Cetli - Tulum

Walking into Cetli is like entering a living Frida Khalo house. It is an amazing aesthetic and sensory experience. Beautifully decorated with meaningful indigen... read more Walking into Cetli is like entering a living Frida Khalo house. It is an amazing aesthetic and sensory experience. Beautifully decorated with meaningful indigenous Mayan and Mexican arts and crafts. Then there is the food. Truly delicious and carefully plated and presented. This restaurant is not to be missed when in Tulum.

Walked in at 8 p.m. on a Monday and were the only souls in the place other than the kitchen staff and a server. We debated staying but decided that the raving Y... read more Walked in at 8 p.m. on a Monday and were the only souls in the place other than the kitchen staff and a server. We debated staying but decided that the raving Yelp reviews warranted trying out the food. So thankful we stayed! The complimentary appetizer plate came out just as pictured for everyone else. The tortilla soup (not pictured) just tasted like spicy tomato so I'd pass on that in the future. The highlights of our meal were the stuffed pepper (house specialty) and a surprise peanut candy with our bill. The boiled peel and eat shrimp in the huitlacoche dish needed something else but this was remedied by peeling them and letting them soak in the sauce for a bit. Go here! Get the stuffed pepper. It was so much better than anything we ate in the center of town and 1/3 of the price of our one dinner on overpriced Tulum Beach.

Cetli is located a little bit apart the city area of Tulum, outside of the hotel zone, so it's different from the overpriced, fusion items near the resorts as w... read more Cetli is located a little bit apart the city area of Tulum, outside of the hotel zone, so it's different from the overpriced, fusion items near the resorts as well as from the cheap tacos in the main city. Most of the items are different types of mole but there are other options for those not a big fan. Few things to note, all prices in pesos and cash only, and the restaurant is open air so beware the mosquitos. Appetizer Free 5/5 The complimentary appetizer is a whole meal by itself. It comes with many different small bites that are very different from each other and is quite the experience itself. Chile en Nogada $500) 5/5 This is called the specialty of the house for a reason. This is a well sized poblano pepper stuffed with all sorts of ingredients with varying tastes and texture. It is presented beautifully to match the Mexican flag. We only ordered one but definitely should have gotten at least 2. Istak $350) 5/5 This is a soft white fish in white almond mole. I've never had fish with mole nor white mole so this was very exciting to me. The fish is cooked perfectly, as in fully cooked but barely. It is super soft and very juicy. Even without the mole, it would not be dry at all. Subtle flavors but very delightful. Pachiuki $330) 4/5 Vegetarian with red mole. Similar style to Chile en Nogada above but vegetarian and not as pretty. Metztli $370) 4.5/5 The classic black mole with chicken. Cetli puts its own spin on it by adding plantains to add sweetness to cut the bitterness of the mole. Chicken was a tad dry but the excess mole on the dish helped with that. Ixoxoctic $370) 3.5/5 Green mole with chicken. Tad dry and underwhelming in flavors. Disclaimer: rating is relative to the other amazing dishes above. If I had this dish alone in the U.S., easily 4/5. I love mole but unfortunately, I only know what I've seen on Netflix shows. However, I can confidently say that Cetli gave a very diverse offering of different types of mole with different flavor profiles and ingredients, pairing different types of mole bases almond, peanut, classic) to different colors red, black, white, green) to different pairings fish, chicken, peppers). Definitely a one of a kind experience in my life and highly recommend to anyone adventurous or looking for something different in Tulum.

We absolutely loved this place. The atmosphere, service, everything was wonderful. The food was outstanding. The flavors on the chile en nogada are so insanely... read more We absolutely loved this place. The atmosphere, service, everything was wonderful. The food was outstanding. The flavors on the chile en nogada are so insanely good, and we loved the cheese enchiladas. Such delicious sauces. Can't recommend this restaurant highly enough. Our only regret was not going back a second time!

I love this place. Came here twice while on my honeymoon and it was perfect because im a mole freak. Everything was so fresh. The chefs were amazing and thank y... read more I love this place. Came here twice while on my honeymoon and it was perfect because im a mole freak. Everything was so fresh. The chefs were amazing and thank you for the appetizer with the oranges and bread cheese. I am going to miss you guys. Only place I ate twice in Tulum, so that should say it all. The staff was amazing and forever one of my favorites