The Moon Palace Restaurant Review Thread

[MrsC2be]

Thanks, that is a good idea re the BBQ and i will check that out, especially if it has a nice beach view.

 

We're not actually getting married in a gazebo, we will be on the beach. My Miami WC is Claudia although I sent her an email at the weekend and had an auto-out-of-office reply from someone called pilmar (I think that was her name anyway). I haven't been given an onsite WC as yet but I know it's not usually til a couple of months before the wedding... have emailed Claudia with a list of questions in hope that she'll just get bored of me and pass me on to the onsite WC sooner ;-)

[Mrs D To Be!]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MrsC2be Thanks, that is a good idea re the BBQ and i will check that out, especially if it has a nice beach view. We're not actually getting married in a gazebo, we will be on the beach. My Miami WC is Claudia although I sent her an email at the weekend and had an auto-out-of-office reply from someone called pilmar (I think that was her name anyway). I haven't been given an onsite WC as yet but I know it's not usually til a couple of months before the wedding... have emailed Claudia with a list of questions in hope that she'll just get bored of me and pass me on to the onsite WC sooner ;-)

When I was still at miami contact stage, I emailed asking if it she could make sure it was ok to have an outside photographer as long as they stayed the night at MP..she replied saying she'd ask my onsite co-ordinator, and copied her in the email...so I got onsite contact really early! When you next email your miami contact, maybe ask the same in the hope you'll get in touch with your onsite co-ordinator....although bear in mind it's their busy season just now so might not reply quick....I was lucky that I first made contact with mine around september last year, probably a quieter time onsite.

[MrsC2be]

Thanks, I got a reply from my onsite WC (Valeria) yesterday. Was v impressed with the quick reply (sent my original email to miami on friday).

 

So, if any of you girls haven't heard from your onsite WC yet, just send an email (with lots of questions) to your miami wc and hopefully they will then forward it on to your onsire wc sooner than the usual '70 days before the wedding' :-)

[Leigh17]

I started working on my wedding review but decided I could get a restaurant review done faster, so I started with this & will now start working on my wedding review again. Overall, my entire group enjoyed the food & no one got sick on our trip. The website states that certain restaurants have dress codes, and they used to be very picky about enforcing them (so much so that on our last trip my uncle had to borrow pants from the restaurant to wear over his shorts when he didn’t want to go all the way back to his room). But they have given up on enforcing dress codes. The only limits now seem to be no wet bathing suits & no cut off sleeve shirts for guys. Otherwise, they let in anybody even to the restaurants that have a long pants dress code listed for dinner. Some of my cousins went over to Beach Palace in Cancun one day, & the dress code was enforced there & they couldn’t eat dinner there because the men didn’t have long pants.

 

Sunrise Section:

 

 

Lobby:

Sunrise has the nicest lobby bar. It’s a semi-circular bar with stools all around it & there are also tons of table in the area with servers walking around to bring you drinks. My family & friends prefer this lobby, so we always stay on this side. The disco Andromeda is also located in the Sunrise lobby. A lot of people in my group spent late nights in the disco.

 

Mo-Mo-No-Ha-Na:

This Japanese restaurant that serves sushi in addition to a full menu of Asian food was one of my group’s favorites. We went here as a group one night & they were able to get about 20 of us in divided into 2 tables. The food service was a little slow (& I never even got my meal), but overall everyone was happy with the food and some of our group went back here once or twice during the trip. They are open only for dinner.

 

La Gondola:

 

We went here for breakfast one morning & dinner once. The breakfast is a buffet and has pretty much anything you could want—even lots of things you would normally think of for lunch (like beef & chicken tacos). In addition to the food set out on the buffet, they have cooks making things to order too like the previously mentioned tacos, omelets, smoothies, etc.

 

We also went here for dinner one night. It is an Italian buffet at night, & we all enjoyed the food. This was one of the least crowded restaurants we went to, and it was no trouble at all to get a large table together. Along with the buffet, they had made to order pasta. This restaurant had some of the better desserts we had all week.

 

Bugambilias:

 

We ate breakfast here most of the time. The buffet is very similar to La Gondola. They have most of the same cooking stations as well. I had French Toast most mornings here made fresh at one of the cooking stations. The French toast was very good.

 

We ate lunch here on our first and last days. It has a lot of Mexican food as well as many other alternatives as well. My favorite dish here was the station where you could pick out your vegetables then have them grilled for you with your choice of meat. I had chicken and vegetables with soy sauce and it was delicious.

 

Palapa Fragata:

 

I never made it to this restaurant but many of my guests had dinner here & enjoyed it. It’s a seafood restaurant, and my guests enjoyed the seafood here more than at El Caribeno.

 

One couple in my group used part of their $750 Vacation Dollars for the romantic dinner at Palapa Fragata. They said it was pretty good.

 

Palapa Barracuda:

 

We didn’t make it here this trip. I’ve been here for dinner before & it was okay.

 

Nizuc Section:

 

Lobby Bar:

This is a smaller bar area than at Sunrise. It’s usually not as crowded as Sunrise. My family just prefers the Sunrise bar area better, so we usually hang out on that side.

 

None of my group (that I know of) went to El Manglar, Palapa Delfines, or Palapa Pelicanos.

 

Sweets & Desserts:

My hubby and I had great hopes for this place since it stated that is served crepes & we loved the crepes place at Aventura. We were very disappointed in the crepes and the desserts didn’t look that good either. We only went here one time. They just served one crepe (instead of the whole menu of crepes at the place at Aventura) & it was cold and just had some strawberry jam in it.

 

Los Caporales:

Five of us went here one night. We arrived about 8pm and they told us it would be a 1.5 hour wait. I couldn’t believe it would really take that long since it didn’t look that crowded and it was pretty late—but it almost did (1.25 hours). I had read great reviews on this site about the place so I really wanted to try it this time. They brought us some appetizers soon after we sat down (oftentimes at the MP restaurants they serve appetizers before asking what you want--and they're usually very good) & then they brought the extra appetizers we ordered, and then we waited quite a long time for the food (even though the restaurant didn’t seem that crowded). The food was good. I just wish the wait for the table & the food hadn’t been so long. I would recommend this restaurant, but I would suggest getting there earlier than we did.

 

Arrecifes:

We used our included reservation for up to 35 at the Brazilian steakhouse. We had a welcome dinner here the 2nd night we arrived. I kept pushing for other restaurants since our group hadn’t been very impressed with this restaurant last time, but there aren’t that many restaurants for a 10+ group (we had 22). I am happy to say that this time our entire group loved this place. The salad bar was great & the meat was pretty good. Some of the meat was a little overcooked, but there was so much variety that there was plenty of good meat to try.

 

My hubby and I also went here for our Honeymooners dinner (a part of what they give you when you check-in at the Honeymooners desk). I think this is the only restaurant where the Honeymooners dinner is served. It was okay. They served us a salad, a cream soup, shrimp & steak, & then a dessert from the dessert cart. They have a special menu prepared with your new married name. Although for us, they got confused & printed up a menu that said Mr. & Mrs. [my maiden name]. Overall, I think we preferred the regular menu at Arrecifes.

 

Grand Side:

 

El Caribeno:

We went here the first night because on our previous trip this had been our favorite restaurant. We got there about 8 pm and they told us it would be an hour to get our party of 20 seated (at a few separate tables). We went upstairs to the Rooftop Bar. The Bar was nice & served sushi which my guests enjoyed (I didn’t have any).

 

We were buzzed for our tables in just under an hour. The appetizers they selected for us were very good. The appetizers were the best part of the meal. It took a long time to receive our meals but not nearly as long as it took my dad’s table to get their meals. We left before they had even received their food. We wanted dessert but we were so tired from traveling and from waiting for dinner that we passed on dessert at the restaurant & tried the dessert place at Nizuc instead. Overall we were disappointed in the entrees at this restaurant. It wasn’t bad though. It just wasn’t as good as we had remembered.

 

Los Tacos:

 

This was probably my favorite meal all week. The restaurant was hard to find, but I’m glad we kept looking. It’s at a separate pool on the Grand section from the pool where El Caribeno is. There are signs, but even the signs are a little confusing. It’s not a restaurant either. Just a few outdoor tables by the pool. I had the Pepe Special tacos and my hubby had the beef tacos. They were both delicious! They served guacamole and chips before lunch and it was great. The guacamole is very good at MP and served at almost every restaurant. I definitely suggest finding this restaurant for lunch.

 

Golf Club Side:

 

Bambu:

 

We went here for lunch everyday that we played golf. It’s not listed as being open for lunch, and La Trattoria that was supposed to be open for breakfast & lunch never was open at those times. Bambu just has a hamburger/sandwich menu for lunch. My aunt loved her cheeseburger & said it was her favorite meal all week. I had the “Juicy Sandwich†each time. It was really just a grilled chicken sandwich on toast. It was good and served with French fries.

 

None of my group ever made it to Bambu for dinner.

 

La Trattoria:

 

Unfortunately most of my group didn’t make it to this Italian restaurant this time. One couple went for dinner and enjoyed it. We liked it last time we went and had one of our best dinners here.

 

Last time we also went here for breakfast & lunch every time we played golf but for some reason it wasn’t open at those times this time.

 

Snack Bar:

 

This was the only option for us to get any food for breakfast on the golf course side before golf. They just had cereal and a few pastries out. If you’re going to play golf early in the morning, I would suggest ordering room service before going out to the golf course. At lunch, the snack bar has chips, queso & guacamole out & you can order from the same sandwich menu that they serve at Bambu.

 

Overall we had a great trip and enjoyed the food. Our trip was from June 27-July 4, 2010, and the resort seemed pretty crowded. I'm sure at other times of the year, you won't have to wait so long at the restaurants. In our previous trips, we have never had to wait as long for tables and for food.

[SouthernSweetie]

Thanks Leigh. It was a pleasant surprise to see photos in your post. That really helps!

[Woodsylou]

thank you so much that's so helpful! we're definitely going to find los tacos! looks so lovely! can't wait for your wedding review! congrats!!

[alison15]

Thanks for the wonderful restuarant review! So helpful. Can't wait for your full wedding review!

[asbarret]

thank you so much. ive really been wanting to see pictures of restaurants!! i am going to do my best to remember to take pictures of things like restaurants, grounds etc. for future brides. im always hunting the web for good candid pics (i call it my wedding porn LOL!)

[luchdiamond]

Wow, thanks for the detailed review.

[MrsC2be]

Thanks Leigh17, your restaurant review is great!