The open kitchen at the new Blind Butcher. (Photo Credit: Hyatt Ziva and Zilara Cap Cana)
To enter The Blind Butcher, the sexy new restaurant at Hyatt Ziva Cap Cana and Hyatt Zilara Cap Cana, you walk through a refrigerator door that’s seemingly in a butcher shop. What you encounter on the other side, however, is anything but cold.
The lush, dramatic space envelops guests in a world where the dancing is steamy, the meats are sizzling, and the ambiance is hot, hot, hot.
Pedro Tomás, general manager of Hyatt Ziva Cap Cana and Hyatt Zilara Cap Cana in the Dominican Republic, describes The Blind Butcher as “disruptive fun.” The restaurant’s concept follows the trend of blending food and entertainment that has been so successful in such hotspots as Sexy Fish in London and Miami, and Salvaje in Madrid and Barcelona.
“You’re going to eat even better food than you would eat in a fine-dining restaurant, but maybe you’ll be served during a show that is happening just one meter away from you,” says Tomás.
So while you dig into your Beef Steak Tartar starter, for example—after a chef attendant grinds the meat in front of your table—a couple may salsa-dance down the aisle next to you, with one partner stepping up on a platform to perform Camila Cabello’s “Havana” on the trumpet.
Then, after watching your grilled lobster get flambéed with Brazilian cachaça tableside, you may get an up-close view of a pair of synchronized acrobats.
A trumpeter performs “Havana” tableside. (Photo Credit: Sara Perez Webber)
“It’s an experience,” sums up Tomás. “You’ll want to take pictures, and you’ll want to say to the world, ‘I’m here.’”
Outside the All-Inclusive Offering
The Blind Butcher is an extra option for guests (13 and older) staying at the family-friendly Hyatt Ziva Cap Cana and the adjacent adults-only Hyatt Zilara Cap Cana, both all-inclusive beachfront Playa Resorts properties in the exclusive Cap Cana gated community in Punta Cana.
The restaurant’s cover charge of $149 per person includes four or five dishes, wine, cocktails and taxes.
Diners enter The Blind Butcher through what seems to be a large refrigerator door—the first of many fun surprises. (Photo Credit: Sara Perez Webber)
“The Hyatt customer is a customer that is used to going to EP [accommodations-only] hotels,” says Tomás, adding that guests at Ziva and Zilara would sometimes ask for off-property dining recommendations. “We knew we had an opportunity for people that are willing to pay for a different experience. So we said, ‘Why don’t we create the experience in-house?’”
Inspired by South America
With The Blind Butcher, the hotels’ executive team aimed to create an experience unlike anything else offered at an all-inclusive resort. “The whole concept of entertainment plus food and beverage came directly from our CEO, Bruce Wardinski [chairman of Playa Hotels & Resorts],” says Tomás.
Inspired by the flavors of South America, Tomás and his team developed a backstory for the restaurant: “The Blind Butcher” was a legendary chef who lost his sight while exploring the jungles, ancient ruins and natural wonders of South America. As a result, his other senses became heightened, leading him to create gastronomic masterpieces. The chef then mysteriously regained his sight, after developing a mystical connection with the elements.
A chef attendant flambées lobster with cachaça. (Photo Credit: Sara Perez Webber)
The story weaves its way into the guest experience. Diners can choose menu options divided by the elements. An Earth starter, for example, is Pork Arepas, while an Air choice may be the Catch of the Day Ceviche. Water entrées include Josper Sea Bass roasted in a banana leaf while Fire mains include Creole Barbecue, with Manhattan steak Wagyu, short ribs and spicy Argentine chorizo.
Serving and décor details add to the fun. Carved monkeys swing from the ceiling; a cocktail called The Blessing, served in a skull-shaped mug, arrives in a smoke-filled box; a secret door in the wall leads to the restrooms.
Cotton candy and passion fruit foam top a ceramic monkey’s head in the Guarani chocolate ice cream dessert. (Photo Credit: Sara Perez Webber)
Focus on Culinary Satisfaction
While The Blind Butcher is a unique resort offering, Hyatt Ziva and Zilara Cap Cana have focused on high-quality cuisine since they opened as new-build resorts in 2019.
“We put a lot of effort into the food-and-beverage outlets,” notes Tomás, who has held the GM position since the resorts’ opening. Each property boasts six restaurants, and seven bars and lounges; The Blind Butcher occupies former meeting space, so didn’t change the number of all-inclusive offerings.
Chefs at the resorts hail from around the world, including Spain, Turkey, Peru and Mexico. “Having the brand Hyatt behind us has helped a lot to attract these talents,” says Tomás. Standout restaurants include Journeys, inspired by India’s Maharajas’ Express, where guests can dine inside a recreated vintage train car.
Its three Indian chefs serve a menu so authentic that it has boosted the resorts’ Indian wedding business.
General Manager Pedro Tomás says The Blind Butcher is a useful selling point for travel advisors. (Photo Credit: Sara Perez Webber)
Another guest favorite, Brandos, serves a French-Tahitian menu against a sophisticated backdrop of Gauguin-inspired murals, with tables surrounded by water as if they’re floating on islands. As the resorts capture a healthy amount of meetings-and-incentive business, Brandos has a reputation as a place where deals are sealed.
In fact, Tomás expects The Blind Butcher to be a popular option for groups planning special dinners for top executives and high performers. It will accept a limited number of reservations from non-resort guests. And he stresses that the new restaurant sets Hyatt Ziva and Zilara Cap Cana apart from the competition: “This is an element that travel agents can use to close deals.”
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