We visited Tulum in the Yucatan Peninsula In January 2012 to see the spectacular ruins of the Mayan walled city, perched on a low cliff overlooking the turquoise Pacific (thanks Wikipedia Commons for this pic of El Castillo. The sky was not quite as blue for us).
The town is a bit of a tourist trap. Tourists are typically there either for a quick stop to visit the ruins and the Sian Ka'an biosphere reserve and before moving on to the next site, or pseudo-hippies who seek out the expensive beach front hotels that offer daily yoga classes, but no hot water. We were very disappointed by our hotel and weren't expecting much from the restaurants either, so what a pleasure to find the Altamar. It's a restaurant that features modern Mexican cuisine (mostly seafood), which blends the chic and yuppie (there is a lounge with music upstairs) comfortably with the rustic. They offer cooking classes during the day, but we went for dinner to this lovely place. Seating is on an open verandah on the ground floor which backs onto the open kitchen. You may take one of the smaller tables, or share a larger communal table if you're feeling sociable.
"Those people are taking photographs of their food", whispered the guy sitting at the other end of our table to his girlfriend. And here they are:
The friendly and helpful waiter quickly brought a complimentary starter to the table (see above left): pepino, jicama (imagine slices of apple without the sweetness), nuts, nopales (salad made from cactus leaf), nachos and salsa. We had had a few very good cebiches at various places in Mexico, but the cebiche at Altamar was special. It was prepared in the Peruvian, rather than the Mexican style and served in a cocktail glass (above right), rather than on a flat dish, as we had seen in the rest of Mexico and accompanied by little packets of crackers, such as those that American restaurants serve with soup. Dominant flavours were the fresh prawns and fish in their marinade of lime juice and garlic, with a touch of chilli (coriander and tomato are common additions in the Mexican version of this fresh and delicious "raw" seafood dish). My mouth is watering just thinking of it. Tulum has a few highlights that make a trip to this very touristy town worthwhile and Altamar is certainly one of them.
Altamar is on Avenida Tulum, cnr of.Beta Sur, in Tulum, telephone: 998 282 8299.
"Those people are taking photographs of their food", whispered the guy sitting at the other end of our table to his girlfriend. And here they are:
The friendly and helpful waiter quickly brought a complimentary starter to the table (see above left): pepino, jicama (imagine slices of apple without the sweetness), nuts, nopales (salad made from cactus leaf), nachos and salsa. We had had a few very good cebiches at various places in Mexico, but the cebiche at Altamar was special. It was prepared in the Peruvian, rather than the Mexican style and served in a cocktail glass (above right), rather than on a flat dish, as we had seen in the rest of Mexico and accompanied by little packets of crackers, such as those that American restaurants serve with soup. Dominant flavours were the fresh prawns and fish in their marinade of lime juice and garlic, with a touch of chilli (coriander and tomato are common additions in the Mexican version of this fresh and delicious "raw" seafood dish). My mouth is watering just thinking of it. Tulum has a few highlights that make a trip to this very touristy town worthwhile and Altamar is certainly one of them.
Altamar is on Avenida Tulum, cnr of.Beta Sur, in Tulum, telephone: 998 282 8299.
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