Tulum Is Back and Better Than Ever With a New Chef and Menu

Dallas’ Tulum is finally back and better than ever. The upscale Mexican restaurant at The Shops of Highland Park has been closed since March due to the pandemic. Little did we know that the revamp of the menu and introduction of new chef José Meza (Jalisco Norte) would be so worth the wait.

Now officially reopened, Tulum boasts a new menu of authentic Mexican dishes with seasonal ingredients. With the kitchen now led by chef Meza, who has worked at Moxi (Hotel Matilda in San Miguel de Allende) and trained under chef Enrique Olvera, dishes at Tulum now include a 72-hour sous vide cooked flat iron steak, octopus, and Yucatan pork.

The Tulum cocktail menu includes several new drinks as well. The frozen Meza margarita is a delightful and beachy twist on the classic drink made with coconut water, coconut milk, and pineapple. Vacation Romance is also a nice, smoky and fruity mixture of mezcal, agave, lime, Peruvian chicha morada, and tortilla ash. My favorite though was the Paloma del Mar — an authentic Mexican Paloma with tequila, a splash of Topo Chico and grapefruit liqueur, but with Aperol and sea salt as well.

Starters or “antojitos” include several new bites like the tuna causa, — a unique tartare incorporated with tangy potato — and aguachile scallops. The scallops tartare are wrapped in a jicama (almost like a taquito) and topped with a coconut-lemongrass aguachile and squid ink chicharron.

Also, make sure to try the flat iron steak that is cooked 72 hours sous vide and served with a charred eggplant purée and Brussels sprouts. A close second to this melt-in-your-mouth creation is the Yucatan pork which comes with two styles (cochinita pibil style and lechon style), along with three purées and tiny corn tortillas to make your own tacos. To top everything off, the coconut cookie with sweet corn ice cream sandwich is not too sweet and feels like a palate cleanser before any after-dinner drinks.

Tulum is now open for dinner Tuesday through Sunday starting at 4 pm, and happy hour on Tuesday through Friday from 4 pm to 6 pm.