The long and the short of it is yes, it is worth it — but it depends on what your perception of fine dining is and your experience doing a tasting menu. That is not me hedging. That is the whole review.
What Pujol is, quickly
Pujol is chef Enrique Olvera’s restaurant in Polanco, Mexico City. It has been open since 2000, it has twoMichelin stars, and the dish everyone talks about is the mole madre, a mole that has been aged andrefreshed for more than 3,000 days.
It is a prix fixe menu, so you basically get courses one after the other. At most courses you pick between twoor three options, and then the food just keeps coming. I ended up not doing the wine tasting menu — Iended up just getting cocktails on the side, and I would do it that way again.
And full credit where it is due: Hillary planned literally everything on this trip, including this booking.Reservations open on a two-month rolling window and the good slots go fast, so this was not a “let’s see ifwe can get in this weekend” situation. She handled it. I showed up.
Why I booked lunch
I liked making the reservation for lunch just because it allowed us to have a nicer view, be in the daytime,really appreciate the food, and be able to see everything in the light.
That last part ended up mattering more than I expected. Every plate at this place is pretty, and in daylight you actually see it — the colors, the flowers, all of it. If you are going back and forth between lunch and dinner, my vote is lunch.
My favorites were not the famous dish
Even though the restaurant is known for their mole, my favorite was actually the baby corn, the black beans,and the tabbouleh with the flowers in it.
I have an affinity for really simple foods that are done really well and look beautiful. That is exactly whatthose three were. None of them sound like the exciting part of a tasting menu. All three are the bites I stillthink about.
What was actually on the menu
So you know what lunch actually looked like: ours started with a choice of lobster, sea snail and Yucatecanlime cold soup, or beet carpaccio with buckwheat tabbouleh, cracked corn, jicama and chaya leaf. Thattabbouleh is the one I keep talking about — it comes with the beet carpaccio, and it has little white flowersall over it.
Next was the Mayan octopus with pork castacán and heirloom avocado, or a carrot and chipilín steamedtamal. For the main course it was fish moné in white recado beurre blanc, Durango Wagyu in black recadowith xnipec and quail egg, or a plantain escalope with pink pine nut sikil pak. I am not going to pretend Ihave poetic notes on every single course. I don’t. I know what I liked.
Okay, the mole
After that comes the course the menu just calls “The Mole madre, the Simojovel mole.” You get the molemadre next to the newer Simojovel mole, so you are tasting the aged one and the younger one together.
While I thought the mole was delicious, I’m not the biggest mole fan — but I can confirm that it was reallytasty. If you love mole, this course is probably your whole reason for going, and I get it. If you are like me, itis really good, and the rest of the meal is still the reason I would go back.
Nobody there was pretentious
Every single person on their staff is so nice. It’s not pretentious at all, which I think sometimes fine dining canget that reputation for — being a bit more pretentious and exclusive. But everyone was so friendly.
Even if you just scooted your chair out a tiny bit, there was someone at your beck and call, taking your chairout, anticipating your needs — like needing to go to the bathroom — and just always being on top of it. Wefelt very taken care of. That is the part I did not expect, and it is a big part of why I would tell a friend to go.
Dessert is two courses, and one of them is Menchie’s
Before the actual dessert, they bring out a palate cleanser: a small bowl with a single small white scoop in it.It looks like frozen yogurt. That is the whole bowl. One little scoop, sitting there by itself.
Then dessert arrives, and it is another bowl — this one with a big piece of orange papaya in it, and anotherwhite scoop. I got the papaya en tacha with Melipona honey and yogurt. The other option was a pumpkinseed financier with Chontalpa heirloom cacao ice cream.
And I have to say it because it is what I thought the second I tasted it: the yogurt reminded me of Menchie’s.I said it in my vlog and I stand by it. Then I looked back at the menu and realized the dessert literally isyogurt. So I was not even being dramatic. I was just right. It tastes like really good frozen yogurt because itbasically is yogurt — just the two-Michelin-star version of it. I mean that entirely as a compliment.
Who should go — and who should skip it
Go if you like tasting menus. If sitting there while courses come out one after the other, trying things youwould never order on your own, sounds like a good time to you, you will get why people love this place.Book the lunch. Get a cocktail. Let them take care of you.
Skip it if you find tasting menus tedious, or if you would rather order exactly what you want. Skip it if youwould honestly have more fun spending the money across a bunch of taco stands — Mexico City will notpunish you for that, the food is good everywhere there. And skip it if the price would stress you out for theentire meal. No lunch is worth sitting there doing math in your head.
The practical bits
Where: Pujol, in Polanco, Mexico City. Chef Enrique Olvera’s restaurant, open since 2000, two Michelinstars.
What I paid: $3,595 MXN per person for the tasting menu, VAT included. That is what was printed on ourmenu — the photo below is the actual menu from our lunch. Drinks are extra.
Booking: Reservations open on a two-month rolling window and prime slots go fast. Decide early and beflexible. Ours only happened because Hillary booked it.
Lunch or dinner: Lunch, for the daylight and the view. That is my strong opinion and I am keeping it.
Drinks: I skipped the wine pairing and ordered cocktails on the side. No regrets.
Dress code: Smart casual.
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