Atarraya — Restaurant in Oaxaca

This is a a review of two visits.

2nd visit 26 January 2024.

Came Back again on a Friday night. Very different vibe- Live music band of three persons but unfortunately the ambience was some what disrupted by the very large table of over 10 Person at the entrance of the restaurant.

This time the food same quickly. Starters In 20mins and mains in 40. We were done in - bit more than one hour.

The prawn tacos was not as good as the first time and the cauliflower was not as charred as the first- less intense taste.

The chilli with seafood which come with rice and black beans with steamed Tacos was nice.

The boiled then battered and fried octopus with potato mash was nice but small pieces of octopus tentacles.

Service was amazing this time which proves that the first visit service issues was very much a temporary issue.

1st visit: 23 January 2024.

Amazing food ( cauliflower and prawn tacos and dorado) unfortunately it took an hour to get ours starters and 2 hours before mains and 2.5 hours by desert. This was due to reduction in staff both Waitering and in the kitchen. So be aware that you could in for a very slow meal!

Beautiful open air interior with a beautifully lite bar at one end and plants and a tree at the other end.

Very nice well balanced gin martini and freshly made lemonade.

The complimentary nachos with two suave- red and green were excellent. The red sauce was chilli, corriander and tomatoes and the green was chilli and peppers.

The 3 tacos which took an hour to arrive- The prawn and cauliflower tacos were excellent. The fish tacos was good. The Quasedillas de huiltahoche 1 -mushroom , cheese was average. The dorado ie maki maki strips with colourful puree of beetroot , sweet potato and another veg was excellent.

There was only two options for desert and they had run out of the chocolate so took the other which was below average.

Service was ok, was running around quite a bit-They were also short .

We had complimentary mezcal for the wait which was good of the staff, and they apologised...

We were excited to try Atarraya, given its Michelin recommendation, but felt that both the service and food could use some fine-tuning for a more polished experience.

The food was good, but there were small details that detracted from the overall experience. For example, we ordered the mahi-mahi fish, but it arrived dry. It was topped with what seemed like onion shavings that were too tough neither crispy nor fresh, leaving an odd texture. They either needed to be crispy or vibrant, but these just felt dry and inedible.

When we requested the fish to be redone, they delivered it perfectly the second time. It came out beautifully moist, flaking apart with just a touch of the fork, exactly how fish should be. However, the waiter made an odd comment, implying that we "must like our fish undercooked," which was unnecessary. Fish shouldn't be overcooked to begin with, and it was strange to be told otherwise.

We also tried the tacos, which tasted delicious, but the fried fish inside appeared darker than expected, almost like it had been cooked in old or reused oil. Given that we had the first reservation of the day, this was unexpected. Additionally, the taco itself felt slightly dry, which was a bit disappointing.

The octopus chicharrón was good and flavorful. However, the accompanying potato purée, though tasty, had noticeable chunks, making it less smooth than expected.

The chips served with the sauces were thick and dry, making them hard to enjoy. Unfortunately, the desserts were underwhelming and didn't stand out at all.

Overall, it’s a nice spot with decent food, but it didn’t live up to Michelin-level expectations. We've dined at many Michelin-recommended places, and this one didn’t quite hit the mark. A few small improvements could make a big difference in elevating the experience.

*They don't have baby...

Atarraya – Michelin Mentioned, but the Dogs Had Better Taste

Atarraya, with its mention in the Michelin Guide, lured us in for what we hoped would be a festive NYE feast. Instead, we were treated to a comedy of culinary errors. Thankfully, the lively band and some delicious cocktails salvaged the atmosphere, while the two stray dogs wandering inside the restaurant brought unexpected entertainment. Interestingly, even the dogs had standards.

• Beef Jerky with “Valentina Sauce”: The jerky was so dry and tasteless that we offered it to the dogs. One accepted it begrudgingly, while the other sniffed and walked away, clearly the smarter of the two.

• Mushroom Taco with Seed Sauce: Raw mushrooms in a taco should be illegal. It was like chewing on the garnish from a failed salad bar experiment.

• Shrimp Taco with Pumpkin Flower: The shrimp was so far from fresh, it felt like it had been shipped economy class. Topped with avocado that looked like the inside of the shrimp

• Sea Bass in Chipotle Sauce: Overcooked and dry, the fish swam helplessly in a watery coconut-chipotle sauce that tasted like soggy cardboard.

• Apple Mille-Feuille: This dessert looked like a Pinterest fail. Unbaked puff pastry, a lonely apple slice, and granola that might have come from a budget cereal box. It was less “Mille-Feuille” and more “Mille-Fail.”

The silver linings: The band was excellent, the cocktails were genuinely great, and the staff was friendly—though their faces betrayed how sorry they were to serve this food.

For $2,500 MXN per person, the food didn’t match even a $200 MXN grocery bill. It felt like the chef skipped town to celebrate elsewhere.

Final Verdict: 1/10. Skip the restaurant, feed the dogs, and enjoy your...