The 500 Gramos Restaurant Story
When we came across the name 500 Gramos Grill we had to admit we thought it was a new restaurant in Playa Del Carmen. The reality was it has been open since November 2014. 500 Gramos Restaurant gets good reviews and is often busy. Here is why.
The concept of the restaurant
When Josie and Maury had the idea of starting a restaurant, they looked around at what was in Playa Del Carmen. This husband-and-wife team wanted to provide something different for guest. They loved the restaurant scene in Playa Del Carmen but wanted to offer good food and prices that would not be hard for tourist to pay and that locals could come often.
They realized there was not a good streak restaurant, so they came up with their own. With some Italian influences, they created a menu with great meats and pastas.
The name of the restaurant came from the 1/2 kilo T-Bone steak that is 500 grams. In recent times this restaurant has been sold to new owners, but they are carrying on the same traditions and taste.
Adding love and personal touch
Most of the good restaurants in Playa Del Carmen have the owners at the restaurant. It shows they care about the quality and care of the customers. Here at 500 Gramos Grill not only are the owners there, but they are also the chef and front of house.
Josie and Maury also put the personal caring touch by doing their own shopping and buying things fresh. They get all their beef from Monterey or Chihuahua Mexico. The best beef in Mexico comes from these areas. This is the grassy plains of northern Mexico which is just below Texas.
With a passion for great food and quality it is no wonder this restaurant is often full. There are many people that are repeat guest and know the secret about this restaurant.
The menu and prices
The main thing that people come here for is the meat. They are famous for their:
- T-Bone Steak
- New York Steak
- Filet Mignon
- Rib-eye Steak
All these are recommended dishes and come with choice of fries or potatoes and a choice of salad or grilled vegetables.
Best of all these steaks range from 190 pesos to 250 pesos. That is for a complete meal and about 50% less then what some other restaurant offer this at.
We had the below T-Bone steak. It was seasoned very nicely and cooked beautifully. This restaurant has some of the best steaks and the prices cannot be beat.
Appetizers at 500 Gramos Restaurant range from 110 pesos to 130 pesos.
The pasta selection has six options. Prices range from 100 pesos to 140 pesos. We have to say the penne pasta dish with mushrooms and crème sauce was wonderful! It was totally worth the 130 pesos. It was also a lot deeper of a bowl then it appears here in the photo.
Our recommendations
If you like steak or appreciate that family touch to a restaurant this is a place for you. If you appreciate value and a restaurant that loves what they do, this is a place for you as well.
This is a casual restaurant with very good food. For locals it is a good restaurant to add to your regulars to visit. For tourist this restaurant makes for a very affordable steak restaurant that is still on 5th Avenue. You can enjoy a nice meal here without breaking the bank or quality of food.
Note: This is a cash only restaurant.
What are the hours of 500 Gramos Grill?
This restaurant is open Wednesday-Sunday 2:00pm-10:45pm. Closed Tuesdays
Where is 500 Gramos Restaurant?
This restaurant is just off 5th Avenue between 34th Street and 38th Street. It is on a small Plaza called Plaza San Pedro. On the back left hand side of the plaza is the restaurant.
Have you been to 500 Gramos Restaurant? What did you think? Let us know in the comments below. We would love to hear from you.
About The Author
This is why I love coming to your website. You are always coming up with this great finds of restaurants. We went here last week and totally enjoyed it! Loved the steak and the couple that runs this restaurant is an absolute joy. Well done! and that is not just how I like my steak!
Hello Lidia
We are glad you discovered this little restaurant. We were really pleased to go there and meet them and the quality of the food. We will continue working on discovering more places and bring you more great stories.
Thank you for mentioning this restaurant. They work so hard for their customers and provide great meals for their guest. It is like eating at your aunts house. It is a caring couple that runs this restaurant.
Best steak restaurant in Playa del Carmen! Wonderful couple that runs it and the meat is always good. I love the fresh roasted vegetables and pastas there too. Good recommendation.
Super good food here. We ate here last week after seeing it on your website. Cannot thank you enough. It is super affordable and delicious.
The waiter was so nice to our kids here! He made balloon animals for our kids, that made their night and the steaks made ours!
When we went here last year we were in Playa it was one of our most memorable meals. We will definitely go back this year. It is good that it is still going good.
500 Gramos is a nice casual restaurant that have good value. We like it better then those fancy steak places on Calle Corazon. This restaurant is less then half the price.
We love this restaurant and make sure we go here for steak. Lovely people too! Forget those chain steak houses, this is where people should go.
You are so awesome! We love how you discover new places like this. This restaurant look very good. We will go here this week.
Had a fantastic steak diner the evening before we returned to Canada. You can be sure that 500 Gramos will be first on the menu when we return to PDC next year!!!
Just wanted to thank you for introducing this restaurant. We went there twice during our trip after seeing your video. Man, everything we tried were so good!
Thank you for letting us know Kim! We are glad you liked this restaurant. Safe travels and hope you come back soon.
Thank you so much for the great recommendation! We ate here on our last night in PDC and were so pleased with both the food and the excellent service. We have great steaks in the USA, but my family all said that these were some of the VERY BEST that they have had. Plus, the presentation was exceptional. The husband and wife owners came out and greeted us and we were very well taken care of by Alberto and his team. Thanks again for the wonderful recommendation. We were very pleased with three of the places that you had on your site and used them while staying at the Grand Mayan (too $$$ to eat there all the time).
Hello Carrie
We are so glad you got to use many of our restaurant suggestions and eat like a local! We hope to have many more for your next time you come.
Hi there
I had the T bone steak today. 18 ounces. Big and cooked exactly as I asked. Both owners were friendly and helpful. The price of the T bone with little potatoes and veggies was 270 pesos. A tip was added to the bill but the owner did ask me if I wanted to pay it. Which of course I did. It was 14%. Is this practice common?
We are glad you liked the restaurant. Tips can be suggested amounts but not added on to the bill itself. We will ask them about this. Thank you for your comments.
It is now 2021. We were excited and positive we would have similar experience as the past reviews. Not so much for us. The set-up, environment is very relaxing, romantic and with a good family, friend feel. It was busy when we arrived, we did not have a reservation but still a table available. We waited for 30 to 40 minutes for the served – all tables were waiting. Our meat was undercooked, we ordered medium and it came out rare with no blood. The owner blamed that a larger table was holding up all the other orders. No apps or main courses were being served to any tables, just drinks and just one piece of brochettes slice to each person. We had to ask for more bread because my husband was very hungry while waiting 30+ minutes for food. I ordered mashed potatoes instead of cut potatoes, which was told an upcharge of 60 pesos and I agreed to the upcharge however the mashed potatoes were instant brand not real potatoes – ugh! At the point we received our steaks and I could barely cut through the filet mignon we decided to just leave, not even a a taste of the meat. We explained we were not happy and the owner told us she could put the steaks on the grill longer and that if we left she would need to throw away the food. We chose to leave. This is not a normal reaction for my husband and it was uncomfortable for him but he did not want to be there and just left to find another place for dinner.
Thanks for the update Kim, I have been excited to visit 500 Gramos since I saw the initial review last week. Now reading your comments I’m not so sure. Things must have changed since 2018. I would love to see a few more recent reviews to see if you just had a bad night or if this is they way it is now. The fact that is was busy would suggest you had a bad experience.