Restaurant of the Month: La Creole at Hacienda Santa Cruz

Each month Yucatan Today visits a restaurant in order to describe what it has to offer. This is not a review; it is a summary of the menu, service, ambience, prices, and opening hours.

August, 2010

The haciendas of Yucatán which have been restored and now offer accommodation and fine dining have one thing in common: their current owners are proud of the hospitality that they offer. But there the similarity ends…each hacienda is unique and has something different to set it apart.

Robert and Caroline Franck have brought a French touch to Hacienda Santa Cruz. Robert is from France, and Caroline comes from the French Caribbean island of Guadeloupe. Together they have created an ambience of comfort, calm, and conviviality. The hacienda has a rich historical past in an environment of luxury and peace.

In the heart of the Machine House, the main restaurant of the hacienda has two dining areas: a non-smoking area and a lovely outdoor terrace. Hotel guests have their breakfast on the terrace, and this informal space is ideal for a delicious gastronomy experience in a casual setting…reminiscent of an inn in the French countryside. The food combines flavors of French, Creole and Mediterranean cuisine, and the menu changes every day depending on the fresh products and the season.

In order to offer the very best quality cuisine, each day the menu offers one appetizer, main course, and dessert. However, chef Juan Carlos Arce Castilla is a man of many talents, and if any of these selections is unsuitable for any reason, he will gladly prepare something different for you. The daily menu, along with the extensive wine list, is posted on a blackboard. The wines, from Mexico, Argentina, Chile, France, California, South Africa, and Australia, range in price from 340 pesos to 550 pesos, and all are available by the glass, for 60 pesos.

Some recent dinner choices include:

Appetizers: Black risotto (tinted with squid ink) with parsley prawns; Galantine chicken salad; Crab and avocado salad with caviar and balsamic reduction; and Salmon Tartare.

Main courses: Beef filet in morelle mushroom sauce with garlic potatoes and camote cream; Chicken in white wine and chipotle with stuffed squash; Mero filet with pepper sauce; and Tuna loin with camote accompanied by Thai prawns served on a bed of black risotto (tinted with squid ink).

Desserts: Crème brûlée; Chocolate coconut mousse; Pears in red wine with English cream; and Tiramisu.

Hacienda Santa Cruz is situated in the heart of luxuriant vegetation, with abundant birds and wildlife. The hacienda is only 20 minutes from downtown Mérida, just south of the Periférico from Salida No. 2 on the road to Dzununcan. Reservations for dinner are essential. Tel. (999) 254 0541. The hacienda also has 10 suites for overnight stays.

www.haciendasantacruz.com