Paul T.
Yelp
On this 2nd trip to Mexico City, we wanted to have another fine dining experience. On our previous trip, we ate at both Pujol and Quintonil. Both of those restaurants were excellent and memorable. Another reviewer stated that they enjoyed Raiz more than Pujol and Quintonil and so we decided to give Raiz a try for our one fine dining meal during this trip. (Also, we tried but could NOT get a Friday evening reservation for either Pujol nor Quintonil a couple of weeks in advance.)
On a Friday evening, it took an hour to hail an Uber and fight traffic to get to Polanco area just 6 miles away. So plan accordingly to make it on time. From reviewing their website, an appealing option at Raiz was that you could order a la carte or a tasting menu. We were presented with the a la carte menu and had to ask about the Tasting Menu. The server told us that it was 11 courses and named a few of the dishes when we asked what was being served on it. We decided to go with the Tasting Menu. (By the end of the meal, we noticed that we did not see any other tables that night had ordered the Tasting Menu.)
Service throughout the meal was professional but inconsistent and a little impersonal. They have a team approach to servicing tables so any of several servers in the small dining room might bring the next dish. Things that were neglected were refilling water glasses, not sweeping crumbs off the table between courses (but we saw a server do that at another table), not very many smiles and no acknowledgement of celebrating a birthday dinner.
The food was well prepared, visually appealing and tasted good. I can't say that there was any one special dish that really amazed me and stood out but overall it was good.
At the end of the meal, we requested if we could have a copy of the daily menu, which seems printed in house on paper, as a souvenir. They obliged and even had the chef sign it. What was surprising was that they signed and gave us a copy of the Tasting Menu. This was the first time we saw the actual Tasting Menu. Why the heck didn't they show us the Tasting Menu before we ordered while still considering whether to order the Tasting Menu or a la carte menu? I had even asked what was being served on the Tasting Menu that day and the server recited some items but not provide a copy of the Tasting Menu at that time. We assumed it was because the chef would make whatever was fresh and available that day. We would have enjoyed our meal more if we had known what we were eating during each course. Yes, the server did present and briefly describe each course as it was served, but it was often difficult to understand what was being said.
A dish that was NOT on the tasting menu but that we saw several other tables order was the steak tartare. The staff prepares this tableside starting with a fresh chunk of steak, proceeding to slice and finely chop it with a huge cleaver on an enormous natural cutting block, adding seasonings and then serving them on tostada shells. It's a marvelous presentation that takes a good 10 minutes of tableside prep time.
The Tasting Menu is relatively good value compared to those at Pujol and Quintonil. Raiz' 11 course tasting menu was $1300 Pesos, equivalent to $70 US. Pujol and Quintonil are about $110 US. From start to finish we were there almost 3 hours. If you celebrating a special occasion, I would recommend Pujol or Quintonil. While we had a good experience at Raiz, it was a slight let down after having excellent experiences at Pujol and Quintonil. Yes, it will cost more at those places but you will also remember the experience and feel special.