Museum Restaurants in CDMX / Restaurante Tamayo: The City's Most Charming Terrace
Contemporary Mexican Cuisine in a Space of Beauty, Peace, and Color.
By Alejandro Pohlenz
One of Rufino Tamayo's (Oaxaca, Mexico, 1899/1991) qualities (though some might disagree) was his divergence from the three great muralists of his era—Rivera, Orozco, and Siqueiros—regarding the "political content" of his work. His artistic aspiration was to create something more "universal." That is, less propaganda and more "art," if one can put it that way. What can be definitively stated is that Tamayo "is considered one of the most prominent figures in modern Mexican art." His most distinctive legacy is the museum that bears his name, founded in 1981 by him and his wife, Olga Flores Rivas.
The museum's architectural design was overseen by Teodoro González de León (whom we mentioned when discussing MUAC here, in Food Police). Architect Abraham Zabludovsky also contributed to the design. The building has an air similar to the INFONAVIT building in Barranca del Muerto: concrete, angles, large spaces, light, and shadow. What's incredible is that it still feels modern. Take a look:
To top it all off, the museum's location, embraced by the ancient trees of Chapultepec Park, is idyllic. The museum, they state, "was born with the vocation of bringing international contemporary art closer to the Mexican public."
The Beautiful View of the Trees
Regarding the restaurant we're focusing on today, some descriptions, I believe, are at times grandiloquent (to put it euphemistically). Judge for yourselves: "its contemporary Mexican proposal seeks to harmonize with the spectacular space where it is located in the Rufino Tamayo Museum, in Chapultepec." Nevertheless, what is truly delightful (besides the food) is that terrace that soars above the treetops of Chapultepec. The place is called, of course, Restaurante Tamayo.
What About the Menu?
Let's take a quick look at the menu. There's a cheese board, cauliflower tetralogy, salmon or sea bass aguachile, plantain sopes (wow!), wild mushroom soup, quinoa salads with red fruits, beets, and smoked salmon, and a burger that's a protein explosion: beef and pork, 3 cheeses, chili jam (?), and pineapple gel. The Tamayo sandwich is also noteworthy, with turkey ham, bacon, and egg. Of course, there are fish and various meats. What's truly striking is the chile chiloco (a chili stuffed with beef fillet) and the duck carnitas.
They also serve breakfast and a very anti-diet chocolate sponge cake accompanied by red fruits. Mmmmh!
CLOSED
