When Stewart Haverlack makes up his mind
to do something, he can’t just do it like everyone else. It’s got to be done first-class.
So is his latest project ZUMO, the high-end restaurant in San Miguel de Allende
at Orizaba 87.
I’ve went to ZUMO the first time for
the soft opening in April and the last time on Tuesday for the premier of Tapas
Tuesday. ZUMO still has its visual and gastronomic chops but a lot of things have changed since my first visit…
The rooftop: A once sweeping space,
the rooftop has been redesigned by Stewart’s partner Vanessa Villegas to
showcase not only a breathtaking view of SMA but also a beautiful dining and
separate bar area, luxury seating with a fire pit, a flower and herb garden and
an open kitchen so you can watch the Chef Action Experience. You’ll get a
birds-eye view of what’s going on in the kitchen when you book the chefs table,
now one of the hottest tickets in San Miguel.
Tapas Tuesday: Tapas and artisan
cocktails are served every Tuesday night from 7:00 – 10:00 PM. The menu changes
weekly and the fun comes from watching Mixologist
Miguel Bastida produce his astonishing liquid potions. You name the ingredients
and he’ll create a cocktail worthy of a call for seconds.
Sunday Brunch: A Sunday Brunch will
begin in December. I can’t wait to see Chef Ferrant’s modern take on old
standards like Eggs Benedict and Huevos Rancheros.
5 course menu: With a 7 course
tasting menu offered for $850 pesos, ZUMO has added a 5 course menu for $650
pesos. This would cost three to four times more in New York or Chicago and at
least double in Mexico City.
Finely constructed dishes
that look too attractive to eat, but smell too good not to, will bring you back
to ZUMO whenever you’re craving great food. Here’s what we found on the menu
the day we went:
Wild Mushroom Ceviche
Smoked Marlín garnachas with pico de gallo and avocado sauce with lemon
Mexican mixed Corn Ezquite with epazote mayo, queso chicharron dusted with chili powder
Conde soup with Mexican sausage, baby squid, black beans, crispy jalapeño tortilla strips and fresh Oaxaca cheese aioli
Chicken Barbacoa with chili poblano, parmesan risotto and fried bean quenelles
Carlota
margarita mousse cake with pomegranate seeds
Coconut candy with
lemon foam
Chef Ferrant pulled out all the stops that day with the Red snapper marinated in achiote “pastor style” with roasted pineapple and a Serrano chili sauce. It’s his contemporary take on Tacos al Pastor, my favorite Mexican dish.
Although I
requested a specific Mexican style tasting, Chef Ferrant peppers his menu with
international dishes including his personal favorites from both Asia and Italy.
He says that he’s been a little homesick lately so you’re also likely to get
cuisine from his home country of France as well.
His resume is
impressive…
Born in Paris, he has lived and
studied cuisine in the cities of New Orleans, Morocco, Buenos Aires,
Madagascar, Columbia and Montreal where he worked at Le Pied de Cochon.
He cooked at the Hotel Condesa in
Mexico City, moved to Huatulco where he headed up the kitchens in a number of
major hotels; Azul Profundo at the Camino Real, Don Quijote at the Barcelo
Premium Hotel and was Executive Chef at the Quinta Real. He then headed to
Oaxaca to join forces with Hotel La Casona del Sotano and open De Todos Los
Santos, consistently ranking as one of the best hotel restaurants in Oaxaca.
Of course, I was not surprised to
find out that he also worked as a sous-chef at The Restaurant. Many of San
Miguel’s best chefs have been trained by The Restaurant’s owner, Chef Donnie
Masterton.
Chef Ferrant has been experimenting lately
with molecular cooking so the next time you go, you are likely to get a liquid croquette
on your plate. He loves how they explode and the pure essence of the
ingredients invade your palate. How about disappearing transparent Raviolis? Yes, at ZUMO, expect the unexpected.
One thing
about ZUMO that stands out is the world-class service. You just don’t find this
attention to detail everywhere in SMA like you do at ZUMO.
The team,
starting with owner Stewart Haverlack, includes Architect,
Interior Designer and partner Vanessa Villegas; Chef de Cuisine and partner
Gabriel Ferrant; General Manager Cindy Buhle, who was educated and trained in Switzerland, Taiwan, and Miami; line
chefs Jose Manuel Yepez and Raymundo Gutierrerz; master Mixologist Miguel
Bastida; server Jonathan Fabian Pareja and the woman-of-all-trades, Ana Maria
Aguilar. Together they are the force that attends to every whim and comfort you
may want while you are there. It’s truly all in the details with this team and
my first thought was hooray for luxury. May it never, ever die.
Stewart Haverlack is the reigning maestro of
approachability, which explains a lot as to why he heads the ZUMO team.
He was the Senior Vice President of Paula Leduc Fine Catering in San
Francisco, heading up a staff of 600 employees including 60 chefs. They catered
to A-List clients in entertainment and business and executed over 400 events
annually including 75 high-end weddings.
He moved to
scenic Puerto Vallerta in 2004, and opened Boca Bento, a 180 seat, fine dining
restaurant which specialized in Asian Latin flavors and was rated as one of
PV’s top restaurants. In 2010, he moved to a 240 seat restaurant on the beach
called El Dorado and successfully continued the restaurants’ 50 year history, winning
awards and customers from all over the globe. He also started a catering
business, Plush Catering and Events, which he ultimately sold to his Chef, who
continues to run it today.
After ten
years in Puerto Vallerta, fighting the hot and humid summers, he was ready for
a move and San Miguel de Allende was a welcomed change.
In a very short time, ZUMO has
established itself as a fine dining superstar in SMA. The best hotels in town send
their guests to ZUMO. ZUMO currently has a mix of 40 % international travelers
and Mexico City visitors and 60% locals.
In addition to a very active Social Media campaign run by General Manager Cindy Buhler, ZUMO uses local influencers like Klaudia Oliver to create the buzz needed to promote a restaurant of this quality. But what has been essential in ZUMO’s drive to #1 on Trip Advisor is word-of-mouth advertising. Just ask Brenda Sexton and Gregory Nye, who recently did a SMA Wine Club event at ZUMO with over 75 participants. Customers fall in love with the total ZUMO experience.
Stewart credits the restaurants design to partner Vanessa Villegas, who received her Master’s degree in Interior Design in Milan, Italy, at which time she was also the architect for a winery in Tuscany. Vanessa likes a clean style, doing a blend of classic with a twist of modern. She has always loved grey because it’s a great contrast for any accent color and also gives a nice elegant and relaxing feel throughout the restaurant.
Vanessa has a amazing eye and what
has served as a centerpiece for this well-designed eatery is the mixed
collection of art.
ZUMO initially talked with Wendy
Moyer about the idea of inviting local artists to display at ZUMO. Many
well-known artists show their work at ZUMO, including Anado McLauchlin.
Interested clients are put in touch with the artist when they are ready to buy.
ZUMO does not charge a commission on any of the pieces; it’s their way of giving
back to the artistic community in SMA.
Stewart and Vanessa make all the
decisions together for the restaurant, blending her design experience with his
restaurant expertise. The results have been impressive. ZUMO is well-dressed
down to the Reidel glassware, the Villroy and Boch china and the gorgeous Italian
flatware.
Scores of people will tell you that
you haven’t really seen San Miguel until you’ve looked at it from the rooftop
at ZUMO. I call it the restaurant with the million dollar view.
When I was at ZUMO in the afternoon,
both the clouds and downtown SMA were the reflection in my wine glass. I imagined
what they would taste like and savored every last drop in the analysis. When I
was there at 7:00 PM for Tapas Tuesday and looked out on all the lights of San
Miguel, it took my breath away.
Another one of the elements we love about ZUMO is Mixologist Miguel Bastida. Starting as a bar
helper in Cuernavaca when he was just 14, he has risen through the
ranks; did a stint at Rosewood, Patio 3 and Hotel El Palomar before landing at
ZUMO.
The imagination behind the infamous “Flaming Zumo”, a combination
of Mezcal, apple liquor, fresh pear and orange and chili ancho, the drink is an
upscale version of the perfect margarita. Miguel also made a Yin Yang, a
combination of two drinks: Watermelon and Vodka and Lime, Mint and Tequila. I was mesmerized.
What’s on Miguel’s cocktail menu
changes daily and he adapts his drinks to the taste of the amuse bouche; the
time at which the cocktails are first served to the guests as an introduction
to the dinner.
Miguel likes NANXO Mezcal (which is
also the choice of Chef Ferrant) and Tequila Herradura Reposado when creating
agave specialties. The wiz kid of ingredients, he likes to macerate his own
bitters and make infusions using fresh herbs and fruits in season. He also uses
chilies and their oils to give the drinks a distinctive taste. We think his
cocktails are unmatched.
Stewart Haverlack is a trained
sommelier and with the help of expert wine purveyor Arael Gómez Tello of Arggot Del Vino, who has access to over 600 diverse wines,
they have positioned 40 labels on ZUMO’s wine list including wines from Mexico,
Argentina and Chile and old world wines from France and Spain. Wines generally range
in price from $500 - $5,225 pesos a bottle and handcrafted cocktails from 160 –
200 pesos but you can get a drink or wine-by-the-glass that is competitively priced
with other fine dining establishments in San Miguel. I was offered a beautiful
Carmen Chardonnay from Chile, which was exquisite.
Ensenada is the
main source for ZUMO’s produce but they also buy locally from purveyors like
Leo, who is in front of Luna de Queso during the week. On the day I was there,
a sizable delivery of baby vegetables, lettuces and herbs arrived. No one was
more excited to see them than Chef Ferrant, who was already visualizing what he
was going to create from the small, multi-colored baby carrots that were in the
mix. He ultimately decided on a short rib with demi-glace and sautéed carrots
in piloncillo. I, for one, was sorry I missed that meal.
ZUMO’s rooftop
comfortably seats 22 people for dinner but they have additional space on the
floors below to seat up to 60. They also have an intimate, private room for 10
and can accommodate 150 people on the terrace for cocktails. I have my eye on
the celebrated chef’s table which seats 5.
ZUMO is open for dinner Tuesday through Saturday, with seating’s at 7:00 PM and 9:00 PM.
ZUMO has a
catering menu and do on and off premise weddings, openings, rehearsals and
other celebrations. Who better to cater your party than the guy who pulled off
400 A-List events?
A year from
now, ZUMO hopes to add a wine cellar and a complete herb garden. They also
expect to open a three room Bed and Breakfast shortly with a gourmet breakfast
and dinner as part of the entire luxury experience.
There are only a handful of
restaurants in SMA that have it all: great food, creative drinks, world-class service
and a million dollar view to match.
ZUMO is at the top of that list.
Buen Apetito!
ZUMO is
located at Orizaba #87 in San Miguel de Allende, Gto, Mexico. Phone 415 152 0489 zumosma.com
Open for
dinner Tuesday – Saturday, with seating at 7:00 PM and 9:00 PM.
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