Caribbean Grill Festival Returns to Puerto Morelos With More Chefs, Music and Local Producers

Puerto Morelos, Quintana Roo — The smell of food cooking over fire will return to the waterfront on October 24 and 25, when the fifth Caribbean Grill Festival fills Ventana al Mar and Parque Fundadores with grillers, tastings, music and an artisan corridor.

Mayor Blanca Merari Tziu Muñoz announced a larger edition of the event: 22 grill specialists from Puerto Morelos, elsewhere in Quintana Roo, Mexico City, Nuevo León, Querétaro, Jalisco and Spain. Organizers expect about 4,000 attendees, compared with the more than 3,000 visitors reported for 2025.

For residents, the weekend offers more than a meal out. They can watch cooks work with fire and smoke, try a class, hear live music and browse products made by local entrepreneurs, all around two of Puerto Morelos’s best-known public gathering places.

From a Cenote Gathering to a Waterfront Festival

The festival began in July 2023 at Cenote Maravilla on the Ruta de los Cenotes. That first edition brought together 14 chefs and more than 300 guests, according to the municipality’s account of the event. Grilled meats and seafood shared the setting with regional drinks and products, while artisans from Leona Vicario were able to exhibit and sell their work.

The second edition traveled to Isla Mujeres later that year. In April 2024, the third returned to Puerto Morelos for a beachside gathering at Acamaya Weddings.

Last year brought a change of scale. The fourth edition moved into the town center around Parque Fundadores and Ventana al Mar. The municipal preview described 14 grill chefs working under seven tents, alongside artisans, workshops and music. Organizers later reported more than 3,000 visitors across the weekend.

That growth helps explain this year’s plan for 40 stands: 22 for grillers and 18 for beverages and other experiences. Chef Luis David Sánchez Orea said the expanded group will include specialists from Querétaro, Monterrey, Guadalajara and Mexico City, as well as Spain.

What Visitors Can Expect This Year

Organizers estimate that the grillers will prepare about two tons of protein over the two days, including cuts of meat, fish and seafood from a range of brands. For people who enjoy learning as much as tasting, the program calls for 18 experiences, including grilling classes, workshops, masterclasses, wine and craft beer tastings, and a chocolate tasting.

The state tourism event listing gives the hours as 1 p.m. to 10 p.m. on both October 24 and 25. It lists early-bird admission at 150 pesos for one day or 250 pesos for two days, followed by advance prices of 200 and 300 pesos, respectively. Single-day admission at the gate is listed at 250 pesos. Children under 12 are listed as entering free.

The listing does not explain which food, drinks or classes are included with admission, so visitors should check the festival’s website for current ticket terms and activity details before buying.

Music will run alongside the food. Zuko García Miranda, the festival’s director of marketing and communications, announced DJs, local and invited bands, a group from Chile, and a performance by Daniel Gutiérrez, lead singer of La Gusana Ciega. Individual performance times have not yet been listed in the information reviewed.

A Weekend for Local Businesses, Too

Puerto Morelos’s Economic Development and Regulatory Improvement Secretary, Elena Gutiérrez Briceño, said an artisan corridor will give local makers and entrepreneurs room to take part.

“This festival is much more than a gastronomic festival; it moves the economy of Puerto Morelos,” she said.

For a visitor, that means the outing need not end at a grill stand. It could include meeting an artisan, finding a locally made product or returning to a restaurant discovered during the festival. Sustainable Tourism Secretary Karina Vázquez Díaz described the gathering as an opportunity for community life and culinary tourism, with spending expected to benefit local businesses.

Alejandro García, operations manager for Grupo Daniel Ovadía in the southeast and manager of Buba restaurant, thanked municipal authorities for continuing to support an event he said was born to stay in Puerto Morelos.

The festival also has a charitable component. For the second consecutive year, a percentage of ticket sales will go to Sistema DIF Quintana Roo. The festival’s own description confirms that part of its income will be donated.

Preparing for the Crowds

Merari said the municipality will coordinate Traffic, Civil Protection and Firefighters during the two-day event so people can arrive, enjoy the festival and get home safely. She expects the mix of visiting chefs and local cooking to encourage the cultural exchange that has become part of the festival’s appeal.

The forecast of 4,000 attendees is an organizer estimate, not a final count. Still, the increase in planned stands, classes and performers shows how far the gathering has come since its first afternoon at Cenote Maravilla.

For Puerto Morelos residents, the fifth edition is a chance to sample that growth close to home—and to see whether the extra attention translates into sales for the town’s cooks, artisans and other small businesses.