Santos Fuegos, Holbox

In February, after one too many grey winter days, I escaped to Mexico with a simple plan: sun, tacos and margaritas. What I found instead was a trip completely shaped by food, people, and unexpected moments.

From Cancun to Isla Mujeres and Tulum I tried every kind of food I could find: busy food markets where I shared tables with locals, tiny seafood spots by the port serving fish straight from the sea, and beach restaurants where margaritas somehow tasted even better watching the sunset barefoot. Tulum`s design-heavy dining scene was stunning too. Dramatic interiors, beautiful plates, and restaurants that looked like they belonged in a magazine,  but somehow those weren`t the meals I remembered most.

Holbox was different.

The small island, with its sandy streets and slower rhythm, felt peaceful in a way nowhere else did. One evening, while walking back to my hotel, I noticed a crowd gathered outside what looked like someone`s house. I walked closer and realised it was actually a hidden garden restaurant. Everyone seemed to be talking about how incredible the food was, so naturally I wanted to try it too.

After initially being told it was fully booked, I somehow managed to book a table for the following night at Santos Fuegos Holbox.

The restaurant was simple, warm, and complete opposite of posh or overly styled. An open-fire garden kitchen where everything felt intimate and effortless. Chef Rodrigo Balbiani creates a changing menu inspired by Caribbean flavours and local ingredients, and the whole experience felt more like being invited to someone`s home for dinner than eating at a restaurant. I tried ceviche, mushroom flatbread, and flank steak, but the dish I still think about was the spicy wood-fired broccoli (yes, the broccoli!). Crunchy yet soft inside, sweet, smoky, slightly sour and gently spicy all at once. Completely unexpected and perfectly balanced. I still don’t know how they made broccoli taste like that. I could honestly eat it every single day for the rest of my life.

By the time I left, Santos Fuegos had become one of the most memorable restaurants I`d ever visited. Holbox had already stolen my heart with its peaceful atmosphere, beautiful nature and the local dog shelter I visited (where I seriously considered cancelling my flight home and adopting five dogs), but that dinner was the final piece that made me never want to leave the island.”