Hartwood
Be sure to arrive early, as the line starts to form long before this place opens nightly at 6pm. Serving dinner only, Hartwood was opened by New York expat Eric Werner in 2010, and is arguably one of the most invigorating dining experiences you will ever have.
Hartwood serves up the freshest local, seasonal ingredients in a stunning open-air setting to diners lucky enough to snare a highly coveted table. Each meal is lovingly prepared in the wood burning oven and open grill, with all other cooking processed powered by solar panels only, without the use of electrical equipment.
The menu changes daily and reads like heaven, however some highlights are the grilled shrimp, jicama salad and mackerel ceviche for starters, while the pulpo platter (grilled octopus) is a definite must for mains. A side of steamed beets is accompanied by a spicy avocado-like aioli, while the roasted sweet potato comes whole, lavished with honey, which only aids in boosting the natural sweetness of the vegetable.
The brilliance of Hartwood doesn't stop at the food. The quality of the cocktails is out of this world, with fresh juices combined perfectly with tequila, or any other poison of choice. Try the Habanera pineapple margarita for a spicy yet fresh take on the original.
Unless you travel here in a vacuum, you will be advised many times over to dine at Hartwood Tulum. The line to get in can hover around two hours long. If you didn’t know better, you would show up, scoff at the crowd and go elsewhere. My advice: Don’t. Instead, go early. Hartwood Tulum has no electrical appliances besides a single blender — almost all the food is mashed and blended by hand or thrown on the grill or in the wood-burning oven. That means the expat chef Eric Werner’s roasted whole fish with onions and herbs one evening; grilled octopus with roasted potatoes, chile and Mexican mustard greens the next. The dining area is as open-air as the kitchen, with citronella lanterns providing light and ambience.
Hartwood
Owned by 2 former New Yorkers, Mya Werner and Jack Henry. They visited Tulum, loved it and made the move to Mexico to open their restaurant. Werner was a chef at Peasant and Vinegar Hill House in Brooklyn (two of my favorites, may I add) and Henry used to be at the Soho Grand Hotel. They only operate using electricity generated by solar panels, and their menu changes on a daily basis depending on what’s available.
Only opens for dinner.
TULUM, Mexico – Hartwood, the remarkable open-air restaurant run by a pair of stylish ex-NYers, is not for everyone. It's only for those who enjoy fresh seafood cooked in a wood-burning oven and dining on a sandy Mexican beach. If you do not like tequila-based cocktails mixed with fresh juice and served in giant mason jars, stay far away.
And be warned, dining under the stars happens here. It happens! If a hermetically sealed, air-conditioned mega restaurant is more your speed, avoid Hartwood. If, however, you are among that breed of traveler who enjoys the rigorously authentic served with a healthy dose of eco-chic, you will love this place. You will come here and order lobsters and prawns and bistec and roasted potatoes and chilies and about seven grapefruit margaritas. You will take many bad photos on your iPhone due to nightfall and intoxication. You will forget it is an all-cash establishment and use your every last cent to pay your tab.
Afterward, you and your full stomach will traipse across the dusty road to the beach, wade waist-deep into a perfect, starry ocean, and marvel at your buena suerte.
But only if you want to.
FIND IT
Hartwood Beach Rd., Km 7.6
Tulum, Mexico 77780
Tulum, Mexico 77780
BEST OF THE WEB
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| There are probably thousands of articles like the ones above on the awesomeness of "Hartwood" The trip was in great part inspired by the articles I have read in the last few years. Nope not hype, seriously good food in a great atmosphere. I really didn't want to go home without this experience so we got on line the first night in town. The restaurant is just a scattering of candlelit tables in the jungle, and everything is prepared fresh and by hand, without electricity. Their menu changes daily, because they only use fresh, local produce, meat, and fish. We had the ceviche, the pulpo platter, the pesca del dia and the amazing grapefruit mojito cocktail. Everything was absolutely splendid. The skies opened up just as we finished eating. We ran back to our hotel in the pouring rain with full bellies. |
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| photo from bon appetit |
