El Gourmet Tulum ***

So the other day we set out to find something new to eat in Tulum. We grabbed the kids and set out to town on our foodie adventure. We passed by a shop that we had heard wonderful things about but had not yet checked out ourselves. Here was the perfect opportunity. El Gourmet Tulum here we come.


After living in San Francisco for so many years, wine and cheese are a huge part of my diet. Well, I guess not so much diet as palate. We love wine and cheese. Moving to Tulum was a bit hard at first because there were not many options for cheese- and by that I mean ANY options for cheese. The option was Playa del Carmen. Enter El Gourmet Tulum.

From the sign on the door listing some of the many treats inside, we could tell that this was going to be a worthy stop. A proud announcement of cheeses like gorgonzola and provolone and various salamis and oils! Yummy!!! We could not wait to get inside.

The first thing we saw was a large deli case proudly showcasing cheeses and cured meats. We ended up getting 3 cheeses. We loved 2 of them and the 3rd was a bit salty for our taste. But that is the thing about cheese- like wine- you have to taste them all to really learn the ones that you like the most and why. There were not as many different cheeses as I would have dreamed but it is low low season and not every cheese eater in Tulum knows about this great spot yet. I cannot wait to go back in high season and see all the new things they are offering in their case. We specially asked if they had a semi soft triple cream- a typical favorite of ours. They did not but seemed willing to take input about cheeses we would like to see in the shop.

The rest of the shop also held some special treasures. Along neatly ordered shelves are various forms of stewed tomatoes, olives and capers-and many other gourmet condiments and kitchen needs including some wonderful looking gourmet mustards. I love a good mustard. A good mustard can totally change a recipe. With the plethora of noodles and other items here, you could make 1 killer dinner party with the ingredients from this store. In the future I think the plan is to sell wine as well and then I think I will shop nowhere else.

The basket of fresh baked bread is the perfect thing to round of our little snack. We chose to use some fresh fruits but almost got one of the fruit chutneys that they had to balance our budding cheese plate. We had a wonderful night of indulgence thanks to the shelves and more important the deli case of El Gourmet Tulum. We will defiantly be going back again.

El Gourmet Tulum is about 4 blocks off the main avenue. I will get the street names. This shop is defiantly worth finding. They speak English and Spanish and in fact the woman in the shop is also an English teacher. I would imagine she would also be able to do Spanish lessons as well.

If you need help getting touch with El Gourmet Tulum or you need help finding it- let me know. This is a shop that I really want to make sure stays open. I cannot go all the way to Playa del Carmen for cheese. I will lose my mind.