The wood oven of the Hartwood restaurant at the Tulum beach
This is my second visit to The Hartwood, the place set up by the new yorkers Eric Werner and Mya Henry. The Hartwood, and the excellent review it got at the Times is probably one of the reasons why so many New Yorkers are now heading to Tulum. From movie celebrities to bankers and models, you can now find a lot of people from the Big Apple in Tulum, and almost all of them go to The Hartwood.
The restaurant is clearly different from all the others in Tulum. In many ways it is very new yorker, with hosts really caring about a fast table turnover (the restaurant is small and there might be a waiting list in any night even in low season). But the service is warm, good and highly professional. The ingredients are top quality, hand picked from providers and markets and in the area.
This time I had the flat iron cooked giant shrimps, with a side (on the same flat iron pan) of a vegetables combination reminding ratatouille (red and green peppers, onions, zucchini, etc). They are cooked (as most hot dished) at wood oven, given them an unique taste. As a second I had pork loin, it was also excellent, the pork loin is very difficult to cook at the over without a sauce because it can dry very easily. The wine list is kind of short, but they have good options at a reasonable price (I had a LA Cetto Nebbiolo for $35). The bar of fresh cocktails is great (I recommend the watermelon, peppermint & vodka drink).
It can be pricey when compared to other Tulum restaurants (mains at approximately $20-30), but it offers really good quality.
