It’s always a little scary when you decide to check out a steak place at a resort, especially when you are used to absolutely premier steakhouses in your own home town. (See my reviews for Asador Bastian and Bavette’s in case you are looking for an incredible experience in Chicago!) Unfortunately, Tomahawk Open Fire Latin Grill at Banyan Tree Mayakoba severely underperformed to the point where I think they should reconsider their concept.

Tomahawk is located, almost like a pop-up, at the Oriente Restaurant space, which is where you have your buffet breakfast if you are eating lagoon-side. We did get a table right on the lagoon, which was a nice atmosphere, but there really wasn’t a cohesive vibe to the place. It mainly felt like we were sitting at a random (albeit, very nice) table somewhere in the resort and they would bring us food there.

The highlights of our meal came at the very beginning, when we were served a grilled french loaf of bread with deliciously salty butter. The grilled bread was super crispy on the outside and delightfully warm and soft on the inside, with a nice, sourdough bite.

The Argentinan style beef empanada was also to die for. Amazingly seasoned beef encrusted in a flaky, warm, pastry shell? Nothing could be bad about this, and it was truly awesome.

For dinner, we decided to split the Kansas City reserve steak, which was paired with corn and potatoes. We also ordered fries and grilled zucchini as sides as well. The steak, unfortunately, while not overcooked, was very tough and clearly not of the same quality we are used to at home. It wasn’t seasoned with salt or pepper, or anything at all, or if it was, you couldn’t tell. This had to be one of the most disappointing steaks I have had in recent memory.

The fries were fine, although definitely nothing special or memorable. The grilled zucchini looked promising, served with an herbed cream cheese and pumpkin seeds, however the zucchini was overcooked and had no flavor at all, either.

When you claim to be a steakhouse or grill of any kind, your main attraction better be good. In this case, the appetizers (and bread!) were what stole the show. Skip this restaurant in favor of pretty much any of the others at Banyan Tree Mayakoba.