Pujol was so bad
This is genuinely the first time I have ever written a negative review of a restaurant online. I typically don’t because I recognize taste is subjective and there is usually a family behind the business that relies on it as their sole source of income. I know negative reviews can hurt quite a bit, but holy fuck I felt like this place just straight up punched me in the face, shook me down for $600, then spit on me. There’s no way the Michelin guide and World’s 50 best were not bribed or sucked off when coming up with their ratings around this spot.
Pujol receives a lot of controversial opinions online. I gave it the benefit of the doubt, as I typically find that the my palate is more forgiving than the harsh criticisms of online reviews. It’s an iconic spot I just couldn’t miss.
The restaurant itself is beautiful. Service was ok, if you don’t go to fine dining restaurants often, you might think it’s above average. I don’t really care much for these aspects of the experience, however. To me the most important thing is the food.
It started with some grasshoppers, worms, and mayo slathered on a baby corn… just give me some real elote next time because what the actual fuck was this? Baby corn does not pair well with traditional elote flavors. The mayo was flavorless. The bugs sprinkled over it felt like a tourist trap gimmick. It came with a cup of very average soup and something else that was forgettable.
Everything that came after this was just simply not good. Unseasoned, forgettable flavors that I probably could have found at the worst rated Mexican restaurant in rural Kansas.
The dish they’re most famous for, the super old mole, is insanely overhyped. In-fact, the less-old mole it was served on top of was better. Nevertheless, this was the only dish we actually couldn’t finish because we didn’t like it. If you’re a huge fan of mole, it might be good… maybe? I’d find it hard to believe you couldn’t find something just as good elsewhere.
After all of this, we were super excited to at least finish with some flan. We both consider flan to be one of our favorite deserts and they managed to fuck that up too. Worst flan I’ve ever had.
Woke up the next morning at 4 am throwing up and shitting my brains out for the whole week after. Ruined my entire CDMX trip.
Changed my entire perspective on fine dining, world’s 50 best, and the Michelin guide. I’ve had some great experiences at Michelin star restaurants, a few that were just OK but at least had 1-2 great dishes that made it worth visiting. This one was just straight ass all around.