What It’s Like To Eat & Drink At An All-Inclusive Resort In Oaxaca, Mexico

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Secrets Huatulco Resort and Spa is an adults-only all-inclusive resort with beautiful views on the south coast of Oaxaca. It’s quiet and has an excellent secluded beach. But are the restaurants and bars any good?

This Secrets Huatulco review is different from many of the other reviews of the resort you’ll read. Since I’m particularly interested in food and drink, I visited all of the restaurants and bars at the Secrets Huatulco Resort and Spa. Therefore, my review focuses on the Secrets Huatulco all-inclusive dining options, so you can decide whether it’s worth it before you book below.

Spoiler: There are some good restaurants, but the food and drinks at Secrets Huatulco can be hit-or-miss depending on the cuisine. The service was consistently high-quality. Read on to get the most out of your stay, including my recommendations for the best dishes to order!

Secrets Huatulco Review Tips

Before we get to my reviews of all of the Secrets Huatulco restaurants and bars below, here are a few tips to get the most out of your stay.

The Hyatt Inclusive app (available for both iOS & Android) provides details about the hotel, including restaurant hours and menus. This app works well and helps you see what is open each day and the times each spot is open. Not everything is available every day, depending on how busy the resort is. It will help you plan out where and when to eat and drink so you aren’t disappointed. With nine restaurants and seven bars, there’s a lot to cover at Secrets Huatulco!

Each restaurant has its own dress code. The details for each are in the app. For the most part, you should be fine as long as you don’t look like you’ve just stumbled in out of the pool, but check for specific details.

In addition to the all-inclusive food and drinks (which the resort calls Unlimited-Luxury), Secrets Huatulco Resort and Spa also offers elevated experiences and premium drink packages. These options include beach dinners, private wine cellar meals, mezcal tastings, and bottles of wine.

We didn’t feel the need to spend extra for any of these experiences. Just know it’s an option if you want to splurge for a special occasion, such as a birthday or anniversary.

Secrets Huatulco Restaurants

Market Cafe

Market Cafe serves buffet breakfasts and lunches. It’s the place to go if you want something quick to eat. I wouldn’t call any of the dishes fancy, but everything we ate at the buffet was at least decent.

Breakfast Buffet

The breakfast buffet at Secrets Huatulco is a good way to start the day. If you’ve booked a regular resort stay (not the Preferred Club), it’s the only breakfast option.

There’s an egg station with made-to-order omelettes and other egg dishes. The line can get backed up, but the chefs are fast. My omelette was surprisingly light and fluffy, considering it was cooked quickly on a griddle.

There’s also a made-to-order quesadilla station plus other hot dishes.

Other sections include fruit, meat, cheese, pastries, French toast, waffles, and pancakes.

Lunch Buffet

The buffet seamlessly switches to lunch service in the afternoon hours.

The made-to-order stations include a grill and a vegan station.

Other sections include a full salad bar, meat and cheese, chef specialties, pizza and pasta, and desserts.

The pizza was one thing we avoided, since it looked pretty bad. Overall, anything involving bread was also pretty disappointing at the resort. I’m not sure how much baking is done on-site, but we quickly learned that the bread could usually be skipped.

Oceana

Oceana was my favorite dinner restaurant at Secrets Huatulco. It specializes in seafood and grilled dishes. Being by the sea, it’s one restaurant you’d expect to be a highlight, and it is.

It’s one of the larger restaurants, featuring indoor seating plus a patio.

The decor is sparse, as is the case at most of the Secrets Huatulco restaurants. I’m not sure why the resort doesn’t try to do a bit more to set the mood. It all has the vibe of Restaurant Wars on “Top Chef,” where the teams have to do something for their restaurant’s design, but most do the bare minimum, focusing on food and service instead.

We started with Caesar salad with shrimp, camaronillas, and tuna tartare. All were good, but the tuna tartare was excellent. It was one of my favorite dishes at Secrets. I recommend getting it.

I also recommend the surf-and-turf. One thing I noticed is that the freshly grilled dishes seem to be the way to go at Secrets Huatulco, no matter the restaurant. Other items are more likely to be hit-or-miss.

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My girlfriend had the mahi mahi, which was fine, if unspectacular.

For dessert, we ordered corn cake and a crepe, both of which were a nice way to end one of our favorite meals.

Spice

Spice is the Asian restaurant at Secrets Huatulco. It has both a regular menu and a teppanyaki grill.

The seats at the grill must be reserved in advance. Although there are 10 spots at each station and multiple seatings each evening, I recommend making a reservation as soon as you arrive if you are interested. That’s what we did.

The food was good, and the experience was fun, but I wouldn’t say it’s particularly unique. If you’ve been to other all-inclusives (or a Benihana), you pretty much know what to expect.

Service began with red or white wine (sake would have been a nice option). We then had to choose what we wanted for each of the four courses, including a spring roll or sushi, ramen or seafood soup, teppanyaki, and dessert.

I opted for the sushi, which was one of the more disappointing dishes I had at Secrets Huatulco. There was very little fish. I would avoid it. That said, the spring roll my girlfriend had wasn’t much better. It was heavily fried.

The ramen was nice enough. The broth was a little bland, but the rib in it was delicious.

It was the standard teppanyaki show you’ve seen elsewhere if you’ve had it, but Joaquin, our teppanyaki chef, was entertaining.

Everything off the grill was excellent. The beef was tender and flavorful.

There were two dessert options: fried ice cream and fried banana. They’re both tasty, but get the banana if you like bananas, since otherwise they are essentially the same dish.

The teppanyaki grill at Secrets Huatulco is a fun experience. It’s also social, since you can meet other guests at the counter. I recommend it as long as you can book it, especially if you’ve never had the teppanyaki experience before.

Tamarindo

Tamarindo is the Mexican restaurant at Secrets Huatulco. Given that you’re in Mexico, I’d say it’s a must-visit for the local experience.

We weren’t able to go for dinner, though we did visit for lunch. The lunch menu is the same Mexican-influenced cuisine as Castaways, though which one is open depends on how busy the resort is.

Tamarindo is the best-decorated Secrets Huatulco restaurant. It has a Día de Muertos-inspired look.

Service started with chips and guacamole.

My girlfriend had the fish tacos, which were sensational. It was one of our favorite dishes at the resort.

I opted for a combination of appetizers for my lunch, including ceviche, fried calamari, and shrimp cocktail.

The ceviche was nice, with a little bit of a kick to it. The shrimp cocktail could have also used that same kick, but it was otherwise decent. The fried calamari breading had great flavor, though it was a tad rubbery.

The tres leches cake is also quite good. 

Bordeaux

Bordeaux is the fanciest restaurant at Secrets Huatulco. As you might have guessed by the name, it’s a French restaurant.

There was bread service to start. It used the same bread elsewhere at the resort, so it wasn’t particularly French. As I mentioned earlier, the bread is where the food quality is most disappointing.

We had a couple of salads next, along with mussels and French onion soup. The French onion soup had good flavor but suffered without the traditional serving with lots of cheese in a ramekin.

The duck terrine was more like a duck burger patty, but it still tasted good. The vichyssoise was another highlight.

They were out of my first-choice entrée (the duck), so I had the stuffed grilled pork. This was the one time when we felt the service was subpar, as there was a long wait before the course. The pork was a bit dry, and the stuffing could have been better mixed so the ingredients were more evenly distributed.

My girlfriend had the beef entree, which was very good. I would stick with that if you’re visiting Bordeaux.

To wrap up our meal, we had a trio of desserts (the portions at an all-inclusive resort like Secrets Huatulco are small, which lets you try more dishes or have a smaller meal if you want). 

The crème brûlée tasted okay, though it was warm. I’m not sure if the opera cake was quite an opera cake, but it also didn’t taste bad. The lemon tart was the best of the three desserts. 

Cin Cin

The best thing I can say about Cin Cin, Secrets Huatulco’s Italian restaurant, is that it has great air conditioning. Otherwise, it was our least favorite meal.

The dinner menu includes traditional pastas, pizzas, main courses, and desserts.

We went at 7pm, which was an hour after opening, and it was busy. We barely managed to get in without a wait, though there was one by the time I left. All of the resort’s dinner restaurants are subject to waitlists, depending on how busy it is and how many are open. I recommend arriving a few minutes before opening or eating late for the best availability.

Cin Cin features a bread cart with olive oil, vinegar, and parmesan. One might think that with a showcased cart like this, the bread might be better quality than elsewhere at the resort, but you would be wrong.

We had the carbonara and the ravioli, which were passable, but not spectacular.

Then we split the Cin Cin pizza. It was basically the same pizza from the lunch buffet. I would best describe it as school cafeteria-level.

We had the panna cotta and the tiramisu for dessert. The panna cotta was fine. The tiramisu was as well, though it leaned much more on the espresso ladyfingers than on the mascarpone.

Unless you’re staying at Secrets Huatulco for a long time and want to try every restaurant, I would skip Cin Cin.

Castaways

Castaways serves all three meals, though not always, depending on how busy the resort is. It’s also only open to Preferred Club guests for breakfast, with one exception.

The open-air patio at Castaways offers beach and ocean views, making it the most picturesque restaurant at Secrets.

We ate here a couple of times for the à la carte breakfasts, which are a step above the buffet in quality.

Both the French toast and salmon cream cheese omelette were quite good. I recommend both.

Castaways is also host to one experience you may want to avoid. When you first check in at Secrets Huatulco, you will get the start of a timeshare pitch. One of the salespeople will then invite you to breakfast at Castaways (this is how you can visit without being in the Preferred Club). I recommend saying you don’t yet know your plans, which will allow you to duck out without scheduling anything.

Asado Grilled Experience

On Wednesday nights, the resort hosts a grilled experience by the pool. We weren’t able to go, but based on the grilled dishes I had elsewhere, I assume the quality is similarly good.

Secrets Huatulco also hosts other occasional special events. Check the app and daily calendar for the schedule.

We got to see a cool fire dancer show one evening.

Coco Cafe

Want a nice coffee drink or an afternoon snack? Coco Cafe is the place to go.

The cafe’s location near the theater means most hotel guests don’t seem to know it exists. On the one hand, it’s nice that there’s never a wait for a specialty coffee drink, but on the other, it felt like the staff were standing around with little to do.

We went every day for a quick caffeine boost. It’s the best coffee at the resort.

Barefoot Grill

Barefoot Grill is the poolside restaurant at Secrets Huatulco. It’s open every day during pool hours.

The menu includes bar grill basics such as burgers, hot dogs, and fries.

It’s standard concession-level stuff, but it’s fine if you’re out there. Otherwise, you’d be better off just heading inside to the buffet for a broader selection.

Preferred Club Lounge

Guests with Preferred Club reservations have access to the Preferred Club Lounge. There are special room rates that include the Preferred Club. It’s also a benefit given to Hyatt Globalist members. That was how we had access.

The Preferred Club benefits at Secrets Huatulco are not as impressive as those at some other Hyatt properties, such as Secrets Moxche. The lounge is small, and there’s no private pool.

The Premium Club Lounge at Secrets Huatulco is hidden deep inside their offices, so it’s not really a place that we felt welcome to drop into casually.

The lounge had snacks, drinks, coffee, and premium liquor, though the offering didn’t feel all that different from elsewhere.

Room Service

One of the special amenities at Secrets Huatulco is its room service, which can be done with zero contact through a private delivery box.

We had to try it at least once for breakfast. Breakfast is always my favorite time to get room service, since it’s nice to eat without having to get ready to go outside.

The breakfast service to our Secrets box was quick, and the food was pretty good, on par with the other breakfast meals we had in the restaurants.

Our mini-bar was also refilled each day. It included soft drinks, snacks, and beer.

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Secrets Huatulco Bars

The bars at Secrets Huatulco only really differ in location (and occasionally in vibe). You’ll see the same liquor bottles at each one. The hotel calls the selection “international top shelf,” but that’s a term that might be a bit of a stretch. Personally, I don’t think I would call it top-shelf, but the resort did at least stock popular brands.

The resort also offers two specialty cocktails each day, one with alcohol and one without.

I enjoyed the Marea Roja and La Consentida as a nice change of pace from ordering the same tropical drinks all the time.

Sky Bar

Sky Bar overlooks most of the property. Its sweeping bay views make it a great place to hang out at sunset. We could also see storms just off the coast.

At opening, the bar didn’t always look open, but a bartender would magically materialize. This was usually the bar we visited for the daily specialty cocktails.

Sky Bar has plenty of seating around the water feature, plus a few other comfy spots.

With live music at night, it’s a pleasant place to spend an evening.

Rendezvous

Rendezvous, the Secrets Huatulco lobby bar, has open, airy views of the property from right nearby.

Note: This bar is located right near the staff desks, so it’s possible that one of the timeshare membership salespeople might try to talk to you since they’re stationed so close.

Marlin Swim-Up Bar

There is one swim-up bar at Secrets Huatulco. It’s surprisingly small given the size of the resort, so it fills up quickly.

On our visit, we generally avoided it because it was the one part of the pool area that was always crowded, and the drink service was better elsewhere.

Barracuda Pool Bar

The Barracuda Pool Bar is listed as a separate bar, though it’s really the back side of the Marlin Swim-Up Bar.

As a result, it might not be staffed during the off-season.

Poolside Drinks Service

The service out at the pool was excellent.

Even though we were usually sitting at the farthest part of the pool area, a server frequently came around. We tipped a dollar or two per round.

I wouldn’t say the drinks are strong, but I’m also not trying to get trashed after one drink. Slow and steady is the way to go when you’re out at the pool all day in hot weather.

Desires

Desires is Secrets Huatulco’s “nightclub” and sports bar.

The space doesn’t open until late, and clubs aren’t really our thing, so this was one we didn’t spend much time at.

Showtime

Secrets Huatulco has nightly live entertainment.

The Showtime theater has its own bar.

Sugar Reef

Sugar Reef is a rooftop event space located above Oceana.

It wasn’t open while we were there, except for private events.

Secrets Huatulco Food & Drink Review Summary

Overall, the food and beverage offerings at Secrets Huatulco are hit or miss. If you’re a bit of a food snob like I am, you might find a lot to be mediocre, but there are some gems.

Stick to grilled dishes, seafood, and Mexican for the best dinner experiences. The buffet meals and a la carte breakfast were also decent.

Overall, the service was great. I could tell that the chefs at least seemed to care, even if some of the menus and ingredients they’re stuck with fall short. Secrets Huatulco should spend some time visiting other Secrets resorts, such as Secrets Moxche, to see what the restaurants and bars are doing there.

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