Owned and operated by Sylvie Goetz, Byblos is the summation of years of earned success working in the gastronomic branche in Luxembourg.

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1 By JP the Editor Byblos A Restaurant Review Fine French Dining is Sophisticated Causal at Byblos A bottle of white! OOh, a bottle of red! Perhaps of bottle of rose instead. Get a table near the street in our old familiar place, you and I face to face umm, umm" said Jean from Paris to his lovely latin mademoiselle C est La Vie! That s the love at Byblos, Playa del Carmen s premier authentic French restaurant. It s cozy, warm, friendly, sophisticated, casual, and oozing with air of amor. Owned and operated by Sylvie Goetz, Byblos is the summation of years of earned success working in the gastronomic branche in Luxembourg. You see, Sylvie s grand parents from her Fathers side came from Alsace - a well know region 1 / 7

2 of France known for its great food and from Britania in the north west of France - on the ocean. But really, it all started in Algeria that North African country that conjures up hot desert nights, souks of gold, and late night Kasbahs with belly dancers from far places. My grand, grand, grand parents meet when they were very young in Alsace and later moved to Algeria, who was a french colonie at that time, and that is where here parents met and where she wasi was born. Back then, Algeria when was with the French. Sylvie says. When the Algerians gained independence, the French had to leave. My grandparents went back to New Caledonia, a french island in the Pacific. My father returned to Paris. I was only 2 when the family returned to France. When my parents separated, I lived with my mother in Luxemburg - traveling to Paris for all my holidays. Thus, I was actually raised in Luxemburg. Sylvie expresses. What an adventure! My father was a grand gourmet and brought me to the best restaurants in France, and eating in the Auberge of Ill, one of the most famous 3 stars restaurant in the world, was a normal stop when going visting homeland Alsace. As my grand parents had wineyards in Algeria, and were in the wine busness, I learn all about wines, too, starting at 17 years with my first Gevrey Chambertain. My father teached me the best of the french cuisine and the best of the french wines. 2 / 7

3 What I know about it, I have to thank him. In Luxembourg, Sylvie opened up her first restaurant in It was an Italian Restaurant. My partner was an Italian man and we made it the best in Luxembourg. I loved this restaurant and for 25 years it was my love Sylvie says. In 1992, she opened a French restaurant in Luxemburg next door to her italian restaurant. And it was a big success. There it is where she worked together with great french chefs and increased her knowing of french coocking and learned the technical part. In 1996, ready to expand her horizons - to explore and adventure, she made a life change. Since I always wanted to be in the sun, I went for it. Sylvie says. 3 / 7

4 At first she traveled and lived in Chile. That lasted for one year. Then on a vacation, she came to Playa. That was in January I was told that Playa was paradise and I wanted to know what was this paradise says Sylvie. To Sylvie, the only paradise was Tahiti. You see, she had been to Tahiti and stayed for 3 months and loved it so When she arrived in Playa del Carmen, she could see and feel the paradise like the Tahiti she remembered. Playa del Carmen is as beautiful as Tahiti but it s not an island. I don t like islands. I go crazy in islands. Sylvie says emphatically. Mexico is such a beautiful country and the mexican cuisine is very good. Once in Playa, I realized how cosmopolitan it was - with people from all over the world eg.. France, Italy, Spain, America, Canada, England, Hollland, Russia, and more Sylvie says. In fact, in 1997, I counted people from 52 nationalities living here. That was then! Now? Who knows! Probably more and much more! From France via Chile, she actually brought her real French furniture to Playa del Carmen a little slice of home n est ce pas! 4 / 7

5 Then, after one year here in Playa, Sylvie began to miss the French food. She started cooking in her house and then decided it was time to open a restaurant again. No one here knew how to cook French food, so I had to teach them from step one. I then opened my restaurant. But of course, I used all the French furniture in the restaurant. Then I named it Byblos because this place reminded me of St. Tropez in France and since there was a famous hotel named Byblos, well that was the name! At Byblos, guests will find authentic French style food, not the nouvelle cuisine style but the home cooking style from all parts of France hardy, robust, and tasty, the food is for everyday. I change my menu 4 times a year with the seasons Sylvie proudly explains. I like to keep everything fresh for my guests. The restaurant has been opened since August First she was in the 5th avenue, now she is established sine august 2002 in the 14th street - with two dinning rooms one inside and one outside under the awning, both with air/conditioning. 5 / 7

6 Sylvie has now added a new wine bar, with terasse, where you can enjoy different little french plates, Foie Gras, Pates and cheeses with a glass of wine. The ambience is world class. At the beginning it was very difficult. Getting the right ingredients is very hard here. Some people told me I was crazy to have a French restaurant but really the Mexicans embraced it. At first, the locals are a majority and now the tourists also come and both keep coming back. On the menu you will find Fish, Soups, Pastas, Appetizers, Beef, Lamb and Poultry as- onion soup, escargots, Foie Gras, endive salad with Roquefort cheese, veal sweetbreads, mahi mahi filet with shrimp in cream sauce, green pepper angus filet, rack of lamb with rosmary and thyme, duckling breast with honey and sherry wine,... and beautiful desserts. Prices are reasonable for the community. Sylvie says while eyes wide open and filled with pride, I do this for fun and pleasure. I love to cook. I love the people. J taime! 6 / 7

7 Byblos is on 14 th Street in between 5 th and 10 th. The hours are 6pm to 1am Monday to Saturday, Closed on Sundays. 7 / 7