Thursday, January 16, 2025

Outstanding Omakase Tasting Menu Dinner at Restaurant Em in Mexico City, with Chef/ Owner Lucho Martinez (1 Star Michelin), Culminating in the Kitchen with a Farewell Group Photo with the Chef and his Staff















Annette and I spent the second half of December 2024 in Mexico City, with Katharina and Diego, who have been living there since February 2024.
 
For an overview, see: 15 Days in Mexico City, at Diego and Katharina's Apartment, December 2024: Daily Facebook Postings
 











Dinner at Em of Chef Lucho Martinez
 
We went for dinner to restaurant Em Roma Norte, an intimate restaurant with minimal interior decor and a semi-open kitchen, where MICHELIN Guide starred Chef Lucho Martinez offers an innovative cuisine that brings together unexpected flavor pairings with French, Japanese, Native America and Mexican elements, including edible ants from Oaxaca. Chef Lucho uses Mexican ingredients only, with a strong focus on seafood. 
 
You have a choice between a la carte and a 8-course Omakase tasting menu. We chose the latter (as most other guests did). 
 
As for wine, the 4 of us had 3 bottles, a Philipp Wittmann German dry Riesling, a Mexican dry Riesling and a Mexican red wine. Most Mexican wines come from the Baja California area.
 
There are 2 seatings, at 5:45 pm and 9 pm. We chose the early seating and left the restaurant at 9:05 pm.
 
The bill was around US1000, with each bottle of wine around US100. 
 
It was an amazing and memorable evening, definitely at the Michelin star level - perhaps even above 1 star - that culminated in the kitchen with a group photo with Chef @Lucho Martinez and his staff.
 
Em/ 50BestDiscovery
 
Named after his daughter Emilia, chef Lucho Martinez first opened this restaurant in Colonia Cuauhtémoc in 2018 before relocating it to Roma Norte and rebranding as Em. Martinez is originally from Veracruz and worked in restaurants in Cancun before entering high-end gastronomy kitchens in Mexico City such as Máximo Bistrot and Quintonil. With Em, he has upped the ante with avant-garde seasonal menus—the omakase features eight or nine courses, but a regular la carte menu is also available—that bring together unexpected flavour pairings drawn from both Mexican and Japanese culinary heritage. Think huitlacoche cheese tarts sharing menu space with dishes that feature dashi made with cactus or escamole croquettes with serrano chiles. With minimal interior decor (the restaurant is located in the former Máximo Bistrot space) the dining room acts as a blank canvas for the visceral culinary drama that unfolds on the plate.
 
Em/ Michelin
 
A pre-dinner cocktail at the moody 686 Bar upstairs is a smart way to start an evening in the capable hands of Chef Lucho Martinez. Named for his daughter Emilia, the intimate restaurant on the ground floor suits couples well, while the handsome kitchen takes a contemporary look at Mexican ingredients, many of which are seafood. Think a savory, crispy, carrot buñuelo covered in roe or an expertly grilled wedge of corvina with spinach set in a fragrant garlic foam. The signature dessert celebrates all things mamey, arriving as a thin, delicate tart, a light tiramisu, and a refreshing ice cream. Both the a la carte and the tasting menus overlap well enough, so no need to fret. Refined, bold flavors come through clearly in both.
 
MEET LUCHO MARTÍNEZ/ One&Only Palmilla
 
Originally from Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz, Chef Lucho spent part of his childhood in Nashville, Tennessee, before venturing into his first formal kitchen job at the mere age of 14. Chef Lucho went on to join Jorge Vallejo’s acclaimed cooking team at Quintonil, an emblem of Mexico City’s gastronomical scene, followed by a post at Maximo Bistro in Colonia Roma working with Chef Eduardo García, famed for revolutionizing traditional Mexican cuisine with a range of innovative techniques. Today, Chef Lucho draws on his years of culinary experience and unique creative instincts to helm the kitchen at restaurant Em, a masterpiece of modern Mexican and international cuisine.
 
Arriving
 


 



Restaurant
 






 
Omakase Dinner
 
Una selección de platillos creados por la inspiración diaria del Chef. 
Disponible para grupos de hasta 8 personas MXN $3,800 x persona 

 
 
First



 
Second


 
Third



 
Fourth




 
Bread

 
Sixth

 
Seventh


 
Meat

 
Ninth

 
Dessert

 
Petit Four
 

The Wines









Grande Finale in the Kitchen











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