Carmela y Sal — Restaurant in Mexico City

I want to come back to order different items! We had our closure to an amazing visit to Mexico City at Carmela y Sal. It was also our anniversary so it felt right to go to a special occasion.

The service is spotless, I informed the waiters in Spanish that my girlfriend is on a gluten free diet and it was the first time they didn’t look weird at us in Mexico City. Here the staff actually was aware of what it means.

We ordered the Tostadas de Mentiras as starter, and what a hit it was! If possible I would order this as a main! I won’t spoil the secret, but basically in Spanish when something is “de mentiras” what you see is a disguise. This dish looks like something and it is something else, just know that it’s a must!

For mains my partner got the sea bass (robalo) risotto, what an explosion of flavors, many spices that might seem like a risk, but in perfect balance. I got the fettuccini and shrimp, which I was doubting because it seemed like the basic b** option. But it was also a surprise! It was kind of sweet which was unusual for a pasta but with the rest of the veggies and spices somehow it worked.

For dessert we got the mangoes with the tapioca and rum/ rhubarb. What a dessert! Not too sweet, not too simple, very fresh. It was unique and different, full of taste!

We paired everything with a Mexican wine, probably our least favorite item, but that was on us.

It was a great experience and honestly fairly priced. We can’t wait to come back, I wonder for a plan with friends or double date if the atmosphere would feel less corporate, we went on a Wednesday night and it felt a bit dry, that might be our only critic, but please come to this place, it won’t be a regret.

Thanks to the staff for an amazing service and to the cooks for an...

Edited to add: if you search "reviews" and filter for "newest", you can see the time between supposedly "5-star" reviews is extremely suspicious. They are posted almost non-stop, which seems suspect, especially given the prices on the menu and the fact that the place is not large enough to service such a high volume of customers each night. Just be mindful...as this seems feedback structure seems entirely unethical.

The review: Hmm, where to start. Wait staff was brilliant; wonderfully responsive and attentive. Ambiance is on par with what one might expect at a really nice Hilton or Marriott hotel but not innovative nor unique. Drinks were...decent but odd (the Old Fashioned was nice but it is a more straightforward drink). The food was terribly disappointing! The corn risotto is basically elote but less favorable as the corn is not grilled/charred. I ordered the fettuccine and the cream sauce tasted like ice cream. Ice cream and shrimp is no bueno, not a good combination. I am not a chef but even I know that reducing an already sweet alcohol elevates the natural sugars making it overwhelmingly sweet. To pull this off requires a deft hand which, unfortunately, was lacking tonight. I returned the dish which is the only time I have ever done so at a fine dining establishment. Lastly, the seating is all wrong. Two tops are placed directly between six and eight tops which means an intimate evening for two will be spent yelling over loud groups instead of enjoying a...

We had booked a table from overseas seeing great reviews for this place. It was our daughter’s B’day. Requested for a good seating in the main hall. We landed the same day and despite being very tired we were looking forward to celebrate. It all went downhill from the start. The table given to us was near the bar area which was noisy and had no ambiance. The lady attending to us said she will change our table to a better place in 15 min. The manager came after 15 min saying they are very full and can’t change the table and will compensate with some nice dessert. I didn’t understand why he couldn’t change the table as people were constantly coming and going. There were many tables were the guests had still not come. We could have given those tables easily. The lady taking our order was very nice. She gave some very good suggestions. Food was well presented and had good flavors except some. The sea bass was not so interesting. We ordered the ceviche which we were told later that it was out of stock. By the time we finished our food and we were really tired and didn’t order any dessert. The special dessert promised by the manager also never came. Neither did they do anything special for the birthday girl. All in all it was not worth making an effort to go there to celebrate as there was nothing special that they did for the...