Humito Cocina y Foro 8 Temblor — Restaurant in Oaxaca

Our party of two couples visited Humito on Saturday Feb 26th, 2022. We were incredibly excited to go as Lila Downs is the owner and we’re huge fans (we’ve seen her perform and she’s amazing); some friends of ours who live in Oaxaca had recommended we visit. The physical location is beautifully and tastefully decorated. Regrettably, the service was a disaster.

As soon as we were sat at our table, the table behind us were an older American couple who had been asking the server for their change. They could not communicate as the server did not speak English. In our party we’re all natives of Mexico who have lived in the US for some years and we offered to assist with translating. The long and short of it is that the older couple said they were expecting change because otherwise the tip would have been 30% (the customary tip in Mexico is 10%-15%) and the server seemed truly surprised they were asking for change. They said they had been waiting for over 20 minutes. This should have been our clue.

The server took our drink order and I asked for a mezcalini; it was gross. We also asked for papas bravas and two pork dishes. When the pork was served, both dishes were cold; not lukewarm… cold. We called the server over and he suggested the kitchen could just warm it up a little. We explained how unsanitary and dangerous it is to serve unproperly prepared pork. He went to the chef who was visible to all our tables and the chef proceeded to yell at the server loudly and flail his arms around like a mad person (we observed this behavior for the rest of our stay). When the waiter returned, we asked for new forks as we had used them on the first (and only bite) of the pork and again he was surprised when we explained to him the concept of cross-contamination. We ordered two more dishes and only one arrived. The one that did arrive was a shrimp dish that was delicious.

We don’t blame the server; it was blatantly obvious he was asked to perform a job for which he received little to no training. What we found unbelievable was the abusive behavior by the chef towards the staff and the total lack of coordination of staff.

It is clear that great care was taken in decorating the place; if only the same care was taken to hire a competent general manager, perhaps they could turn their situation around. If not, there’s no way they can compete with the many, many outstanding...

Very beautiful location and atmosphere. Food is flavorful ( pork rib on carmelized sweet potatoes). Service is not rushed at all, we finished appetizers and drinks well before our dinner order was taken. So, order the appetizers WITH your main meal.

If you want to hear weekend music you must make a separate reservation for the upstairs performance space We stated while reserving that we would be there for dinner and music. But we were seated in the main dining area since the performance space was "not yet ready" when we arrived. Unfortunately we came for the music and once dinner was finally complete after 1 hour plus and the music had started we were told there was no space for us upstairs and that we could not even stand in back and would have to leave! That was an unusual request I have never ever experienced after 30 years of Oaxacan visits, and after a full dinner. We did not just wander in off the street. But it was because of unclear reservation handling. We made our intentions clear in both Spanish and English and sent a second separate text the day of. Phones were always busy. Well BooHoo for us. It is a wonderful place and we will return. Just be alert to the problem we had above. Maybe best to choose dinner OR music since once wait staff disappeared to the performance bar scene service slowed and we were the last people in the dining area. We had lots to talk about though.

So, if there is music at 8, plan your dinner for 6:45 or earlier to have things move along AND pick which event you want: great food and atmosphere OR music (Los Raices are the best!) Minnesota...

Definitely an undiscovered gem off the beaten path, and well worth the effort to get there. Ignore Google Maps or it will route you way around, to end up at the endless stairs from hell. Rather, just follow Allende west past Crespo, to the end, and then walk up along the Panorámica del Fortín until you come to the restaurant on the right. The street is currently undergoing repair, but there's almost no traffic and it's a casual walk during the day.The view over the entire city from the restaurant is pretty impressive day or night. Plan on a taxi at night as the streets are quite dark.

There is a small shady outside table space and large windows inside that make it feel like you're dining on top of the world. It's a very nice space in which to relax and linger.

The restaurant design and decoration are very attractive and service is attentive. The Spanish chef, visible actively working and directing staff in the open kitchen, prepared really memorable dishes and came to our table to ask how we liked them. He really cares. The shrimp plato fuerte was very special and the separate shrimp heads added a lot of flavor to the delectable sauce. Prices are fair for the high quality ingredients and the originality of the preparation, lower than at trendier places closer to the Centro. We are taking friends there this weekend for the Raices Son Jarocho performance.

There's a cultural events space on the second floor: check Que Pasa Oaxaca online and Lila Downs Facebook page for announcements of periodic...