The best part about staying at an all-inclusive is eating your face off. And I didn’t hold back during my 3-night free stay at the Hyatt Ziva Puerto Vallarta last week. (I am currently doing a detox and running 4+ miles a day as penance.)

There are 5 restaurants here – and I ate at most of them twice!

Here’s what you can expect from the food at Hyatt Ziva Puerto Vallarta.

PV PLZ trip report index

• PV PLZ: How I Booked a $2,000+ Mexican Vacation for $90 With Points
• PV PLZ: Review of My Free Stay at the Hyatt Ziva Puerto Vallarta
• PV PLZ: Eating at All the Hyatt Ziva Puerto Vallarta Restaurants
• PV PLZ: Couples Massage at the Hyatt Ziva Puerto Vallarta Spa

Hyatt Ziva Puerto Vallarta restaurants

• Link: Hyatt Ziva Puerto Vallarta restaurants

You can choose from 5 restaurants:

• Blaze – Focus on seafood and steak, Mexican options here and there
• Case Grande – Authentic Mexican restaurant with a couple of steak choices
• Melanzane/Trattoria – The inside is Melanzane – dinner only. The outside seating area is Trattoria – lunch only
• Pureza – Asian options with Pad Thai, sushi, fried rice – the basics
• Vivaz – Buffet option open for every meal

I won’t cover Deli as it’s really just a coffee shop with boxes of sliced fruit. I grabbed a couple of coffees here, but didn’t dine.

Note: The linked menus below aren’t up-to-date. But will give you an idea, mostly. I snapped a couple that are current and included the pics.

1. Blaze

• Link: Blaze
• Breakfast Menu
• Lunch Menu
• Dinner Menu

This place was presented to us as the “resort fave” so I had high expectations for their steak.

I got the grilled beef tenderloin with mushrooms, herbs, and potatoes (the first option in the pic above).

It was… OK. I asked for it medium and it came out… well-done. Dark all the way through. I was hoping it would be so tender and juicy I wouldn’t need a steak knife. That wasn’t the case. I had to manhandle it to cut through it. The potatoes that came with it were fine. Ya know, meat n’ potatoes.

I ate about half of it and went to fill up at the buffet. Very underwhelming.

Breakfast, on the other hand, was amaaaazing. I got the corn fried tortilla based on the server’s recommendation.

The dish was simple, but a “greater than sum of its parts” situation. The sauce was fantastic, the chicken inside the tortilla was juicy and tender, and it all came together perfectly. Probably one of the best meals I had during my time at the resort.

I’d say definitely go here for at least one breakfast. And go for dinner to enjoy the view around sunset – but ask your server for something yummy. The beef dishes were lacking – the Mexican options might be the way to go here.

2. Case Grande

• Link: Case Grande
• Link: Dinner menu

This place is open for dinner, but wow. This was the standout for me.

We came here to grab the salsa and guac as a lil snackaroo a couple of times.

I ordered the rubbed chicken and ZOMG – must must try. Hands down the single best thing I tried. So juicy, tender, a bit spicy, grilled perfectly. *chef kiss*

In the sauce quartet they bring out, you’ll get:

• Traditional salsa
• Tomatillo sauce (spicy as all hell)
• Guac
• Smoky salsa

Seriously, the tomatillo sauce made me cry. I’m so white. I couldn’t handle it. My friend LOVED it though and said it made her face feel like it was on fire.

In both pics above, that’s the rubbed chicken on 2 different occasions. I started in pretty hard both times before it occurred to me to snap a photo. My friend enjoyed all of her food here, too. So I would say to definitely target this place for a dinner or two.

A couple of recs

They have mezcal here! I’d never tried it so thought this would be the perfect opportunity. Holy crap! It’s tequila on steroids!

If you’re never had it, definitely try a little – a shot the size of the thimble is all you need.

Alsoooo… we went right before closing one night and tried to drunkenly order a couple of things. I got a soup and a corn cob. The corn was dry as a biscuit. I took one bite and threw it down. My friend had a similar experience with her food.

It seems they prepare a lot of the food fresh when they open and let it sit under heat lamps until closing. So I’d say go as early as you can, as they do make things fresh in the restaurant (including the tortillas).

But yeah, def a highlight. The margaritas are stellar here, too.

3. Melanzane/Trattoria

• Link: Melanzane
• Melanzane Fine Dining Menu
• Trattoria Menu

This is the upscale Italian option. I came here for lunch (which is the Trattoria menu) and got the creamy chicken Alfredo penne.

It looks good in the pic, but in reality was bland. :/ I wanted to like it but it just wasn’t that great. I jumped ship and headed to the buffet instead.

They also have flatbreads for lunch. I wasn’t in the mood for a heavy pizza dish right before the beach. But that’s also an option.

We also grabbed an appetizer here with the intention of getting a full dinner. But this place was the only service blip we experienced. The server seemed so rushed and overwhelmed that it was more trouble than it was worth. Of all the servers, this is the only time anyone was less than gracious. But hey, we all have our days.

The caprese I ordered was very good for what it was (it’s a pretty simple thing to make). And my friend enjoyed her salad. But out while we could. Casa Grande is better for dinner, anyway.

4. Pureza

• Link: Pureza
• Dinner menu

Only open for dinner.

This was a quick stop for us. I got the sushi, which was fine, not great. We intended to go back again the next evening, but it was closed for a private wedding (guess I coulda just crashed 😝).

If you go here, I’d say the sushi is whatever. Try something else, like the fried rice. The service was great for the short time we were there. And I wish I could’ve experienced it more. But it ended up being a quick, one-and-done stop for us, unfortch.

5. Vivaz buffet

• Link: Vivaz buffet

The benefit to this place is it’s open morning to night, with only two one-hour gaps for changeover between meals.

So we popped in and out to pick up little snacks.

It’s a buffet. And with that, all the things that come with a buffet. Some of the items are stellar, some suck. You really have to follow your tummy here. If something isn’t great, don’t eat it – there’s plenty more to choose from.

Breakfast

For breakfasts, I stuck mostly to the fresh fruits…

…which were deeeelish!

I also had the salmon and many of the fresh fruit juices. So yummy. Although the selection is vast.

There are also waffles, eggs, savory veggies, and every other breakfast item you can imagine. It’s quite an impressive spread. They also do an incredible job of keeping everything swapped out and stocked.

I also liked that each breakfast had rotating hot options, in addition to the basics. For example, the steamed veggies were different each day. They did a good job of keeping it interesting. I had no trouble finding things I liked here.

Lunch & dinner

Ditto for lunch and dinner. Obvi more of a focus on savory and hot options. But still plenty of other choices too – even desserts.

We stopped by to grab snacks, the delicious juices, and infused waters, and to eat full meals.

The servers brought out coffee, mimosas, even margs upon request. I thought the buffet was excellent for what it was.

Not everything was great, but there were enough real gems in there to keep me happy.

Try the cactus – it was amazing and available for every meal. The chicken dishes were also superb. Very easy to get your fill here or just go for snacks between other meals.

Bottom line

• Beef dishes were lacking
• Chicken choices stood out
• Mexican options were stellar across the board (duh)
• Blaze is great for breakfast
• Case Grande is the best place for dinner (try the mezcal!)
• You can easily supplement everything with the buffets

Hope this gives a good overview of what to expect from the restaurants at the Hyatt Ziva Puerto Vallarta! All food and drinks are included in your room rate. So if you don’t like something, skip it! And if you love something, order another one!

If you’ve stayed here, are there any standout foods to try? And if I missed anything, feel free to ask questions! 

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