Casa Mission Cozumel Restaurant

Casa Mission sits in an old estate house on the outskirts of San Miguel, and the setting is most of the reason to go: gardens, fountains, mature trees and a good deal of birdlife around the tables. It is one of the few places on the island where you are eating in a building with a history rather than in a room facing the sea.

The kitchen is traditional Mexican rather than the Caribbean-tourist menu that dominates the waterfront — which is the other reason it is worth the taxi. It opens for breakfast as well as lunch and dinner, and breakfast in the garden is arguably the best version of it.

Worth knowing

• It is inland, not on the malecón. You will need a taxi or a car.
• Book ahead for dinner, particularly on a day with ships in port.
• Tables are largely outdoors and under cover — pleasant most of the year, warm in August.
• Good for a group or a longer meal; it is not a quick stop between other things.

We list it because guests ask for somewhere that is not a beachfront tourist restaurant, and this is the answer we give. We take no commission on it.