Tulum: from the sea

Yum, yum, yum, yummy. We just had the most delicious seafood meal this side of Dad's house. We've rented some bikes and, having dropped off our washing and procured Dodgy some new shorts, we rode back down the main road, past our hotel (Posada Luna del Sur), to El Camello Jr, a local seafood spot.

The owners of our hotel had recommended it and it is unanimously (aside from one New Yorker with questionable taste) reviewed favourably online. It's just off the main road, at the south end of Tulum pueblo. Fisherman drop off their catch and then sit down to enjoy a meal.

The menu is simple, a selection of ceviche (octopus, fish, prawn or a combination marinated in lime with onion, coriander and tomato), guacamole, soup, seafood cocktails, and fish (fried (whole) or fillets (grilled, served in a tomato-based sauce or with garlic)), prawns or octopus served with rice. beans and salad. All come with tortilla chips and an assortment of salsas.

The kitchen / fish shop is an open-plan space with a large wooden bench for scaling and filleting, three cauldrons of oil for frying the fish and tortillas and one for the soup. Behind the bench, a crucified Christ hangs alongside the price list. Plastic rubbish bins filled with chips sit under the bench, and chilly-bins filled with prawns and fish line the walls.

 

This is a man's kitchen, designed by men and run by men - they catch the fish, they deliver the fish, they prepare the fish, they serve the fish, and - judging by the smell (or lack of it) - they even clean up afterward.

We opted for guacamole, a medium portion of prawn ceviche and grilled fish. It was way too much. The ceviche (80 pesos / £4) was colossal, probably containing a kilo of prawns, and the fish was a 500g slab of grouper, cooked to perfection.

If you ever visit Tulum and like seafood, El Camello Jr is a must. Tomorrow, I will try their famous spicy seafood soup.