One of the world's best restaurants opened a temporary pop-up in the Mexican jungle - here's what it's like to eat there

The new Noma location is on the edge of the jungle in Tulum, a resort town overlooking the Caribbean in Mexico.

It's an outdoor, open-air restaurant.

 

Chef René Redzepi describes Mexico as being a very sentimental place for him. "I consider it to be my adopted home, one filled with almost a decade of cherished memories from vacations with my family. The place that I dream about," he said on the Noma website.

 Source: Noma

Redzepi is known for his love of foraging ingredients from nearby forests and shores in Denmark. However, he claims that Mexican cuisine has also had a strong influence on his cooking.

 Source: Noma

Before the temporary restaurant opened for guests on April 12, Redzepi traveled through Mexico to find new flavors and ingredients with his former sous chef Rosio Sanchez.

 

 

"We searched to find that special chile, to understand the seafood, to taste just a few of the infinite variations of mole, and to find inspiration in the vast and wonderful culture," Redzepi said.

 Source: Noma

In an interview with Vogue, Redzepi said that spice would be one of the most important factors on his new menu. "Discovering spice is like uncovering a sixth flavor," he said. "So it's basically all over the menu."

Source: Vogue

Many of the ingredients he uses are locally sourced.

 

They're prepared in innovative ways.

 

The tasting menu costs $600 per person, including drinks.

 

There's plenty of seafood on the menu.

 

One of the most popular dishes is the "just cooked octopus with dikilpak."

 

The "cold masa broth" comes with lime and "flowers of the moment." Masa is the dough used to make tortillas in Mexico.

 

There's also a "coconut with caviar" dish.

 

For one of the desserts, they serve "grilled avocado and mamet seeds."

 

For another, it's chilis stuffed with chocolate.

 

For those who don't want to pay the full $600, there's a cheaper $100 bar menu, $90 of which will go to the Mundo Maya Foundation, which works on sustainable development in the local community.