Are you ready to release that inner caveman? Then I’ve got an excellent restaurant for you located within a cave (!!).
If you’re planning on visiting Mexico City and want to see some highlights in the area, there’s a fat chance you will head out to the Teotihuacán Pyramids. It’s an ancient Mesoamerican city located some 40 km outside of Mexico City. Those also were the pyramids that Frida and Trotsky visited. You know… from the movie ‘Frida’ (and in real life obviously, but this is just how I came to know about the ruins at the turn of the century :))
Starting out early in Teotihuacán – which really is a must, because it gets frickin hot over there during the day – we got pretty hungry around 1-ish. Our Uber guy told us about an awesome restaurant in a cave, so we decided to give it a go.
Just a five minute walk from the archeological area ánd right behind the Pyramid of the Sun you find the La Gruta Restaurant. It looks rather fancy, with a private access route with palm trees and all of that, so we weren’t sure if we’d be welcome with our sneakers and casual clothes. But no worries, as long as you’re not looking like you’re going to the beach or something, I think you’ll be good.
As you enter the cave you can look right down into it on the right side. So cool!
Waiters will welcome you right at the opening of the cave and’ll guide you to your seat downstairs. Eventually we were there around 2 pm and I think we got pretty lucky, since we only had to wait for 10 minutes. But I’m pretty sure that if you plan on visiting the restaurant during the weekend or on holiday weeks, it’d best to make a reservation.
On the plus side, a live musical performance takes place around 2 pm on weekends. Although the mariachi can just pop up on weekdays too- as we experienced. Aiaiai!
We shared a (giant!) bowl of guacamole and two mains and had to pay something like $40,- USD total, which is a tad expensive in Mexico. But for the experience, it was more than worth it.
Also, the cave was decorated so gorgeously, because Día de los Muertos was coming up. Felt pretty special.
Once you get la cuenta, your waiter will ask you if you want to light a candle. This gesture refers to a legend. Rumor has it that if you light a candle and place it inside of the cave walls, you will be reborn a new (wo)man. Ah well.. worth a try right?
I thought this restaurant was definitely worth sharing, so that’s why I’m posting it here. If you’re going there, order that guacamole for sure. After all; there’s too much guac, said no one ever!
Tapas
June 30, 2023 at 10:13 pm
Does this have accessibility, e.g., an elevator or a slope to walk on, rather than stairs?