One restaurant in Mexico City that I wanted to check out but seemed impossible to book was Contramar, a venerated seafood institution in the city. I logged onto OpenTable to find open seatings for Contramar numerous times but just couldn’t find anything during our stay in the city. I asked the staff at the hotel we were staying at for help, and they suggested we try Entremar, the sister restaurant of Contramar (with supposedly the exact same menu) in the swanky Polanco neighborhood (which is also where Quintonil and Pujol that we had visited earlier). Our stomachs were still somewhat full from our dinner at Pujol last night so our lunch after visiting the Anthropology Museum (by the way, this museum was spectacular) was fairly light. That doesn’t mean we had a bad meal at Entremar, and I can’t stop thinking about one dish from the restaurant.

When we were going through the vast menu with our server and asked for a recommendation, he immediately turned to the tuna and sea urchin tostadas. We’ve had tostadas at multiple Mexican restaurants before, but the one from Entremar was really something else. The combination of texture between the fresh tuna and sea urchin was a marvel! I was hoping to try a few other dishes after the first order of the tostadas but after the initial bite, I couldn’t resist ordering another one right away. Even Jun, who is typically not a huge fan of sea urchin, admitted that it was a difference maker for the tostadas. Our server also recommended the “al pastor” king fish tacos with onions, cilantro and pineapple inside, and we also tried the octopus aguachile with red onion and chile of cuaresmeño (think jalapeño pepper). Both dishes were solid overall as well, with the tacos showing a unique smoky flavor of grilled fish, and the octopus with tender texture that would be a nice snack for a lazy afternoon.

As mentioned above, getting a reservation at Entremar is probably easier than Contramar, and while we haven’t been to the latter, I wouldn’t think you would be missing out much from visiting the former with all the delicious seafood dishes. The bright dining space with nautical theme makes the restaurant a very suitable place to enjoy weekend lunch. On our visit, it was filled with mostly local crowds ranging from large family gatherings with a bunch of children to old couples looking to have a good time. You can complement your meal at the restaurant with beverages from a rather large list and really can’t go wrong among beer, wines, cocktails and spirits (I felt compelled to try a glass of mezcal to enjoy with the food). I really wish we could’ve tried more fulsome dishes at Entremar like whole grilled fish; if you are looking to have a relaxing lunch with delicious seafood (and can’t grab seats at Contramar), Entremar is not a bad way to spend your weekend.  

Address: Hegel 307, Polanco, Polanco V Secc, Miguel Hidalgo, 11560 Mexico City, Mexico

KenScale: 8.0/10 (Jun’s Score: 8.0/10)

Website: http://www.entremar.com/english.html

Reservation via OpenTable