We read about Hartwood Tulum long before our trip to Mexico. The owners are a couple from Brooklyn, NYC. The guy, Eric was a Chef and his wife worked for Sigerson Morrison, my fave shoe brand of the moment.  I first saw the restaurant photographed by The Selby. What a stunning spot!  The Chef procures fresh ingredients from all over the Quintana Roo region of Mexico, many of which are not readily available.  Everything is prepared over an open fire. A generator sporadically provides light and music. But even when it doesn’t, the place is candle lit and the buzz of the hip crowd provide energy.

We heard it can be challenging to get in and the hours are 6-9pm, closed Monday and Tuesday. So we went the first Sunday we were in Tulum promptly at 6pm.   We were the first to arrive, which gave me plenty of opportunity to get some iPhone shots. I wish I’d brought the camera. Wow!  This was impressive.  And if you did not check out The Selby link, do it now!

The entire daily menu was written on a large board and the waiter joins you at the table to provide the details and ingredients.

We decided to start with a tomate milpa  (local tomato) salad and the shark dip, followed by the agave pork ribs and a whole pescado hoy (fish of the day) with a side of berengina (eggplant). This was enough food for four, easily, but we managed to pack it all in as well as a few of the outrageous cocktail specials of the day. Each was prepared with the freshest ingredients in a simple yet elegant presentation.

At the end of our meal we asked for a tequila recommendation and failed to ask the price. That was our only failure here.  In a cash only world, you have to anticipate how much to bring. We certainly never expected a $195 check in Mexico. It turns out our tequila, Clase Azul Tequila Reposado was $32 a glass.

That killed our evening since we had to go back to the hotel for more cash.  And that was the night we learned that if you pay with USD they use $11 as the exchange rate rather than the current exchange rate (it was $13 and change).   That was a $30 differential on this meal. But all our bad. We learned to pay attention from that pont forward.  But for a few hours we were in Brooklyn, Tulum.

If you ever go to Tulum, this is one of three spots on your ‘Must Do’ List. It was one of the most gorgeous spots we’ve ever eaten.  The others are Mezzanine Restaurant and Posada Margherita.