Quintonil is ranked No. 3 on The World’s 50 Best Restaurants list and holds two Michelin stars. It’s therefore safe to say that a visit comes with expectations. At least it did for me as I walked through the doors. I first visited exactly 10 years ago. At the time, the restaurant was already famous but still relatively young. It was also the first time I travelled solely for restaurants. In those 10 years, there have been big changes for both Quintonil and me.
We were seated by the bar, from where we could see every dish being prepared. It’s a seat I always prefer if possible. After all, you can learn a lot about a restaurant simply by observing the chefs at work.
In traditional Mexican fashion, we started with a cocktail, which we had plenty of time to enjoy as the first snack required a bit of patience on my part—30 minutes, to be exact, from the moment we arrived. Far too long for my liking, especially as it was the beginning of service and the kitchen wasn’t particularly busy. A bowl of mushroom broth with beans and just a touch of spice was comforting, delicious, and immediately made me forget about the wait. Fortunately, the remaining three snacks followed only minutes later. They showcased traditional Mexican ingredients such as tostada, mole and insects, but also ingredients I hadn’t expected to find, including lactose-fermented mushrooms. Together they clearly established the direction of the kitchen: one that combines Mexican traditions with modern international techniques to create deep, layered flavours.
At this level, presentation is a big part of the experience, and even a salad was transformed into a small piece of art. Delicate leaves and herbs were carefully arranged around a rich pumpkin seed and chili sauce, while cheese added texture. The dish was inspired by the nearby Chapultepec Park as seen from above. The flavours were every bit as impressive as the presentation, and in a city where tasting menus often focus heavily on meat, this bitter salad was a refreshing change of pace.
The next chapter of the meal was more classic. First came kampachi in an aguachile inspired by Veracruz. The sauce had far more depth than I was used to, with salty notes from capers adding another dimension. As I later learned, this is actually authentic to the Veracruz style, so what initially felt like a creative twist turned out to be tradition. Sitting in front of the kitchen, I had watched the trout being grilled and smoked in intervals, leaving it wonderfully crisp on the outside while remaining juicy inside. Mushrooms pickled in floral fig leaf oil added a beautiful sweet-and-sour contrast.
Then came one of my favourite Mexican dishes, and it was absolutely delicious despite its humble appearance. Pibil is pork slowly cooked underground with citrus and herbs until meltingly tender. The combination of bright acidity and rich pork was outstanding. To elevate it further, it was served with a light corn foam. The very best dishes are both refined and comforting, and this was exactly that. It was the highlight of the meal. The final savoury course was more luxurious: wagyu served with different succulent plants. Every country has ingredients that appear on almost every fine dining menu. In Denmark it’s langoustine, while during our time in Mexico wagyu seemed to be everywhere. Despite its obvious luxury, I preferred the more humble and traditional pibil, which I found both more delicious and, more importantly, more distinctly Mexican.
Melipona is a medicinal honey produced by stingless bees and found only in Mexico. It’s therefore an obvious ingredient to build desserts around—and with good reason, as its flavour is exceptional. Served as an ice cream with papaya and lavender, it made for a beautifully floral dessert that felt like the perfect ending after a menu filled with spice. As I generally don’t enjoy sweet wines, I appreciated that they instead paired it with sake—one of my favourites, IWA 5 which turned out to be an excellent match for both desserts. The second dessert was equally rooted in Mexican tradition: Mexican cornbread with vanilla and passion fruit. It was certainly sweet, but because much of the sweetness came from the fruit rather than added sugar, it felt remarkably balanced.
In true Michelin fashion, Quintonil offers four different pairings: Mexican wines, international wines, exclusive wines and a non-alcoholic pairing. I have enormous respect for restaurants that champion wines from their own country, even if they’re not yet considered world-class producers. Without support from the country’s best restaurants, those wineries will never improve. Despite that, I chose the international pairing, which proved to be excellent throughout the meal. At around $150—priced appropriately for the local market—you naturally won’t find many famous labels, as those are reserved for the exclusive pairing, but every wine matched the food beautifully and introduced me to several interesting producers. The non-alcoholic pairing also deserves special mention. Almost everything is made in-house, and the amount of work behind each drink was obvious. They all displayed complex flavour profiles and impressive balance. My favourite was their interpretation of the traditional drink tepache.
I loved my meal at Quintonil. It fully lived up to my expectations. The menu celebrates uniquely Mexican ingredients such as chili, insects and Melipona honey, while Jorge Vallejo builds flavour using an unmistakably international approach, creating dishes with remarkable depth and complexity. Sometimes that complexity is expressed through numerous components and intricate presentation, as with the salad. Other times it’s hidden beneath apparent simplicity, as with the comforting wagyu or the unforgettable pibil. It’s this balance between refinement and restraint that makes Quintonil such a compelling restaurant.
One aspect I increasingly pay attention to and find important is the overall length of the experience. At just under four hours, this meal was longer than I would have preferred, and with the first snack arriving 30 minutes after we were seated, the evening began a little too slowly. It was the only real weakness in what was otherwise an outstanding meal.
Practical information
Location: Mexico DF
Menu: 10 course tasting menu $350
Website: www.quintonil.com
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