​La Cueva Del Chango

     At first glance it's unclear what you're walking into because you're coming from La Quinta Avenida (shopping strip for tourist) and off a side street covered in shade from the wild foliage you enter into a dim lighted jungle like space. Once you get through, first to catch your eye is the eclectic colorful décor that adorns a huge palapa the covers the main seating area. In the center is a small pond filled with koy and turtles that feeds into other ponds in different areas of the restaurant through small crevices on the walkway.
     We sat down to a quiet still in the air and your eyes go everywhere while your mind is trying to keep up with everything you’re taking in. Muffled sounds coming from other diners and the trickling of the water from the small waterfalls in the ponds make for a very relaxing dining experience. The rain starts to come down pretty heavy just adding to the mystic of the natural beautiful setting. We were joined by one of the owners, Andres, who wanted to learn a little more about what we offer in our food tours. As we started talking he offers us freshly squeezed juices. I opted for the Guayaba- orange juice combination while my husband ordered the mango-orange juice, both equally refreshing and without any added sugar.
     I ordered a few dishes to taste and the anticipation was killing me after reading many good reviews. We started with the Lima soup, that I would say in comparison is similar to the Mexican chicken soup but with Lima (a sweet floral, with little acidity citrus fruit) and you take it up a notch by adding the caramelized habanero chile that creates this mouthwatering combination in a good way.
We moved on to the red and green chile mole, a sauce of many ingredients and too many to remember. The green chile mole was a little tangy but not too much that your cheek muscles tighten up.  The red mole was just as I expected a little sweet but very savory. Yes, it’s one of those confusing foods that you either love or hate. I requested one of my personal favorites, the Fish Fillet Veracruz style. This dish of very little ingredients has such an enormous amount of flavor you’ll find yourself licking the dish. Green olives and capers give this tomato based sauce a favored flavoring you’ll never forget it.
     If you like to pair any of these dishes with wine, they are very capable of helping you find one and all the wines in house are from Mexico. They are very knowledgeable in the origin of Mezcal and Tequila and have some favorite options to pick from.