Finally made it in to Quintonil. Tried to go in with minimal expectations, but they were definitely tempered by some negative feedback I’ve seen here. We did the dining room menu with the NA pairing.
First course was a play on atole. This came in the form of a chilled corn “gazpacho”. Thickened with corn and seasoned with some lime, this was a refreshing start that had us both excited for more. There was finely chopped hoja Santa and cilantro in the broth as well as brunoise onion, and a foam atop. Loved the little bites of onion which provided sharpness and set the tone for the refined comfort food that was to follow.
Next was a salad of shaved cantaloupe, toasted pepitas, marinated tomatoes, perched over a horchata foam with brown butter sauces table side. Refreshing, light, and savory. I appreciated that this wasn’t garnished with frivolous herbs. The pumpkin seeds were tossed in a smoked chili powder and the tomatoes marinated in a rice wine vinegar reduction. The notes of smoke, and brown butter added a savory edge that made this addicting. Pairing was a lemongrass horchata that imo detracted from the set.
Next was a tuna aguachile. Tuna was tossed with compressed jicama, and served with rolls of watermelon radish, a wasabi snow, and was swimming in a kale based aguachile. This was enjoyable enough to eat, though erred on the acidic side. My chief albeit small complaint is that this was more of a salad than a tuna set. Was nearly 1/1 tuna to jicama and then had the radish moved the scale even more. There were a few shards of pungent oregano that detracted from the cleanliness of the flavors. Tuna was of excellent quality. Pairing was a kiwi and grape tepache. Worked especially well with the wasabi, but it was just acid on acid.
Hot dishes now, duck pibil tomal. The most unctuous tamale I’ve had, filled with deliciously spiced duck. Topped with a buttery sweet corn foam and dusted with a burnt chili powder. Very successful and strong dish. The tamale was seemingly emulsified with the maximum possible amount of pork fat. Just held its shape yet melted in my mouth. Under the foam was a brunoise of a pickled or marinated chili that brought necessary balance. This was our favorite course. Pairing was a hibiscus and quava juice that was very acidic and did not work at all.
The eponymous taco course delivered. Each composition was delicious and nuanced in its own rite. It was fun and relieving to let go to an extent and just build your own tacos with plenty of combinations all of which were successful. Expertly cooked seabass, cauliflower puree, a salad of blanched broccoli soused shallots and corn shoots, grilled mushrooms in a smoky and savory grasshopper paste with purslane, unctuous bean puree with onion petals, the escamole guacamole, indiscernibly abalone chorizo, and a cactus aquachile that was challengingly slimy. Fun and rewarding course that came with house tortillas that the servers kindly kept bringing. Pairing was a beet and plum tepeche meant to mimic pinot noir. It was ok.
Final savory was a “panucho”. Really a taco, with a bean puree as its base, and topped with an oxtail marmalade spiced with smoky chilis and spices. Topped with some pickled onions and a charred chili jus. This was tasty enough, but a bit one dimensional. With the oxtail so rich with collagen and fat, it was difficult to perceive all of the layers of flavor as it was barely warm. Collectively, the flavors here were muted and a bit blunt. More efforts here to keep things hot would’ve done a lot. Pairing was a shaken and chilled cafe de olla with lemon. This outlined the molé notes of the oxtail but was entirely too generous of a pour about 5/6 oz.
The famous cactus paddle sorbet was delicious, light, and made for an especially effective palette cleanser. The slime of the cactus lends itself especially well to the texture of the sorbet. I suspect it would’ve taken a rather long time for this to melt on the plate.
Caviar with the cream fraiche ice cream was delicious. Hard to go wrong here. Decent caviar from Madagascar, cream fraiche ice cream with a bit of melipona honey, over a passion fruit jam and (stale) fuilletine. The service step of pouring a small spoon of honey to taste prior to the course was thoughtful. Alongside this was the most successful pairing of the evening. A sparkling tea of jasmine and oolong accentuated the subtle floral notes of the honey exceptionally well. It’s hard to imagine a wine could do a better job.
Final plated dessert was a mango sorbet folded with a coconut yogurt that had the texture of marshmallow. This was over some perfectly ripe mango dice and crispy rice. Atop was black sesame seed and toasted rice powder. Refreshing, light, and nearly all natural sugar. I loved this course. It hit all the notes of thai mango sticky rice, with the toasted rice powder adding a very clever and welcome dimension. The final pairing was a chilled drinking chocolate. Did not work at all with this course but within the context of the restaurant, it would be remiss not to serve this during the meal.
2 mignardise followed. One was a tartlet filled with panna cotta and topped with fresh mamey and finger lime. This was sweet on sweet and a bit monotonous in texture as the Mamey itself was very ripe, custardy, and yielding. An acidic layer between the panna cotta and mamey or a larger presence of finger lime would have helped. Second was homemade chocolate chip cookies. They asked how many we wanted. We had 6 lol. A delicious and thoughtful end. I really appreciate moments in fine dining where you’re served something very obviously comforting and casual.
Re service. There were a few hiccups. Pairings were at times at the table up to 10 minutes in between courses. Noticed another table was served a course with one guest missing. Service was on the reserved side, seemed that the folks were following a bit of a script. This is not a quiet or overtly formal restaurant. For me this is preferred, but I can see how this might affect another’s experience. To be entirely fair, the kitchen hood stopped working in the middle of service and the dining room briefly filled with smoke. One of the servers deftly removed the smoke detectors lol. Entirely possible this had the staff a little frazzled.
I found the food delicious. Misses were minor pitstops along an interesting and delicious meal. The cooking was intentional, precise, and educational. Notably, nothing on a dish was added that didn’t have a distinct purpose, there was a commendable lack of aesthetic herbs. Comforting flavors of elevated home cooking. I could see myself returning for a different season. I wish that the NA pairing was more intentional, it simply did not stand up to the cooking and while there were good moments, it largely didn’t work. I’m left feeling a bit like the staff is trying to emulate a level of service that’s expected of them, rather than offering a more authentic hair-down approach. Not trying to nitpick here, but the music was loud yet the staff was timid. If you’ve gotten this far bless you. Last note, this is the only michelin starred restaurant to date I’ve been to that has had a urinal.
by damastermon
1 Comment
Thanks for your very detailed impressions! Do you plan on visiting Pujol, too?