By Ian Campbell

Guidos restaurant, in Cozumel serves up exquisite Itallian food to adoring fans!

Mexico City’s elite are a discerning bunch when it comes to eating out. And with the recent wave of trendy new eateries opening around the capital, competition to attract them is becoming even tougher. Despite this, Guidos restaurant is serving increasing numbers. a clear reflection on the caliber of the cuisine. The thing is… Guidos isn’t a trendy new eatery in Mexico City. It’s an Italian restaurant, on Cozumel Island…

Guido’s owner, manager and chef, Yvonne Villiger, visits the capital regularly to keep up with the latest trends in Mexican gastronomical fashion. Having her finger on the pulse has paid off. Guidos has built a reputation for serving food to beat even the best restaurants in the big City.That’s why the City’s rich and famous have chosen to visit Guidos. In the last decade, diners have included two Mexican Presidents, a media business billionaire and countless actors from not only Mexico City, but Hollywood as well.

The attraction is clearly the menu. If you ask Yvonne to describe her favorite selection your mouth will water at the sound of “fish cakes on a bed of curried cucumber, with a Basque white wine” or “sautéed wahoo on cream potato and leeks, followed by sticky toffee date cake.” Guidos offers a wide choice of dishes from the tried-and-trusted regular menu or the ever-changing specials menu. The prices are affordable and not just for the well-to-do. “The specials menu, is an incredible challenge”, explains Yvonne, “it requires daily inspiration in touch with the seasonal market. So we constantly have to be creative, thinking of new things.”

Yvonne took over the restaurant from her father – its founder – in 1991. He is a Swiss Chef who worked at London’s prestigious Savoy Hotel in the 1960s, before moving to Mexico and buying the restaurant from Italian travelers in 1978. When he took it on, it consisted of little more than a wood-fired oven and four tables, as well as some storage space for the souvenir shop in front. But this didn’t deter Yvonne’s father. He gave the restaurant a new look and built the classic garden courtyard that gives it the ambiance it has today.

Yvonne tells how Guidos has only missed one opening night since it was taken over from the Italians. It was with good reason, when Hurricane Gilbert struck the island in 1988. And even then, Guidos was relatively lucky - only the pizza oven lost its chimney and a tree in the courtyard fell over.Through other tropical storms and the floods last June, the doors remained open and customers came in. Proving they were prepared to get their feet wet to enjoy the dishes on offer.

With such firm foundations now on both Cozumel’s Caribbean coral and El DF’s city rock, Guidos is bound to go on attracting customers rain or shine. The best advice is to give trendy eateries a miss, eat like the rich and famous and visit Guidos instead.Guidos is located on the Cozumel Seafront just North of the ferry dock.

About the author: Ian F. Campbell is a freelance journalist and marketing consultant.

See: yourcontactintheamericas.com.

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