We recently discovered a truly hidden gem in San Jose del Cabo on Jose Maria Morelos in the Art District – Kitchen Table. Why do I say truly hidden? Because until a week ago, there was just a small door to enter the restaurant next to Casa Musa and across the street from Lumbre. We did not know that it was there until about a week ago when they opened the large double doors into the courtyard. Kitchen Table has been open since November 12th, 2022.

Kitchen Table was originally opened in Tulum, in the jungle, with propane for cooking and very little power. The founder is Chef Nacho Lamas. When looking for a location, the restaurant wanted something truly authentic. It is located in the interior courtyard of what was for years the Aramburo school.  Because the Aramburo School was founded in the 1950s, Kitchen Table decided to incorporate some of the elements in its design and the costumes of the staff. The kitchen was built so that it can be seen from most locations in the restaurant. When you arrive to be greeted at the host stand, you immediately see a very large bar with stools on the left and a long banquette with tables on the right of the bar area. The kitchen is further to the right. Through the bar, there is a dining room with another banquette on the left and tables within the rustic atmosphere of old brick walls and palm trees. It is extremely pleasant.

The manager (who claimed to be only part of the crew) Jeisler Daldier provide us with some background on the menu and the restaurant. Our server, Antonio then asked with we would like some still or sparkling water and provided us the menus. Both pointed out that the menu was simple with offerings of small bites or big bites and desserts as well as a cocktail and wine list. In describing the menu items, Antonio told us about Andrea, the sourdough bread, which had been in place for 467 days (I later figured out the Andrea was not the baker but the sourdough starter). We ordered a bottle of Donovan Parke Chardonnay as we went through the menu.

Jerry and I decided to try several of the small bites to share and then a single big bite to share also. Jerry loves Heirloom tomatoes, which were fresh that day from Pescadero. With our order of four small bites, Antonio suggested that we start with Andrea, the sourdough bread with smoked butter and the Heirloom tomatoes and then move on to our selection of the Crispy Shrimp and K Crudo, which was yellowtail. We tore off the ends of the small loaf of sourdough bread, each having one with the smoked butter – it was amazing. The Heirloom tomatoes were surrounded by some hummus and some greens. Combining it with the bread was even better. The Crispy Shrimp small bite was like a bowl of tempura with Basil Tempura and a small light chile tempura as well as the shrimp tempura – another winner. The K Crudo was thinly sliced yellowtail surrounded by an aguachile sauce. It was good but not as stunning as the other small plates that we had selected. For a main course, we selected the Catch of the Day, which was cabrilla served with grilled vegetables and a purée. The fish was moist and fluffy, and the vegetables were perfectly grilled.