CRUDO

Oaxacan restaurant · Oaxaca City

CRUDO

Oaxacan restaurant · Oaxaca City

Av Benito Juárez #309, RUTA INDEPENDENCIA, Centro, 68000 Oaxaca de Juárez, Oax., Mexico

Highlights

At Crudo, Chef Ricardo serves up a unique Oaxacan omakase experience blending Japanese techniques with local flavors, all in an intimate, chill vibe.

Av Benito Juárez #309, RUTA INDEPENDENCIA, Centro, 68000 Oaxaca de Juárez, Oax., Mexico Get directions

MX$1,000+

Reserve

@michelinguide

"There is nothing quite like this intimate counter, certainly in Oaxaca and possibly beyond. Chef Ricardo Arellano has crafted a creative omakase that fuses Japanese flavors with local ingredients and preparations. What does that look like? It means nixtamalized papaya might come with your kampachi. Or maybe tuna will arrive seared with binchotan and set in a chicory leaf brushed in charred onion puree. An eel handroll is dressed in a smoky-sweet puree made from the pulp of agave. The menu is on the lighter side but the lasting impression and ingenuity is nonetheless impressive and at no point feels forced or generic. Locals have yet to warm to the place, so visitors shouldn’t be surprised when they’re seated with fellow travelers." - Michelin Inspector

Crudo

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@eater

"The son of a baker and a pastry chef, Ricardo Arellano has been cooking with staple ingredients of his home state of Oaxaca his entire life. Yet at his restaurant, Crudo, a tiny six-seat bar in Oaxaca City, he’s preparing dishes that add something new. His nightly tasting menu could feature chilacayote ramen, with translucent noodles made out of the Mexican pumpkin and served in a seaweed broth and topped with edible flowers. Or a kampachi fish-belly taco, which, resembling a nori taco but with the taste of al pastor, is marinated in an adobe extract, wrapped in Mexican pepper leaf, and accompanied by an avocado and cactus salad. Or bluefin tuna sashimi, prepared with grasshopper chile paste and a dash of black beans." - Nili Blanck

How Chefs in Mexico Are Inspired by Japanese Flavors - Eater

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@eater

"Crudo is the first true omakase oaxaqueño with a strong Japanese influence. Chef Ricardo Arellano aims to show us that there’s another side to Oaxacan food that hasn’t yet been fully explored." - María Ítaka

The Perfect 24-Hour Food Itinerary for Oaxaca, Mexico - Eater

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@katriciab

Oaxaca City

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Dawn Macaulay

Google

We ate here for our Thanksgiving holiday dinner. The food and experience were fantastic. We are food snobs and this met our high expectations. The flavors of each dish were multidimensional. It was impressive how the dishes were creatively designed to use Japanese style but with Oaxacan flavors and ingredients. Our service was also great. We really liked our chef, Regina’s detailed descriptions of each course. We found the experience and the food actually affordable for the value of what it was and the quality of the cuisine given. I read some of the negative reviews and I am baffled. How anyone could rate this place low seems very unfair and maybe they just aren’t the right candidate for this level and type of cuisine.

Eric Rose

Google

This was a unique dining experience in Oaxaca and one that was (rightly) recommended to me by a Mexican friend as a must-do. Our chef Ariel prepared all 9 sushi-esque courses in front of us, explaining each one. He was personable, attentive, and provided the explanations in English. The food was interesting and delicious. Memorable experience!

Zachary Williams-Hunter

Google

This, my second time to Crudo, was fantastic. Having worked in kitchens for nearly 30 years, the calm and poise of the chefs as they prepare this magnificent experience is enviable. The food was delicious, simple and complex as anything claiming Japanese-influence should be, and the Mexican-made sake and Japanese-style rice lager just cement this indelible connection. I’d leave a review of the dishes, but 1) I don’t want to spoil it, and 2) they change the menu frequently!

Melissa McCann

Google

This was our second visit to Crudo, the first being in 2021. Though the incredible intimacy of the 6-seat original dining experience is gone, the expansion of their offerings with this large, sunny dining room is still the most unique & exciting dining experience in Oaxaca. The omakase concept is very Japanese, but the ingredients are all truly Mexican & Oaxacan. The ability of these dishes to embrace Japanese umami through the addition of Oaxacan flavors like chapulines, corn & mezcal is truly phenomenal. We were served 8 courses and found it a good value for the experience, but we weren't necessarily full after this meal, which was different from our 2021 visit. This definitely felt a bit more like a choreographed routine and less like the chef omakase intimacy of the private dining room. I also felt like the curated beverage list was really done a disservice, as the server was left lingering at the cooler and it was awkward to ask for drink pairing suggestions not knowing what was ahead with the menu. This concept worked well when you were sat close to the chef & sous chef to request drinks with the courses, but fizzles in the larger space. I would suggest that guests are presented with a menu for the omakase with drink pairing suggestions to get the full experience here. Also, the pre-paid booking is clunky & complex. I absolutely don't mind providing a card to hold the reservation, but we lost 250 pesos simply because you cannot modify the number of guests on a booking and we had to cancel and rebook.

Martin Pelzer

Google

Absolutely amazing place. We loved it. Service is perfect and the food is absolutely delicious and very unique. I am not a desert guy but the ice cream with coconut and banana and I don’t know what else (because my wife talked to the guy in Spanish and I didn’t get a word) was mindblowing.

David Wild

Google

One of my favourite eating experiences I had in Mexico because of it's uniqueness. Showcasing Oaxacan ingredients and techniques but reinventing the presentation and style to mimic a Japanese omakase is not like anywhere else I have seen in Mexico city, Oaxaca, Puebla or the Yucatán. A very unique dining experience. The quality of food was supremely impressive. All dishes excellent, elegantly served and complete with a story and description of the ingredients and twists on the norm. Service is phenomenal and feels very intimate in such a small restaurant. You have to call ahead or reserve to get a spot. If you don't want the full omakase, spots at the bar with an a la carte menu are available if you WhatsApp ahead. Would absolutely recommend to anyone visiting Oaxaca and looking for a fine dining experience very different from anything else. And try the corn whisky!!

Kari Dowiak

Google

Wanted to love this place but left disappointed. Part of the problem: my expectations were off. I went in with a Japanese omakase mindset with a oaxacan twist. I expected a lot of fish. It’s the reverse - Oaxacan with a Japanese twist. We Did the tasting menu: Pros: -inventive plates & high quality ingredients. The food was good! -good service & explanations of the plates in English + Spanish Cons: -VERY LITTLE FISH… 1/2 of a soft shell crab, 3 thin slices of hamachi, and a few cubes of scallop were really the only seafood. Veggies (ex: baby corn nigiri or plantain) were used as centerpieces for a lot of the dishes -left hungry -Bad value for money. This price is very high for what you actually get. Plates 1-3 bites each. -a 3ft wooden stick fell from the ceiling onto my boyfriend’s head while we were eating The entire tasting menu, from sit down to check paid took us 1 hour and 20 mins. Very fast. I don’t think I’ll be back, but if I was, I’d do Crudo as an Appetizer at like 6pm and then have another dinner reservation at 8 or 9 pm. I wish I loved it, but at these prices relative to the rest of the city, expectations were not met.

Karla Farjo

Google

Expectations were high for Crudo, but we left unimpressed. Four stars is generous (I really want to rate it three, but maybe I just didn’t prefer the food). You must be an adventurous eater to dine here and love raw fish and insects - I love one of the two! Every dish was unique, but the flavors didn’t come together. We appreciated the time the chef took to explain each dish in English and Spanish. The design of the omakase bar was simple, but the entire experience was lacking. No music until the end of the meal made for awkward silence. While kind and eager to help, the service from the young wait staff wasn’t polished. Drink choices were lacking. You’d imagine there would be a wine or sake list, but there are extremely limited selections. We were pressured to leave immediately after the meal even though our sake bottle wasn’t finished and it was last seating of the night. We were prepared for a high cost based off reviews. To be fair, we actually found value in the meal for eight courses and a bottle of sake. But the rest of the experience left us wishing for more.