Contramar — Restaurant in Mexico City

Update 2025 #196, CDMX 2025 #103: this continues to be a difficult place to recommend.

On the one hand, it is a gorgeous place to have a very nice lunch with impeccable service. On the other, it is quite touristy and quite pricey.

If you do go, save room for dessert! The fig tart continues to be a can't-miss.

Other seafood spots I'd recommend: Mi Compa Chava and Marlindo.

CDMX Eats 2024 #64, Mariscos #9: I am very conflicted about writing this review.

This is my third or fourth time dining at Contramar, and in the past I typically told people to skip it and eat at Mi Compa Chava instead.

Overall, I'd give Contramar a ~3.5, but I'm rounding up because the service and atmosphere are absolutely 5/5.

We came here for lunch Saturday afternoon (highly recommend making a reservation) and started off with drinks: two beers, a margarita, and a piña colada. I typically advise friends against the margaritas here (too tart IMO), but my partner really enjoyed hers. It was a particularly hot drink, so I wanted a rum drink and landed on a piña colada. It was delicious, sweet without being too sweet, and very boozy. So far, so good!

I originally planned to order an order of tuna tostadas, an order of scallop tostadas, the pescado a la talla Contramar for my FIL to try, and obviously a slice of fig tart.

Once my FIL got his hands on the menu, he immediately ordered the pulpo a las brasas ($1,000/300-500g). We ordered the tuna tostadas ($375x4) alongside this to start. The octopus dish was huge, and while it was pretty tasty, it wasn't the best I have had and it was on the pricy side (IMO at least). More on the tuna tostadas later.

After finishing the first two dishes, we decided to forego the scallop tostadas (sad) but try to find room to get the famous pescado a la talla. I asked if they only wanted to do half, but the resounding answer was "no". The pescado a la talla Contramar ($800/600g) comes grilled half with a green parsley rub and half with a red, spicier rub. It came with fresh, blue corn tortillas (yum!) and frijoles de olla (also, yum!).

Every time I have eaten here, we have ordered the tuna tostadas (because I--and everyone else--loved it). I had the pescado a la talla on one of my earlier visits and it was dry and tasteless, so I had never ordered it again. This time the tuna tostada was just fine for me. The fried cebollita was overpowering, and comparatively (Pujol--maybe not fair--and Maizajo) it wasn't as good for me. My partner and her mother both loved it and preferred it to Maizajo's from the night before.

On the other hand, the fish was cooked perfectly this time and ended up being my favorite dish. While I enjoyed both sides, I particularly--and surprisingly--preferred the green side. I most enjoyed the fish a la taco in the delicious blue corn tortilla with some of the fresh beans, a squeeze of lime, and some salsa.

Last but certainly not least, I convinced the table to share a slice of fig tart ($185). My partner and I decided to share an espresso martini with the tart as well--never a bad choice! The fig, unlike the tuna tostada, didn't let me down!

For ages, I had always told folks if they came here to absolutely order the tuna tostadas, skip the fish (and margaritas), and definitely save room for a dessert--or two.

Contramar must be treated as more of an experience than a meal IMO. The vibe and service is phenomenal, and while the food is good, I don't think the prices are justified (yes, I get S&D, so maybe I should say not worth it for me). If you've never eaten here, definitely come and try it once (and get the tostadas, pescado a la talla, and the fig tart; and probably also try the scallop tostadas).

Otherwise, head to head, I'd rather go to Mi Compa Chava or somewhere else. I'll reserve eating here for when friends/family come to visit and are adamant about...

Upon recommendation of my Airbnb host, we thankfully made it here. Over two weeks traveling through Mexico, this so far hands down is our finest restaurant. Finally a fish restaurant. Finally an upscale trendy enjoyable dining place. Finally a restaurant that make sure diners leave happy and any problems are taken care of to the satisfaction of the diner prior to them leaving. This restaurant is a do not miss restaurant and in my opinion great memorable meals are had here.

From the the man out front to the waiters to the bartenders to the manager or owner, everybody was on point, smiling and enjoying their jobs. This is a sign of great leadership and management at this restaurant.

We showed up without a reservation and they were so nice to try to get us in quickly. The restaurant closes early at 8:00 p.m.

We ended up agreeing to be seated at the bar and for the two of us this was a great solution. The waiters immediately took care of us. We got a great view of the bartenders who work non-stop during the entire service. The dining room was constantly packed but not very loud. It was just a beautiful amazing experience there.

Drinks were great. We had cocktails and like everything else they were perfect. We got the octopus appetizer with potatoes and it was heavenly. We finished up sharing the baked fish which came out looking like a Mexican flag. That was also a really great meal with what we were told was Mexican caviar (beans) and corn tortillas. Salsas and condiments were also really great.

I got a very fine rosé to enjoy the fish with.

The dessert a tray was filled with the most sumptuous fawns and brownies and cheesecakes. Looking at it we just wanted them all. We ended up with the chocolate brownie done warm with vanilla ice cream and a coconut flan.

Are they take credit cards and American Express.

This is an upscale restaurant. It doesn't seem like they it tolerate mediocracy and either their service or their food delivery. It was top-notch and five star all around. Everything was excellent. Rest assured I couldn't imagine anything not being excellent at this restaurant.

Outdoor seating seemed okay but as we see in a lot of parts of Mexico you will have extremely rude smokers who decide to step away from their table inside and smoke right in front of the people seated outside. We chose not to eat outside for...

Maybe at some point it was good. We had a very bad experience - especially since we were so excited towards it seeing the reviews here. I’ll spare you a bad evening, if you enjoy good food and good service - don’t come here.

The service: once we arrived, it hasn’t been a minute a 3 waiters already jumped on us, asking what we want to drink, and took the menu QR code off the table. As we were waiting for our water, another waiter already came by and asked what kind of water we want. The rest of the evening followed that trend - there was an absolute sense of chaos in the air, nothing that should represent an elevated restaurant experience like it’s pretending to be. After we got our main, the waiter came by and said that the kitchen is closing and we should get more orders in if we wish (we arrived at 7pm on a Saturday and by 8pm the kitchen closes?!). Later the waiter came and just put the check on our table without saying a word and about 10 minutes later came again and asked: “cash or card?”. Nothing more. As we were sitting there, waiters started taking tables and chairs inside and outside (see pics). Nobody could ever convince me that this is a restaurant that takes itself seriously and holds itself to a high standard of service or professional level.

Food: overrated. Non of the dishes we have was even on par with most food you can find in CDMX or Oaxaca. The famous half and half “Contramar” fish was quite dry, although flavourful and well presented.

Atmosphere: it’s basically a stock exchange room. Waiters running around (literally), a constant very loud conversation hum, with loud music in the background. Tables are sat close to one another and the place itself really feels like a factory.

Bottom line: I don’t think this was an isolated incident. This is by far one of the most disappointing experiences I had (and for the money). Would not recommend anybody going there. Overhyped, pricy,...