Chef Cetina was on the Kelly Clarkson Show recently. I’d never seen her show but serendipitously had the channel on and there he was! He showed her how to make the yellowtail tostada… she swooned. Wonder how crazy the line will be now.
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I have been saying it’s not so bad. I take it back. In the past three weeks… it’s been bad. SUPER BAD. Especailly on the weekend.
However, I am happy to report that the Masa from Komal is excellent! It made great tortillas at home.
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Wow. I’m glad I was on the ball when tasting menu reservations opened. Although they filled up within minutes, they didn’t disappear immediately like at Hayato, and I was able to get a seat for one person next month. So it can be done. I’m looking forward to it after all these great reports!
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Yeah, it’s bad bad. It’s such a bummer bc it takes away some of the joy to have to wait that long. I can no longer take all my out of town friends smh, bc I don’t want to subject them to a 40 minute wait in a terribly overcrowded Mercado.
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Yeah it’s gotten worse than my claim a few months ago that the line never exceeded 20 mins. Also people NEED to stop grabbing tables before they’ve ordered. This isn’t unique to Holbox but general shitty dining behavior.
I’m resigned to only holbox-ing on weekdays
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Ohmigod, you have no idea how much I want to go over to people who do that (at any eatery) and say, “YOU ARE TOTALLY F*CKING UP THIS EXPERIENCE FOR EVERYONE ELSE.”
I should just be like my mom who says nothing but stands uncomfortably close to the table while people are dining.
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the best tasting menu i’ve had so far. the masa in the abalone tamal was excellent and made with crab and lobster stock. squeezing the prawn head juices on the spot prawn toastada may make some weep. the crab taco was packed with sweet dungeness. the tuna tostada was fatty and rich and tasted like toro. spiny lobster was cooked perfectly and the rice it came with tasted like an intense seafood paella. even the churros were improved, crunchy and airy. only dish that was just good was the kanpachi.
review forthcoming @SithLord @Spicyshlomi?
bonus grilled geoduck bellies
conchas - oysters on the half shell, blood clam & geoduck ceviche
ceviche de erizo con corvina - live santa barbara sea urchin and wild caught local white seabass ceviche
raspada de atun - baja farmed bluefin tuna ceviche, housemade tostada raspada, avocado puree, arbol-peanut sauce
tostada de pate con camaron - kanpachi head pate, santa barbara spot prawn, roasted prawn head
tamal de abulon - local abalone tamal colado, plantain & liver mole
taco de jaiba - dungeness crab taco, crab butter salsa macha, local oaxaca cheese, salsa cruda
pescado en salsa verde - baja california kanpachi, zucchini, raw salsa verde, oyster mushroom, fermented tomatillo
langosta a la tumbada - mesquite grilled local spiny lobster, lobster & mussel rice a la tumbada, fish sausage stuffed cabbage
churros and chocolate sauce
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Totally agree, I was mind blown by this tasting menu. Here are my top 3:
Tostada de pate con camaron
Tamal de abulon
Langosta a la tumbada
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Holy shit that shrimp tostada…
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OMG. That looks incredible. Can’t wait for my turn–thanks for the squeezed shrimp head tip! So can you order extra dishes, then? Or was the geoduck belly dish a freebie? If extras can be ordered, what else is recommended? I intend to overeat. 
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the geoduck belly was an off-menu bonus. i recommend arriving early if you can and request the far right seats near the lobster tank. you’ll be in front of sergio and can watch and interact with him a lot easier. and he might even throw in a belly while you wait.
there aren’t any supplements on the tasting menu, but if you’re still hungry and you’re the first seating, you can order from the alc menu afterwards. you’ll probably won’t be hungry enough for anything big so i would recommend one of the tacos (baja fish, kanpachi, or octopus).
note, there’s no alcohol in the mercado and you can’t byob but the na drinks are included in the price and are unlimited. the sparkling lemonade is good.
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Thanks so much for these tips!
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pretty impressive that the tasting menu is operating at such a high level when the rest of the kitchen is pumping out a million dishes a night
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I may be the only person on these here boards that thinks Holbox is wildly overrated…had some solid meals there but never been blown away.
I’m on record saying I prefer Coni’Seafood. Peony is not a big fan either. Haven’t been in the last two years though and curious if it is improving.
Have you had the tasting menu or just the regular menu? IMO the tasting menu is a great value and has a unique POV to go along with good execution. I do not think the regular menu is worth the wait in line right now.
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Yea I’ve only had the regular menu. Same with Anajak Thai, which I also found overrated. I probably owe it to both places to return and try the tasting menu at some point.
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We agree on both places.
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