party couldn't eat the over salted seafood dish they ordered. Breakfast buffet was not worth eating. We headed to the lounge for bagels instead. The Coco Loco was the only place we enjoyed. We're from the Bay Area, we're spoiled by so many good restaurants.
We loved the heated pool with the bar. Great service. Free unlimited alcohol. Unfortunately, because of the awful food quality, we'll not come back unless they change it.
Thanks!
Would be interested in a little more commentary, especially regarding the food in the French restaurant. How did it compare to a similar restaurant in the US?
Did you eat the salads and/or other raw items?
Did anyone get tourista?
My girlfriend and I stayed there shortly after I got my Hyatt Diamond status match late last year, and we used my Hyatt free nights from my credit card. I must say, they treated us exceptionally well as Diamond members. Having only really held Marriott status before this, I was rather impressed when the property manager personally greeted us when we checked in.
That said, my girlfriend and I were both *terribly* underwhelmed by the...
My girlfriend and I stayed there shortly after I got my Hyatt Diamond status match late last year, and we used my Hyatt free nights from my credit card. I must say, they treated us exceptionally well as Diamond members. Having only really held Marriott status before this, I was rather impressed when the property manager personally greeted us when we checked in.
That said, my girlfriend and I were both *terribly* underwhelmed by the food. Now, we're definitely a bit of food snobs, and this was our first venture to an all-inclusive property. But, every restaurant was rather underwhelming. The French restaurant was ok, the Spanish restaurant was pretty meh, and the Italian restaurant was embarrassingly inauthentic - a step below Olive Garden. The hibachi restaurant was the worst of all. We had an apparently new chef who got egg yolks in the food when breaking the eggs, sweat everywhere, and overcooked the food to the point of being inedible. We shared the hibachi table with a Japanese couple who, despite being very friendly to the chef, left the restaurant with their plates basically untouched.
The rest of the experience was definitely top notch. The resort was quiet and relaxing, the room was gorgeous, and the staff exceptionally friendly and attentive. However, the food was so poor that we won't be returning any time soon.