As you travel, you’ll sometimes come across a restaurant that has a menu anyone can order from but is obviously for the benefit of a niche group. Vegan restaurants are a good example. Similarly, the Halal Guys began in 1990 as halal carts on two corners in NYC, and now are a multi-million dollar franchise throughout the country, much to the delight of those who eat based on the principles of Islamic law.
Those who only eat kosher foods are another group who may look for restaurants that prepare meals in accordance with traditional Jewish laws. There are a lot of rules to follow so generally speaking, a restaurant will only commit to being kosher if it’s in an area where a significant number of Jews live or visit (read: you’ll find more kosher restaurants in Los Angeles than you will in, say, Fargo ND ;-)).
In the mid-late 20th century, Jews from the NYC area vacationed in the Catskills Mountains of New York State, and the restaurants in the big hotels at the time (i.e. Kutcher’s, Grossinger’s, etc.) were all kosher. Visitors could stay at the resorts knowing all their meals would be OK for them to eat (As an aside, although the big resorts are all gone now, there’s still a large Jewish population that lives in that area, and therefore many kosher restaurants can be found there, as well).
Borrowing from that mind thought, resorts in the Caribbean are learning that if they set up kosher restaurants, they open themselves up to an entire demographic that might not otherwise ever consider visiting. With that, a couple of Grand Hyatts are embracing all things kosher:
Grand Hyatt Baha Mar Resort
In December 2021, Grand Hyatt Baha Mar Resort, in the Bahamas, opened the first and only kosher restaurant at a resort or hotel in the Caribbean. Their 200-seat Latin-Asian fusion kosher restaurant, Cinkō, offers full restaurant service and Shabbat meals, as well as poolside and room service kosher meals.
The resort also has kosher-to-go meals, snacks and bagels at Cafe Madeleine, as well as kosher ice cream at multiple locations on the resort’s property.
Two months after Cinkō opened, Baha Mar Resort also opened a kosher food truck, called Knosh. It serves dairy, vegetarian, and pescatarian options.
Grand Hyatt Playa del Carmen Resort
It surely wasn’t a coincidence that on the coattails of the success of the kosher restaurant at the Baha Mar resort, another Grand Hyatt recently announced they were opening a high-end kosher restaurant as well.
The Grill at the Grand Hyatt Playa del Carmen Resort, located in Playa Del Carmen, Mexico is an upscale trendy modern oceanfront restaurant that offers a fine dining setting, combining the elements of music, flavor, aroma, colors and texture, featuring a gastronomic experience in a large and sophisticated space. They are IKM Glatt Certified and offer a Shabbat menu by RSVP.
As a popular tourist area, there are more kosher restaurants in Playa Del Carmen than there are in the Bahamas. But none are upscale, so this is still a change of pace for those looking for a nice meal that’s kosher.
More information about this newer restaurant, including photos and menu, can be found on Dan’s Deals.
As I said, this is a way for Hyatt to introduce themselves to potential guests who otherwise might never consider staying at their resort. A very smart tactic.
H/T: Dan’s Deals
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