Oyamel — Restaurant in Washington

I love Mexican food: My father's family was Mexican; my husband is Mexican American; and we prepare Mexican food at home all the time. I was the food critic for the England language newspaper in La Paz, Baja California, Sur...this, before everyone became a food critic! Here's my take, albeit without photos: They abound.

It was my birthday, we went early, and the person seating us accommodated us when we asked not to be seated in a high traffic area just inside the door and beside the bar. It does get lively! We don't usually find ourselves out on the weekend these days and we usually have our main meal earlier in the day. We were seated at an end table in the far dining area: Perfect. There was a very loud person two tables away, but he left and the couple next to us was incredibly pleasant: We made new friends!

We make our own tortillas and salsa, so they are hard to beat, but Oyamel's beat them, for sure. The first serving is complimentary, but we didn't need any more. We ordered the chef's tasting menu, so we were prepared for more food than we usually eat at one sitting. (As a restaurant critic, it does give one more opportunity to assess a place!) Guacamole came first. It was okay. I prefer more bite to my chile and tomato in my guacamole: The flavor was primarily avocado and lemon, although the menu indicates that is is made with serrrano chile, tomatillo, and queso fresco. The avocado taste came through and I understand that lemon keeps guacamole from turning black, but I don't prefer it that way.

I had Don Julio añejo tequila, which is one of my favorites. I asked for a sangrita, but it was disappointing enough that I didn't drink it: It was sweet. In my experience, it should be spicy with salt around its rim. My husband got a Mexican Coca-Cola and enjoyed it. Too bad the U.S. did away with real Coca-Cola, with sugar instead of corn syrup.

First up were a cabbage salad with a section of grapefruit and another of mandarin orange. It wasn't particularly impressive. At the same time, we were served a magnificent ceviche--the best I've had. It is listed as Atun Pacifico and is described as Ahi tuna with maggi-lime marinade, scallions, avocado, toasted pecans, fresno chiles, and crispy amaranth. I could have spent the entire evening eating only that.

Next up were double servings of tacos with carnitas--both northern and southern style, according to our server. We prefered the northern: slow-cooked pork shoulder with avocado salsa verde, pork rinds, onions, and cilantro. There was a five-chile sauce on the plate with the latter. It wasn't as good as the salsa that was served with the tortilla chips, but I didn't have much opportunity to taste it. When I picked up my taco, one of the people removing plates from the table whisked away the salsa before I finished. He really should have asked.

Next up were fried cauliflower and pulpo negro: black octopus. They were tasty and quite different from what we eat a home on a regular basis! The black chile meco sauce wasn't picante, but it was savory.

The last two small plates wee arrachera (grilled flank steak) and rice with mushrooms. We were stuffed, and opted to bring them home, so I can't comment on them yet. We needed room for dessert. We were served cafe de olla: Oaxacan coffee ice cream, chocolate-coffee custard infused with Mexican cinnamon, and caramelized bananas, lime segments, and pecan shortbread. It was delicious, and we shared it with our new friends; they shared a taste of their choco flan. Unfortunately, again, the plate was whisked away before I finished. I had just turned to speak to the person next to me.

All-in-all, it was a great way to end the celebration of my birth. We hope to return soon to try some of our favorites that we seen...

(Last visited September 26, 2023.) In town on business and I live for big cities, so I made sure I found a restaurant IN the city to check out! I hit the Yelp app and sorted by the most reviewed restaurants. (It makes it easier because you KNOW you're going to get something great.) The other alternative is already knowing what kind of cuisine you want. Lol. So I popped in and here's how it went!

Atmosphere/Appearance: I've actually been here twice, almost a year apart. The outside has a small section for outdoor seating, but this is downtown D.C. so space is limited. However, INSIDE though, is huge. It's so amazingly decorated in here. It gives me Alice In Wonderland in Mexico vibes! The butterfly theme is evident here and it's so gorgeous. There's a central bar right in the middle with dining tables surrounding it and a smaller bar off to the right, where I sat. It was pretty loud in here since the place was packed, but it didn't bother me at all.

Service: Ezra took care of me and she was AMAZING. She made some great recommendations, was very accommodating and made sure I had everything that I needed. Ask for her when you're in there!

Food: So you've heard of Michelin Stars right? Well, the same people that issue those also issue like "runner-up" type awards as well called "Bib Gourmand", which is like the "next-up" kinda deal. This was a bonus because I had no idea this place was on that level, but the food absolutely solidified it for me. The house margarita was sour and served with a salty foam which was fantastic and went very well with the sour-sweetness. Ezra recommended the house-made guacamole and this is a MUST GET. I'm so serious. It was the best guacamole I've ever had. SUPER flavorful, a lil' cheesy, cream, salty and had the perfect lime-y balance. It's also made out in the open so you can see how it's done! Next up was Volcan de Mexico which is a a spicy cocktail with smokey vibes, strawberry flavors and a lil' on the sweet side. Next up was the Coctel Costeno which is sort of a shrimp ceviche served in a chilled bowl and is just a beautiful dish. The ingredients are all over the place, but they worked together so well. The acid is delicious and is almost impossible to describe. Next up was the Coliflor Frito which is a cauliflower dish! I wouldn't have gotten this had Ezra not recommended it, but she was firing on all cylinders, so I had to! It's served in a smokey match with mezcal raisins. Like, what?! Lol. This is why this place earned a Big Gourmand award, not being afraid to try different things. It was cooked al dente, with a smidge of spice, good smokiness and some chipotle flavors as well. Last, but not least, was the Pescado Baja California, which is basically an upscale fish taco. You get 2 to an order and like everything else here... they were divine. There were so many flavors that hit you at once. The fish was flaky, crispy and tender. The crema helped with the texture and this dish was definitely in my top 3 fish tacos I ever had.

Value: It's a Bib Gourmand restaurant in downtown, D.C... do the math. Lol. This place is not cheap, so bring the wallet, you will appreciate splurging here a bit.

In conclusion, I loved this place. Period. I'll make sure I stop in whenever I'm...

I came up for a weekend to visit a friend. We wanted a good dinner, so we hit the Michelin Guide, and found Oyamel. The menu leaned more Mexican Mexican than Mexican American, and it had some things I had been meaning to try, so we jumped on it.

Ambiance was awesome. Inside was embellished with lots of traditional Mexican decor. I can't go into detail, because we got a lovely seat outside in their Covid-era streetside outdoor patio. Weather was beautiful, so we were delighted.

Service was ok. It was actually painfully slow. The dude seemed very aloof. I don't have his name, and I wouldn't throw him under the bus anyway. Maybe it was a process flaw because of the outside seating? Something to consider.

But the food more than made up for it. Three stars for the service, seven stars for the food.

I started off with the Quesadilla Huitlacoche (Tortilla with melted Monterey jack cheese and Roy Burns Mexican corn truffles with a blend of tomatoes, corn and garlic).

I've been wanting to try huitlacoche for a very long time, and this was my chance. It was lovely. It was basically very mushroomy, smothered with cheese, pressed into three separate little quesadillas, perfect for sharing. Earthly, cheesy, with the bright green salsa served on the side.

Then I got a couple of tacos. I got two, the Pescado Baja California (Crispy masa tempura-battered seasonal fish with shredded cabbage, chile arbol mayo, Mexican crema and salsa Mexicana) and the Chapulines (The legendary Oaxacan specialty of sautéed grasshoppers, shallots, tequila and guacamole).

The fish taco was excellent. Expertly fried, a nice-sized filet with a lot of flakiness and juiciness inside. A nice crema and some fresh tomato salsa outside. I also really liked all these blue corn tortillas I was getting. The flavor is better than regular store-bought corn tortillas that we're all used to.

Then, it was time, after many years, I was face-to-face with the chapulines. I do not want to describe this mouth feel in too much detail, but if you curious at all about this taco, I would recommend it. The little crickets are fried to heck and are crispy poppable like popcorn. The shallots and the guac help with alternative textures. Definitely worth a shot.

Pulpo Negro (Grilled salsa negra marinated Spanish octopus served over creamy sweet potato, topped with an hoja santa chimichurri). This was sooo good. Octopus can be so tough, but they made it so tender. The deep salsa negra, the just sweet enough sweet potato, and the bright, herbaceous chimichurri, just so good. This was an A+++ dish.

Overall, wow, I could not believe our luck with finding Oyamel. DC has countless ethnicities of cuisines, and we found the best Mexican food I've had in a long, long time. So glad I came, you should...