Someone greeted me on the entrance and checked my identify, then with a welcome cocktail in hand, I strolled the gardens and checked out plant containers stuffed with spearmint, cilantro, habanero peppers, cherry tomatoes, and extra. Tonight a few of these objects would present up on our plate, throughout a communal dinner at an extended desk on the La Ceiba dinner, an expertise at luxurious Rosewood Mayakoba Resort within the Riviera Maya of Mexico.
During two nights of the week, this greenhouse transforms right into a magical dinner spot hosted by the resort’s government chef, with a set menu the attendees take pleasure in collectively. Before the dinner begins, there’s music from a trio, bartenders making cocktails, and staffers providing tastes of top-shelf tequila and mezcal.
A Communal Experience on the La Ceiba Dinner
When every part is prepared, friends sit down at their assigned seats with a placard at an extended desk collectively and waiters begin pouring a number of the finest Mexican wines the chef has chosen to accompany the meal. During my go to the final supervisor popped by to say hey and the chief chef defined what they develop on web site, how they supply their meals, and what we’d be consuming that night.
I used to be glad I arrived hungry as a result of it was fairly a feast we had in entrance of us, all popping out of the open kitchen. We began out with a salad produced from greens, heirloom tomatoes, carrots, beets, root sprouts, goat cheese, and a Yucatan bitter orange French dressing.
Next up was the primary course of a fish filet topped by cherry tomatoes and a corn puree, plus grilled prawns with an achiote basting. Delicious!
We adopted that surf course with a turf one: a blackened rib-eye accompanied by a lamb tamal. Naturally, those that have been vegetarian or had different dietary restrictions put these in once they signed up and obtained customized platings that adjusted for his or her wants as a substitute. All the whereas the Mexican wine stored flowing, together with enjoyable conversations between individuals who had by no means met earlier than.
A couple of senior staffers have been seated on the desk as properly, fluent in English like practically all of them on the Rosewood Mayakoba, so we obtained just a little perception on their lives as properly. This resort is admittedly considered as one of many very high locations to work on the entire coast and it was good to listen to that the corporate tries arduous to carry onto the A-level individuals who gravitate right here.
We needed to make room for dessert, which was a singular providing with an actual sense of place. We had creamy corn with a corn cookie crumble, toasted corn ice cream, a dollop of mousse produced from a fruit referred to as mamey, and a crisp produced from epazote, an herb stated to help digestion. There was yet one more deal with although: waiters got here round pouring small glasses of Clase Azul tequila, one among my favorites.
La Ceiba Gardens and a Video Tour of Rosewood Mayakoba
This La Ceiba dinner within the gardens was a extremely particular expertise, one thing price reserving forward in case you’ll be on the resort on the appropriate night time of the week. (Wednesday and Saturday after I was there, however examine.) Luxury resorts are arrange for privateness greater than mingling, particularly at this resort the place the suites are so spacious and good that you just’re tempted to remain put loads of the time in your personal house. This dinner brings friends of varied backgrounds collectively in a pure means.
The communal dinner expertise is only one a part of this video tour beneath, however you’ll see all the opposite nice causes to ebook a keep right here too. Come tour the Rosewood Mayakoba seaside advanced and swimming pools, a number of eating places and bars, and some of the suites.
This was our third time coming into the grounds of this Rosewood and it actually does get higher every time. They’re consistently refining and enhancing their operations to current the very best visitor expertise. It’s additionally properly arrange for households too, which is good to see when there are such a lot of high-end resorts within the Riviera Maya which are adults-only.
This resort has gained stacks of awards and has come out on high in journal readers’ polls as among the best in not simply Mexico, however in all of North America. The La Ceiba dinner joins an extended listing of terrific eating places and bars which are memorable in several methods.
I couldn’t get many good pictures of its Zapote Bar, which has additionally been tagged as one of many finest bars in North America, as a result of it’s darkish and comfortable at night time. I obtained this shot earlier within the night although. To the left is the open kitchen: you possibly can see each the cooks and the mixologists in motion in case you’re sitting on the bar.
See our new detailed evaluate of Rosewood Mayakoba Resort and Spa within the Riviera Maya, north of Playa del Carmen.
See extra data on the dinner and make contact with data to make a reserving on the official web site.
Article by Timothy
Timothy Scott is the founder and editor of Luxury Latin America and has been masking the area as a journey journalist for the reason that mid-2000s. He has visited every nation we cowl a number of instances and relies in a UNESCO World Heritage metropolis in central Mexico, the place he owns a house. See contact data right here.