If you are a fan of avant-garde cuisine, where every dish will surprise your senses, stimulate your imagination, and dazzle your taste buds, then the spectacular experience offered by Le Chique restaurant in the “gourmet inclusive” Azul Sensatori Hotel by Karisma in Puerto Morales near Cancun, Mexico should be a must in your travel plans.
Disclaimer: We were invited guests of Azul Sensatori Hotel and Le Chique Restaurant. However, all opinions expressed are based on our own experiences.
The ingenious and delicious Author’s Menu at Le Chique created by Executive Chef Jonatan Gomez-Luna Torres plays hide-and-seek with your inner child while delighting your grown-up sensibilities about how fantastic a truly inventive menu can be. The menu can vary from 12 to 24 courses, depending upon whether you are staying at the resort and looking for the “inclusive” offering, want to expand to the extended menu or are staying elsewhere but dining at the adults-only restaurant. We were invited to experience Chef’s accomplishments, as Le Chique was being recognized with a rare AAA 5-Diamond Award.
Chef Jonatan is not new to cutting-edge world-class cuisine, having trained at some of the most notable chefs and restaurants in the world, including El Bulli’s Ferran Adria. But his heart belongs to his native Mexico, and the flavors, ingredients and sensibilities he brings to the table reflect this appreciation and insight.
There are so many deliciously unique elements to the Author’s dinner at Le Chique that we tasted, we could write our own book (and we wouldn’t even hide food in it, as was done for our meal).
But to give you just a sense of the fun and delightful nature of our experience, we will share a few of our favorites.
To begin the adventure, we were offered mescal, a Mexican alcoholic beverage made in Mexico. Adventurous as it sounds, the ground “cricket” dust on the side of the bowl added just the right saltiness to accentuate the handcrafted liquor. And we were off to a fiery good start.
Some of the fun of this trip into food wonderland came from the surprise elements. We were mesmerized by the gin cloud, like a puff of cotton candy that when consumed in one bite squirted sweetened gin into your mouth like a grown-up carnival treat.
The mimetic pecan nut played hide and seek with us, as it took us a minute to determine which of the nuts in the bowl were actually made of foie gras and chocolate.
The large cherries on top of the Maraschino cherries are called Cherry Campari. They provide a delightful burst of flavor upon the first bite.
Not only does the food at Le Chique play tricks on your taste buds, it also provides a visual feast. Having a friend who handcrafted some of the serving dishes, Chef Jonatan enjoyed bringing the rustic appeal of nature to our table. From hollows that look like a good place for marrow
to posts with “leafy” tacos
to fish nets filled with crispy fish rinds, the menu continued to surprise and intrigue us.
Roasted-looking mini-corn cobs on forks sticking up from burnt wood embers playfully teases your eyes and tongue at the same time.
As if there wasn’t enough to keep your mind reeling, the Kumamoto/Oyster Leaf/Ojo Rojo was literally rolling in fog!
When it’s time for the sweets, there’s more to your “lemon pie” than meets the eye, as the “lemon” is actually not a lemon, but cleverly detailed lemon ice inside a crusty lemon rind, all of which is edible.
The Azul Sensatori is a large, luxurious resort, well-appointed and with attentive service that you would expect from an establishment of this level. The “gourmet inclusive” approach includes 6 restaurants including a Caribbean bistro, classic Mexican, global tapas, authentic Tuscan Italian and more. There are also swim-up bars, high-end lounges, beachside grill and cantinas and most anything you could want.
Regardless of where you find yourself in Mexico, if you’re looking for a truly unique and memorable dining experience, don’t hesitate to check out Le Chique. We understand the menu and, in fact, the decor are changing, so you might just see us there too when the new ambiance arrives!
THE QUICK BITE: If you are a fan of avant-garde cuisine, where every dish will surprise your senses, stimulate your imagination, and dazzle your taste buds, then the spectacular experience offered by Le Chique restaurant in the “gourmet inclusive” Azul Sensatori Hotel by Karisma in Puerto Morales near Cancun, Mexico should be a must in your travel plans.
This brings back memories. We visited Azul Sensatori for the second time in October, and actually wrote a post about the Le Chique Experience. We sat on the Wine Table, and had the 22-course experience 🙂
That is amazing and inventive, can I go now please?
I have never read about or seen pictures of such creativity presented meals!! WOW!!!
What a spectacular meal! I definitely need to eat for myself the pecan and lemon look-alike to believe they aren’t the real thing! Looks like I’ll have to wait until I get to Le Chique restaurant to do that.
The natural elements in these presentations are just fascinating! Wow! This is taking things to an entirely new level. I’d love to try that mescal and the gin cloud? Whoaa, baby! Amazing.
Wow! This looks like an amazing culinary adventure!
Dining at Le Chique looks like quite the experience. Such unusual presentation. Both the Oysters In Fog and Gin Cloud appeal to me.
Dining at Le Chique certainly looks like an experience. Such unusual presentation. Both the Oysters In Fog and Gin Cloud appeal to me.
It has been so very long since I’ve been to Mexico, but I will be fixing that in early May, when I will return, with hope to experience the exquisite type of meal you shared with us here. On my numerous prior visits, the cuisine was fine, but rather ordinary. I’m ready to be blown away!
Wow! What a fun and innovative restaurant. Looks like a great time.
Wow, that looks like one of the most inventive menus I’ve ever seen!
What fun! I don’t know which I’d like better — the gin cloud or the campari cherries! I cross-posted to Road Trips for Foodies, too.
That looks absolutely amazing! My sister and I are going to be in Cancun for a destination wedding in July and may have to go to this place. I don’t remember food of that quality – or amazing presentation – from my last time in the Cancun area about 7 years ago. Thanks for telling me about it!