Ahh yes, sad to miss you guys as well! Gosh, that Pez Cantina space is so damn weird. It could be the best restaurant in the city and I’d still never go there!
I agree with you that the food was not remarkable, but it was a gorgeous night and I was happy to be eating seafood, ha. Plus, not sure if you went to the Del Maguey mezcal bar that was super fun. Basically a Del Maguey rep was there and led you through a three mezcal tasting for free!
From a personal standpoint, I never quite “get” the cheesy clam dish. Taco Maria does something very similar–and I’m always left searching a little bit.
I actually found the striped bass to be the best! Anyway, very glad I went. Agreed it didn’t quite hit the heights that Holbox can hit.
Peony: I loved everything tonight. The food exceeded my expectations. The oysters were very fresh and well-prepared. The light sweetness of the spot prawns and the scallops worked really well with the avocado and the green aguachile sauce. The kanpachi and the uni on the tostada worked really well together. The grilled lobster had perfect texture and flavor, and there was a good selection of complimentary vegetables and sauce. In addition to the beautiful flavors, all the dishes were plated beautifully, and they looked very appetizing.
Warrior: I give this restaurant very high marks for both ingredient quality and execution. All the seafood tasted as fresh as can be, was cooked or shucked perfectly, and was presented beautifully. In an ideal world, I’d like to see more creativity in the sauces. For example, it would be nice if there something to distinguish the green aguachile sauce from all the similar green aguachile sauces around town. I was also disappointed that they replaced their saffron rice with cilantro rice.
While I wouldn’t necessarily call this food WOW, make no mistake about it: this is some very good seafood going on at Holbox. Would I run back to order again? Probably not, but this is not someplace you will leave disappointed.
The scallop aguachile was so bright and refreshing, though worked far better as a cleanser for the other dishes as opposed to a standalone dish at the start. On it’s own after a few bites the spice becomes a bit overpowering without a drink or some sort of bread in between (the seltzer lemonade was solid). But overall, I really loved them the way the scallop was highlighted in this dish.
Did not get the octopus taco whatsoever. The ink soffit did not work for me at all though I see what they were going for. It did not just come together on it’s own and felt like two dishes fighting each other. Pass.
The fried fish taco was delicious. As someone who constantly sees fish tacos done poorly, this hit the nail on the head. Very nice.
Sadly after having Sonoratown flour tortillas, everything else is tough to live up to.
The fish stew was delicious. The broth was delightful especially with the bread, and the fish sausage was… interesting. I enjoyed most of the aspects of this, but the broth was the star.
Overall it was a very nice meal, but not something I would probably try again unless I’m in the area. Is this Angler? No it is not, but given the prices it does appear to come close. I liked this, but did not love it. And I like to be Wow’d.
The service was strong throughout and the meal came very quickly.
I’m not sure you had the dishes that define Holbox barring the aquachile which is among one of the best even on the island itself. Tortilla chips instead of bread would traditionally paired for the leche de tigre. Corn not, wheat . The almejas, Kanpachi & Uni Tostada, smoked kampachi, cocteles, and ceviche are the center point. Also, a mariscos joint would not use the same tortillas Sonoratown is famous for(which are very good).
Thanks for giving us advance alert to your review, but give it another try with the lens of mariscos.
yes almost got the Uni Tostada (and heard good things about the ceviche) but thought I had ordered enough food (still was hungry after those). The food was all very fresh and wouldn’t mind having it again, just a bit out of the way.
It’s a bit (or more) out of the way for me, too, which is the only reason I don’t go more often. Parking can also be… difficult, although I don’t know if that’s changed over the last 1.5 yrs (I suspect it has not).
Never had any trouble parking there. Lot can get filled - though it hasn’t been so in my last 4 visits in the past year or so - but there’s a lot of of street parking on S. Grand.
scallop aguachile | baja bay scallop, avocado, cilantro/lime/serrano pepper aguachile
Once again, perfect balance between salt, acid, heat, and sweetness from the scallop. There’s not a moment that I felt the heat overpowered anything here.
smoked kanpachi tostada | smoked omega blue baja kanpachi, scallop, shrimp ceviche, arbol-peanut sauce, toasted peanuts, avocado puree
I like Marisco Jalisco’s poseidon tostada but I love Holbox’s even more. Layers of complexity here. Sweetness from the scallop, kiss of smoke from chopped kanpachi, acid from lime and tomato, and so much more…
grilled kanpachi collars | cilantro rice, black beans, avocado, pico de gallo, corn tortillas
Go ahead and make yourself a mighty fine grilled fish taco.
sopa de mariscos | seafood stew, local rockfish, salt spring mussels, wild mexican shrimp, fish sausage, grilled bread
Every single piece of seafood is cooked to perfection. Skin of that piece of grilled fish? Still crispy! Also, make sure you soak up every last drop of this tomato based liquid MSG with the provided grilled bread.
Special shout-out to Holbox’s homemade fish sausage. Bouncy and smoky with a touch of heat. Seriously delicious.
not, wheat 
. The almejas, Kanpachi & Uni Tostada, smoked kampachi, cocteles, and ceviche are the center point. Also, a mariscos joint would not use the same tortillas Sonoratown is famous for(which are very good).
taco!
Holbox.
