Tulum, Mexico-focused restaurant sets up shop in New York City’s Seaport district
“The chef, my partner and I lived in Tulum for six months,” he said of the origins of the eatery. “The chef went to Tulum and found the best fish from there for our restaurant. We wanted to show the spices they use in Tulum too, which are different from that of other Mexican cuisine.”
Casa Tulum is just the latest opening in the area, following acclaimed chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s Tin Building food hall in September, launched by real estate management group The Howard Hughes Corp.
Casa Tulum’s chef, Rodrigo Abrajan, is known for his El Paso Taqueria restaurants in Harlem. Villanueva, who also designed the beverage program at Casa Tulum, crafted the cocktail menus at Latin eateries La Pulperia in Hell’s Kitchen and Cuba in Greenwich Village.
Villanueva says he envisions Casa Tulum expanding across the city.
“We want to turn Casa Tulum into a brand,” he said. “We’re looking into opening in Midtown and uptown.”
The restaurant is also one of three recent openings of Tulum-focused eateries in the city. This month alone saw the opening of Ixta in the Bowery as well as Tán in Midtown East.
