Banyan Tree Mayakoba offers several restaurants on property with extremely varying degrees of quality. Being a Thai company, though, you could bet that their Thai restaurant, Saffron, would be one of the best, and you would easily win that bet. Saffron is Banyan Tree Mayakoba’s signature restaurant, and it is, by far, the best on property. We ate here one evening during our stay in February, 2026, however Saffron also provided the food for our superb Ixchel Lagoon dining experience which you can read about here. We also loved it so much, and it so far exceeded the quality of the other restaurants on property, that we ordered from Saffron for in-room dining, since, for our last night, reservations at the restaurant itself were not available.

Saffron is located on the lagoon, and if you get there early enough, you can watch all of the various birds and tortoises of Mayakoba hanging out in the evening while the sun goes down. They do a really great job, actually, of separating the folks who are dining as couples, versus larger families that might detract from the romantic atmosphere. As soon as you arrive, you are greeted with a Thai welcome ritual, rinsing your hands in rose petal water and you’re given a flower as well.

We were seated right on the lagoon, and we were able to spot plenty of birds and other wildlife on the lagoon, which was fun. Service here was completely perfect, and more along the lines of what I would expect at a luxury resort. The only drawback was that, as is the case everywhere else at this resort, the menu was via a QR code. Yuck.

That said, we were provided with a similar amuse bouche that we had during the Ixchel dinner – sweet saffron buns and impossibly thin, sweet waffle-like crisps.

We started with the appetizer sampler, which was extraordinary. You get extremely tender and flavorful chicken satay, crispy noodle wrapped prawns, and fresh vegetable spring rolls, along with a salmon salad and the most delicious dipping sauces. The sweet chili mango sauce is to die for!

Afterwards, we received a complimentary lemon ginger sorbet as a palate cleanser – an elevated touch, and presented beautifully.

For our mains, I ordered the pad thai with tofu and chicken, and it is probably one of the best pad thai’s I’ve tasted in a very long time. The peanut sauce was thick, but not gloopy nor greasy. It was perfectly spiced, and it was an excellent balance of protein and noodles. Everything was also mixed perfectly, rather than having all the protein on top, and I enjoyed that every bite had the perfect combo of flavors.

Brian ordered the Phad Cha Seafood, which came with enormous shrimp, mussels, calamari, and fish. It was quite spicy and filling, and came with some saffron rice to soak up the sauce.

We skipped dessert, but were still provided small, delightful cookies with our bill, again, presented beautifully and with intention.

I would note here, that the drink menu is essentially the same as everywhere else on property, where you will find extremely overpriced wines, beers, and cocktails, however they do have some special cocktails that are worth a splurge. I would highly recommend the fresh and summery “Not from the South” cocktail – one of the best I had on property.

Saffron is Banyan Tree’s Signature, and best restaurant on property. If you are staying here, or at any of the other Mayakoba properties, definitely make a reservation here. You will even need a reservation if you are staying on the property, as it becomes completely sold out every night, and it doesn’t seem like they leave any space for on-property guest last minute reservations. We, essentially, ate here three times in seven nights for the very good reason that its food and service far exceeds the restaurants around the rest of the property. Enjoy it!