I always read up on resorts that I will be staying at, and that includes info from the resort’s website as well as resort reviews.  Remarkably, it has paid off over the years in that I have been able to take advantage of amenities like secret menu items, where to find hard to locate resort amenities, the “don’t miss” aspects of the resort, as well as “what to miss” so that I don’t waste my precious vacation time.

I had read that the Encanta Restaurant at Hotel Xcaret Arte was the most popular a la carte, but no one mentioned that the menu included ten courses with recipes invented and supervised in the Encanta kitchen by Michelin star chef Paco Mendez.  I guess I had not read up enough about dining at this resort!  I thought I was just going to sit down and have a very fine dinner, not a delicious and beautifully presented dining experience.

First of all, as soon as you have paid your resort stay in full, you must contact the resort concierge and request your “Wish List”.  The resort’s Wish List is a form where you can request reservations at  restaurants, all-fun inclusive excursions, spa treatments, etc.  (I will be writing a separate post discussing the Wish List). The Wish List is where you note the date you want to enjoy the amenity, the time, etc.; you will get a fairly quick response, typically within several days, informing you if you got your requests, or if there are any changes due to the resort’s schedule.  While I requested an 8 p.m. dining time at Encanta, the soonest time slot left during the weekday I requested was 9:30 p.m.  The lesson to be learned here is make your requests, particularly for restaurants, well in advance–DO NOT WAIT until you get to the resort.  You will most likely be out of luck if you choose to wait.

Encanta is located in the Casa de la Musica guest room building which is situated towards the back of the resort.  The restaurant is on the ground floor across from the outdoor theater stage area.  Encanta initially looks rather unassuming, you may be able to tell where the restaurant is by the small outdoor dining area (a majority of tables are located indoors).  While the ten course menu is pre-set, the chef will happily and quickly make substitutions for any food allergies which conflict with the pre-set menu.  This occurred with my dining party, and even the substitutions were yummy and attractively presented.

Diners can either go with the standard courses, or you can choose to have your courses paired with wines and tequilas; this will cost you an extra $50 USD p/person, however.  If you choose the standard presentation there is no extra cost, you have already paid for this dinner with your resort price.  My dining party chose the standard course presentation, and that alone took 90 min. to complete all ten courses.  If you tailor your course presentation, you will easily spend over 2 hrs. at this restaurant.  I found the service to be attentive but not intrusive.  Courses were delivered with speed after finishing each preceding one, but I never felt harried in the timing of the dining experience.

The restaurant setting included a large setup of hanging bottles close to the entrance.  Periodically during dinner, someone played a tune on the bottles which was quite entertaining, but then what can you expect from a restaurant situated in the Music guest room building?  There was a large bar area with an image-changing screen behind it; I imagine diners can be seated there and have a drink while they wait for their table, but my dining party was immediately led to our table which didn’t necessitate making a decision about having a drink at the bar.  Tables were well set apart so you don’t have to consider whether your conversation will be heard by neighboring diners.  While all-inclusive resorts’ general policy is that tips are already paid for, I felt the dining experience and service was well worth the extra tip.  If I had paid for this dinner at a private restaurant, the bill would easily have been hundreds of dollars.

Would I recommend dining at Encanta?  Absolutely.  While I generally don’t dine at what I consider to be “frou-frou” restaurants, this one was a pleasure to experience.  Maybe I enjoyed it more because I didn’t have to worry about the final bill???  But then, that is one of the aspects I so enjoy about vacationing at an all-inclusive resort.

Below is a short picture gallery I have put together. Just click on any of the pictures and you will be able to see a larger one with a caption.  I tried to remember what pics went with what dishes, but I may have made a mistake or two since I was so busy enjoying everything I ate!  Have a look at the picture gallery; what do you think?  Would you dine at this restaurant?