New Restaurant Review - Kinta

[Christi]

This is for all the "foodies" out there.

A few of you may already know about this place (opened 3 months ago), but I finally had a chance to try Kinta for the first time a few nights ago, and in one word...FABULOUS! This now ranks up in my Top 3 restaurant picks on the island!

Kinta is a very small, very quaint Mexican Bistro serving everything from Fresh Chiles Poblano Rellenos (stuffed poblano pepper) to fresh fish, pasta, top grade beef, and pork tenderloin. I'll add that the Sangria is the tastiest I've had on the island!

Some of you may know Kris (the owner) as the Chef at Guido's for the past several years.

Prices are incredibly reasonable and affordable for just about anyone's budget with appetizers/salads and soups starting at $45 pesos up to $70 pesos and entrees ranging from $100 to $150 pesos.

Meals at our table of four included spinach salads and black bean soup for appetizers and the entrees:

Chile Poblano Relleno - Stuffed with a vegetable ratatouille and cheese with Kinta's special red chipotle cream sauce - DELICIOUS ($100 pesos)

Pescado Aioli - Catch of the Day (Red Snapper) baked with guaijillo pepper aioli crust served with coconut reduction sauce - MOUTH WATERING ($145 pesos)

Kamaron Tamarindo - Sauteed Gulf Shrimp with Tamarind Chipotle Sauce and plaintain mash - Reported to be FABULOUS ($150 pesos)

Pescado Pozole - Catch of the day over a pool of red pozole with tortilla crisp, Yucatecan onion and shredded lettuce - reported to be delicious - ($145 pesos)

For desert, we shared the Bread Pudding that was by far the most unique and tastiest bread pudding I've ever had...the chocolate helped - and I'm a southern girl...so I know good bread pudding when I taste it

Kris will be changing up the menu every few months...so there will always be new things to try. Currently there are two salad choices, four soup/appetizer choices, seven entree choices, and a couple of desert choices.

Due to the quaint size of Kinta and the rapidly growing popularity, reservations are HIGHLY encouraged and may be necessary on busier nights. There is indoor and outdoor seating with a great little garden in the back!

Open for dinner Tuesday through Sunday - 5:30pm til 10:30pm
Av. 5 between Calle 2 and Calle 4 North

Contact information for Kinta is:
011-52-987-869-0544 from US or Canada
869-0544 locally
kintacozumel@gmail.com

 

[MMM]

Cool. I'll have to try it when I get to Coz next week. Prices do look a bit steep however.

 

[ggunn]

Cool. I'll have to try it when I get to Coz next week. Prices do look a bit steep however.

That's one of the cool things about Cozumel; you can find just about whatever level of dining experience you want. Some places are a bit pricey, it's true, but as long as the quality of the experience warrants it, I have no problem with that.

 

[Christi]

Cool. I'll have to try it when I get to Coz next week. Prices do look a bit steep however.

Steep prices is a relative term. No it's not a Cocina Economica, but the prices are more than reasonable and appropriate for the quality of what you get...these are meals that you can't get anywhere else on the island because they are the chef's creations. And I don't know ANYWHERE in the states where you can go and get this kind of quality meal for less than $15per entree - heck, the chain restaurants in the states are more expensive than Kinta.

However, it's no more expensive than La Choza and many other favorite restaurants here (taco stands and cocina economicas excluded). Entree prices at some all time favorite Coz restaurants are:
La Choza = $80 to $200 per entree
Sonora Grill = $70 to $150 per entree
Parilla Mission (aka Mission on 30th) = $70 to $130 per entree
Casa Denis = $60 to $150 per entree
El Moro = $60 to $180 per entree

and these places above while great, all serve the same basic local style fare

 

[Diver Kat]

Christi ... thanks for the review .... sounds great! Hopefully we can check it out next week!!

 

[Nevis Diver]

Sounds wonderful. Let's got there while we are on the island ! Ashlyn and I cannot wait to go to Sorrisi's again. 10 more days.....

 

[Christi]

Sounds wonderful. Let's got there while we are on the island ! Ashlyn and I cannot wait to go to Sorrisi's again. 10 more days.....

I've already told Mago that this is where I want my birthday dinner

 

[MMM]

However, it's no more expensive than La Choza and many other favorite restaurants here (taco stands and cocina economicas excluded).
I've already told Mago that this is where I want my birthday dinner
__________________
Yep, I don't dispute that. This, to me, would be a special (ie. birthday) dinner. I do the taco stands and cocine economicas for regular dining.

 

[DiveNerd]

Thanks, will be very useful for our next trip to Coz. Finding a good place to each when we travel is always an issue. Great to have "recommended" places ahead of time...

 

[mstevens]

We ate at Kinta 2 weeks ago. It's now on our list of favorite restaurants - in the world. We were there on a blustery mid-week night, so it wasn't very crowded. We only saw 2 staff members, but we saw them constantly. They might have been owners. Their English was flawless, and they happily substitued fish *in a special* (!) for my wife.

My notes about what we had are at home, but suffice it to say things were so good they were nearly overwhelming. My wife and kid had only specials, while I ordered from the menu (Porky Pipian = crazy delicious). They make their own tamarindo *from scratch*, mostly for use in the interesting Margarindo drink, but the kid liked it even better than most (he's sort of a tamarindo connoisseur). Desserts were as creative and well-done as the appetizers and mains. Since so much of what we ordered was from the night's specials I can't comment on consistency, but I'm quite eager to find out.

It's hard to be creative without getting weird. The dishes we had (3 different apps, 3 different mains, 2 different desserts) were quite creative without being muddled or odd. Top ingredients shined through augmented by a few well-chosen enhancements. The plates looked real purty, too.

We spent less for 3 meals with appetizers and desserts and drinks (2 alcoholic, one not) than we did at Mezcalito's the following afternoon.

Kinta is very well-worth a visit. Does it sound like I'm trying to drum up business for them? Well, I do want to ensure they're still open for our next visit...