I Let a Local Choose Where I Eat... BEST Food in Tulum 🇲🇽

You either love or hate Toulon, but one thing is for sure, there are some interesting food spots here. Freaking orgasm in your mouth. That escalated quickly. I met my local friend Gigi and we are on a mission to show you the best food spots in Toulon, even if we don't always agree on the food choices. Gigi convinced me that it really tastes good, but I'm not so sure about it. But I'm an adventurous girl, so I gave it a try. Turns out it was not my thing. But apparently, Mexico makes you forget about everything. So smooth. This is why you need a local friend in every destination that you go to. Buenos dias and welcome to Toulon in Mexico. Today I'm taking you on a mission with me to find the best food spots that Toulon has to offer. And I've lived here for, I would say like two months, two and a half months, and I've already found my favorite spots. And today I have a local friend who is going to join me to show you around and just, you know, talk food. So I would say let's go. I hope you're hungry. Hola Gigi. Hola, how's it going? So guys, this is my friend Gigi, my local friend, and you have a very special thing going on here. What is it that you do? It's called Toulon Dinner Club. We meet up every week and we do different events like dinner, breakfast, lunches, anything that involves food. And people from everywhere, locals, travelers, expats, we get together and we just go around town and we try different food places and restaurants and coffee shops. And the whole experience is just to bring people together, you know, so they can meet each other. There's a lot of solo travelers over here and it's just like a nice way of uniting everyone. And at the same time exploring all the amazing food that Toulon has to offer. So if you're into Toulon, come join us. Yeah, we will link it down below, all of the info that you need. That is also how we met. So we went out for this dinner and met Gigi and now we are here. Because we both love her. Foodie besties. Our first stop is actually a coffee shop. I was on a mission to find the best coffee spot here in Toulon and here we are at Story Horse. Let me take you inside. Hola, Andy. Como estas? How are you? Muy bien, gracias. Can I have the usual, please? With your best coffee beans that you have for me. He already knows me so every time I come here I try different coffee beans and something that is very special about this place is that they have purely Mexican coffee beans which I didn't know they have such a variety and it's just so freaking good. So I'll try the new coffee beans. One thing that I love about these guys is that they are so precise with how they prepare the coffee. Everything is measured. You can tell that they know exactly how to extract the coffee. There's a lot of detail, a lot of love for like attention and then also for, you know, making coffee according to your taste. What I want to make, being from Veracruz, it's a typical and naturally extended fermentation. Nice. Coming to Mexico after spending so much time in Asia feels like a reverse culture shock to me. So I'm trying to adjust as easy as possible and I also want to avoid the touristy places. I want to go where the locals go and things just work a little differently here. So I have to make sure that I get the info that I need for this trip and to get all of my foodie spots in place. And one of my travel hacks is actually doing real-time research. I follow pages like Tulum Dinner Club, Insider Tulum and I try to look for cafes, for markets, for restaurants that fit my personal taste and for that I use the HoloFly eSIM. I'm connected the moment I arrive and I'm off to explore and eat some food. And I have unlimited data and I don't have to send swaps. I really like the convenience that comes with it. And if you're abroad for more than 30 days, you can get their monthly and yearly plans to stay always on. The best part about it, no roaming fees and no hassle. You can choose between the unlimited plan to make the most of it or go light with 25 gigabytes of data and the essentials. Their customer service is also top-notch which is reflected in the 4.6 star rating on Trustpilot with over 70k views. My life has completely changed since I switched to eSIMs. I can look up reviews, I can plan my food trips, I can get in touch with restaurants, friends, whatever I want to do. And if you want to check it out, I'll leave a link in the description box down below. You can use my code Nelly's Life for 5% discount and let me know how you like it. If you have any questions, feel free to ask. And now back to the vlog. Coffee came out and we have a cappuccino for Gigi, flat white for Nelly as per usual. We just got this peanut butter cookie. It's freaking good and it goes so well with the coffee. Cheers! Wow! This one is very chocolatey. This one's very good. Coffee taste test successfully done. We approve. Same. 10 out of 10. 100%. Okay, we'll keep it very honest here. Gigi just told me that she does not love peanut butter and I had no idea. So, it's just going to be me. Full cookie for Nelly. It looks good though. Yeah, it does. And you know, it just has like this sea salt on top and like chocolate chip and... Gigi, you're missing out. Really? Okay, give me one of these. It looks so good. I always smell my food. Do you guys do that? Yeah, I do that. Smell your food. This is not bad. And it's very light. It's not super peanut buttery and it's soft and it's salty. When you mix it all together. Wow. Yeah. That's actually pretty good. Right? This is why we need to try new things because you never know, right? Exactly. Like in your palate, they say your palate changes also like every five years. Mine changed a lot. Especially after living in Asia. Yeah, I think when you travel a lot too. You know, like when people told me they eat shrimp paste. I was like, whoa, what? Fermented shrimp paste on top of that? Like, I don't know about this. Now I'm like, oh, it's missing shrimp paste. Like when I have a rice dish, I'm like, oh, it's missing something. It gives it a lot of umami. So shout out to the Asians watching. Yeah. You guys know your things. Keeping an open mind to trying different foods. Yeah. We have come to the next spot, which is Mera. This is a place where I really love to have breakfast or like a midday snack. And sometimes I just love to sit down, get some work done on my laptop. And it is also a very, very lovely team that works here. So most of the times you will most probably find me here. Okay, what did you get? Oh, I got cacaocito. This is a chili cold cacao. And it's so delicious. So rich. I mean, look at the color. Yeah. Like you could tell just by seeing the color, right? I know. And it's so good. It's got like a hint of chili in the back. But it's not like super spicy, which I love. Oh, it's so good. One of the drinks that I was recommended to try is actually the fermented pineapple drink here. Is it a Mexican thing? Yeah. Yeah? I mean, they love pineapples. Everything has pineapples in it. Oh, yeah? Yeah. It just tastes good. It's kind of like a kombucha, but it's not so punchy. It still has that sweetness. Oh, it smells like a kombucha. Yeah, right? And you know, sometimes kombucha can be very funky as well. I'm like, oh, it's too much. And like vinegary. But this one is very round. So this is definitely one of those drinks that you should try. The típic piti advera. Very good. All right. Food came out and we are so ready to dig in. Super hungry. I'm looking forward to eat this one. Look how pretty and colorful with like all of the flowers. And wow. And the avocado toast. We all know Mexico has the best avocados. So we're going to have the fantastic avocado toast, eggs, Japanese style. We have tumac, I think it's called. And as I'm looking at all of the food, I'm just kind of like salivating already. It's just like mouthwatering to just see it, right? I just wanted to tell you about this phenomenal dish because the burrata here is made in Mexico by this guy that just focuses on making burrata. I met him the other day here. Oh, tell me. Yeah, yeah. He makes like a taste test, like a quality test. And this plate by itself is just so beautiful. It has pear, some herbs, flowers, nuts and like good olive oil and ham. So you get everything in one plate, which is just such a nice plate. You also want to touch it. It becomes so pretty. I know. I'm just like, I want to take a picture with it. I want to put it on the wall, frame it. And then we also got some really nice sourdough toast. I got the tuna. I think it was just a tomato. And the sourdough is so delicious. It had like cherry tomatoes and it was like kale, beets. Mmm, quality that you can taste. Let me know how you like it. Mmm, so good. Right? It just has so much different flavors. And it's creamy. Yeah. And it's fruity and savory. And crunchy. And crunchy with the nuts. Very well put together. Yeah. All the flavors. But they also have the one on the toast, as we know. Oh my God, is that lemon? There's like citrusy, there's like lemon zest on top. Beautiful. My favorite. Now I'm a huge fan of the Japanese eggs that they prepare here. It's just so creamy and like so nice. And I love to add some of their homemade chili. I love the eggs. How can eggs be so delicious? Right? All righty, we made it to the next stop. And this is a very special one. And it's very dear to Gigi's heart. And it is a delicious one as well. You should definitely save this one for your next home visit. Okay, Gigi, what is so special about this spot specifically? Okay, so we come to OT every Sunday. And we call it Sunday Church. Because we are here religiously, no matter what. Like Sundays. We have our whole friends here. We run into people. It's a very local spot in a very hip corner of La Palazza in Tulum. And it's very special because the way that they make the cacao. So the owner, Diego, he sources cacao from Chiapas and Tabasco. And he was explaining to me, it's a blend of the cacao that's fermented. So you're getting the rawest, purest form of cacao. And it's why it's so delicious. So you have the option of getting it cold. And the option of whatever milk that you like. Or you can get it warm. And the cold one comes in this cute little like coconut shell, which I love. Yeah, me too. It's just a very special place. You know, cacao is also known to be a heart opener. So it just feels like really like good and homey when you take a sip. And you just like, you know, sit with it. And it's just really special to us. We love it. According to your smile, it's like on point. Says it all. And something that I also wanted to mention is they have different kinds of mixtures here. So you have it with ginger, coffee, vanilla and nutmeg and lavender. And it's so delicious. And I personally prefer it iced. It just tastes so nice. Yeah. So we made it to Local, which is this cute bar, little bistro I would say. And we're currently sitting by the bar. We have a look into the kitchen. We have this adorable couple who is making some really nice, literally home-cooked food for you. Right? Yeah, it's amazing. Yeah. And then really good wines. So we just said, OK, you know what? Let's do a bottle. Yeah. Let's go first. What happens? So we have the first item being prepared for us, which are the... What is it? Endives with Gorgonzola, right? Everything right in front of our eyes. OK, tell me what's so special about this place. Why do you like coming here? All the food is delicious. Yeah. It feels very community. Like they welcome you with open arms. And you also run into like all the locals here, hence the name Local. Yeah. I don't know. It just feels like very like comforting being here, you know? Yeah. And it helps too that they have amazing wine. Yeah. So cheers to that. Oh, yeah. It's an amazing place. Yeah. Look how pretty that looks. So we just got the hamachi and the endives with Gorgonzola. And there's some pistachio on top. Cheers. Wow. That's crunchy. Warm. It's like cheesy. But light. Very nice. So we have the losses from France. This wine is a organic wine and tastes freaking phenomenal. OK, so we do have the birria, which looks so good. This is it. Yum. Look at that meat. So yummy. Are you excited for this? Yeah. There's just something about meat that cooks for a very long time that is just so comforting. It has such a nice, deep flavor. And then we have the polenta that goes so well with the sauce. It's so yummy. OK, so we finished the food. And we are very full. We can't say no to a very good dessert. We have a separate stomach for dessert. Exactly. And we were just told that this is a very special dessert. We like cheesecake. That is a mix of Basque and Japanese cheesecake. And then we have a chocolate flourless cake that looks amazing. And look at that. OK, we just sat down, ordered drinks. And my cocktail was on freaking fire. And I was like, oh my god, this is like a lot of fire. And Gigi literally said, watch out for your hair. So good advice. Look how beautiful this drink looks. The color is so nice. Right? It's like an orange, like a pastel orange color. And the glass. Can you see the glass? Yeah, it's like a skeleton. Yeah. Wow. Very cool. Everything here is so aesthetically pleasing. So, so nice. Cheers. Salud. Wow. Yeah. Wow, wow, wow, wow, wow, wow. The good thing about being out with a foodie is that we share everything. So cheers to that. Yeah, so good. Oh, wow. This one is way smokier. Yeah. But also like floral. Oh. Okay. Oh my god. It's a full plate of insects. I'm literally dying. Like Gigi convinced me that it really tastes good. But I'm not so sure about it. Oh my god. Okay, so this came out with the guacamole. Wow. I'm glad I had a drink. There's more insects than guacamole. I'm not so sure about the Scorpio. Oh my god. I'm sweating. I swear I'm sweating. Like, oh my god. It's a freaking Scorpio that I'm going to eat. It's crazy. Oh my god. What am I doing here? Why am I doing this? I'm trying to culturally immerse myself. But I'm not sure if I'm loving it this much. Sorry. I just felt like it stung me in my mouth. Okay. Sorry. Oh my god. I'm sweating, Gigi. I'm sweating watching you. So Gigi said, I swear it's good. You have to try it. Well, I didn't try the Scorpio. You didn't? Oh my god. You have to try it. I have to catch it. Oh my god. It's somewhere in my hair. I need a drink. And I don't know. I'm too freaked out about the Scorpio. I'm scared. Did you eat it? Did you spit it out? Okay, okay. Here. Here it goes. Got it? It tastes like... It tastes like tequila. But not in a good way. Now I'm sweaty. Okay, now we can see what came out. And we have the short rib that looks like it's going to fall off the bone. We're going to do the fall off the bone test. And then the pork belly that was sizzling on that grill. It was just like, wow, it looks so good. It smells amazing. I know that it's going to taste great as well. So we're super excited to just dig in. Let's do it. Okay, Gigi, taste test. Speechless. How? How are these short ribs? It's tender. It's soft. It's juicy. Delicious. I love it. This is my favorite. So when I met Gigi, she said, you need to come to this place and just have the short ribs. Because the short ribs are to die for. With the mole, with the carrot puree. And it's like so soft and like falls off the bone. It's juicy. It has like this amazing flavor. It's just like freaking orgasm in your mouth. Literally. That's what she said. Also, FYI, great day spot. Great day spot? It could be your warm up. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Pork belly looks freaking amazing. This is like a nice like mom's cooked meal or something. Yeah, just with tequila. Yeah. Maybe like a Mexican mom. Mexican mom. Maybe from the abuela. We're going to have these mezcals. Mezcals, sorry. Oh, look at this. It looks so dangerous. How do I drink it? This before or later? The real thing to taste the mezcal. Yeah. All the people think that the orange and the salt is at the end. But it's in the beginning. In the beginning. Yeah, because it's when you clean your mouth. Like the wine, you clean your mouth and then you start feeling the real flavor of the mezcal. And then the second. Wow. And the third one, you are not going to feel the throat. It's smooth. Yeah, you don't feel it in your throat, in your garganta. So smooth. How was it? Full belly. Good. Yeah, I know. All delicious. It was so good. We had some really amazing food here. Great hospitality by Juan and his team. And maybe, maybe we'll go for a drink somewhere nearby. I have something in mind. I don't know if you want to. Let's do it. The really cool place. You got to check this one out. It's called La Guarida. Okay. And you can do it from here. Like it looks like someone's like terrace. And then they have like different rooms that you go into. Like they have like a music room where you play. Like they have like a bunch of record players that you can pick. And people are just lounging. They have like sofas on the floor. And then they have this other room which is like the library slash like movie room. Yeah, it's super cool. And just the whole feel of it when you're there. It's amazing. They have like pool games. And then they have a rooftop. One of the seats is like you're sitting in a like in a boat. Yeah. Like in a canoe. And it's just, it's on the rooftop. And it's awesome. Say no more. You already convinced me. This is why you need a local friend in every destination that you go to. You should really make the effort to, you know, get out of your comfort zone and just meet new people. Because this is where you get the best spots. Yeah. Let's go. The music was on full blast and we squeezed in some girl talk over a drink. Not everything needs to be on the vlog, but rest assured, we had a good time. And of course, I have to save some of my favorite spots for the grand finale. Let me know in the comments which one of the spots you would try and subscribe to see the next videos where I discover the Toulon street food scene. See you in the next one. Adios.