Dozo is the Japanese-inspired restaurant at the Hyatt Ziva Cabo. It comes complete with teppanyaki grills, sunken Tatami-style seating, and lively sushi bar. We tried out the teppanyaki grills on our recent stay and so here’s my full Hyatt Ziva Cabo Dozo Review.
Table of Contents
Hyatt Ziva Cabo Dozo reservations
We started our meal at 6pm, right when Dozo opened up.
Reservations at Dozo were very tricky and confusing. We had a group of seven people and were told that they couldn’t reserve a table for us at the hibachi grill in advance (like a day before) and that we’d need to line up outside the restaurant before it opened to secure spots. (I thought you could make reservations as a smaller group but when we asked about that we got mixed responses.)
The line outside Dozo can get pretty long before opening so if you’re in the same boat, you’ll want to hang out by the door well before it opens up, which could mean 30+ min. That’s not too fun when you’re on vacation, so I wish they would improve that process.
Keep in mind that they are very strict about the reservations and expect you to be very punctual, so be mindful of that because they will start without you.
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Dozo
Dozo is pretty spacious with traditional seating and sunken Tatami-style seating. There’s a different menu if you’re not doing the teppanyaki grills, but we only ate at the teppanyaki grills so I can’t comment on those dishes.
I really loved the look and feel of the restaurant with all the red and black and thought it had a great vibe to it. I’ve found Asian restaurants at all-inclusive resorts to be some of the best restaurants on the premises like at the Hilton Playa del Carmen, so I had high expectations for this meal.
The meal
The meal started off with a little bit of a show.
And a little bit of flair.
Then they cooked up some edamame, which was very tasty.
I especially loved the edamame with a little bit of spice on it.
And then our chef started cooking up the rice, which was tasty but very buttery.
Like most hibachi grills, it was pretty interactive and he brought out some kids to help with things like cracking eggs. In fact, I thought the chef was definitely one of the better hibachi grill chefs that I’ve seen when it comes to engaging with guests and I’ve seen a lot of them.
There was never a shortage of fire.
They also brought out some sushi and California rolls.
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But I opted to try the salad.
They offered us options for a variety of protein: chicken, beef, shrimp, and salmon. I went with chicken and beef but tried the salmon, which was great.
Dessert
For dessert, we went with fried ice cream, which was my first time ever trying the dish. I wasn’t too crazy about it but it’s the type of dessert that’s not for everybody. The kids loved it though.
Final word
Asian restaurants at all-inclusive resorts tend to be pretty good quality and Dozo was no exception. I found the experience to be on-par or better with other hibachi grills and definitely worth a visit. My only complaint was the reservation process but hopefully, that can be fixed in the future.
Daniel Gillaspia is the Founder of UponArriving.com and the credit card app, WalletFlo. He is a former attorney turned travel expert covering destinations along with TSA, airline, and hotel policies. Since 2014, his content has been featured in publications such as National Geographic, Smithsonian Magazine, and CNBC. Read my bio.