Question: does anyone know what happened to the former doyenne of fine dining in Cancun?

Maybe it was the empty tables, the absence of a hostess, the fact that no owner was on site or perhaps it was the sad spectacle put on by the waiters, bumping 3 Stooges-like into each other as they scurried about, but the Critic got the impression that La Dolce Vita, a 30 year fixture on the Cancun culinary map, has finished its run.

No special martini or drink was offered. The Critic recalls that when you arrived at La Dolce Vita, after being seated by an attractive and attentive hostess, a waiter mentioned the cocktail of the evening (grape daiquiris made with real grapes, banana margaritas etc). Often there was live music in the form of a saxophone playera in the middle of the restaurant. The place felt ‘alive’.

No longer.

While the food was alright, the fact that the recipes are more or less the same does not a great dining experience make. The Critic remembers that the Caesars Salad, for example, was delicious back in the day.

Ensalada Cesar

What arrived at the table on this occasion was a rather excessively creamy yet curiously bland dressing smothering the orejona lettuce. The seafood platter looked spectacular, but turned out not to have much to offer in the flavor department.

Seafood Platter

Boquinete Wrapped in Pastry

The Critics favorite dish, the motivation that precedes every visit to the Dolce Vita in the last few years, is the boquinete wrapped in flaky pastry, baked and served hot with a lobster gravy.  This dish was as good as the Critic recalled, but somehow did not make up for the rest of the experience.

One thing that remains the same, however, is that the crocodile still comes to feed off the deck overlooking the Nichupte lagoon. And while the Dolce Vita has shrunk in the Critics eyes, the crocodile has grown to enormous proportions!