A Venezuelan gem - Kaxapa Factory in Playa del Carmen, Mexico

When visiting Playa del Carmen, Mexico, we stumbled onto an unassuming restaurant at the corner of calle 10 and Avenida 20 which is a short walk away from the main ADO bus station. Kaxapa Factory, is an inexpensive, unpretentious restaurant with friendly staff and lots of delicious vegetarian dishes from Venezuela.

We were warmly greeted by the daughter of the owner, who is originally from Venezuela, who explained the choices on the menu in fluent English, and brought us 4 small glasses of fresh juices to try. Each one was delicious and seasonal - I would recommend the passion fruit juice or the sugar cane with lemon if they have it. The menu was easy to read and had a whole section dedicated to vegetarian options.

I chose Cachapa, which is a pancake made from corn, sugar and butter, filled with black beans, cheese and avocado. The pancake was soft and slightly sweet,which was good contrast to the savoury filling. My husband chose Patacon, which was 2 fried plantain slices sandwiched together with beans, cheese and salad.It was a generous portion and an interesting mix of textures as the plantain was crispy on the outside but chewy on further mouthfuls. It was topped with a spicy tomato ketchup-like sauce. Another option was Arepa, which we didn't try, but looked like a bread roll made of corn filled with a similar concoction of beans and cheese.

This was our first experience of Venezuelan food and it did not disappoint! It was tasty, filling and good for diners on a budget - some may think that there isn't enough variety (as the fillings of each of the dishes are very similar) but we enjoyed our meal and it was a good change from the Mexican fare we had been eating for 2 weeks. Service was particularly good and I would recommend it as a quiet, simple place to eat away from the hustle and bustle of Playa del Carmen.

Peckish Pea rating: 4/5!

#dinner #budget #Mexico #PlayadelCarmen #LatinAmerican