We drove to Puerto Los Cabos, entered through the main gates and drove the  J.W. Marriott. Arriving at the main reception, we left our car with the valet and were driven in a golf cart down the area by the swimming pools where MarHumo is located. Coming down from above, the restaurant is beautiful – outside in a setting of large palms with lights strung between them. To the left of the entrance is the kitchen with a wood=fired grill and oven. To the right was a large bar. The hostess gave us a choice of a table in the middle of the outdoor restaurant or near the back where we could see the fire pits, which we selected.

Our server, Luis provided us with the menu and asked us what we would like to drink. As we reviewed the menu, the sun was setting and we had an amazing view of the red and yellow sky. We were served a very interesting broth in a small cup with a radish and greens in the bottom. Both the process and the result were excellent. For appetizers, I chose the Angus beef carpaccio, which was served with toast and a sauce of cured egg yolk, smoked butter and toasted serrano chile. It was delicious. Beth selected the loaded potato soup. The presentation was excellent with many of the ingredients in the bowl and then the cream soup was poured over them. The soup contained light potato, leek, and fennel broth, and spring potatoes stuffed with bacon, broccoli, and golden pine nuts and sour cream. I snuck a taste and it was very good.

For our main courses, Beth selected the Ranchero Rice, which was calasparra rice in a paella with organic chicken, wild shrimp, snow peas, green beans, and chorizo de Rancho with toast. The platter was huge and could clearly have been shared between two people, with some much food. My choice was the 8-hour braised-beef short rib. The short rib was set on top of the bone and again was very large. It just fell apart after the eight-hour roasting. Along with the creamy mashed potatoes and a great sauce, it was amazing. Again, the portion was large and I took half of the rib home for a snack. We shared the MarHumo Cheesecake for dessert.

As we were having dessert, we watched a woman place more logs in the two fires in the fire pit. As she walked by, I commented that her job was very diverse. She introduced herself. Sophia is the manager of the restaurant and explained that it was the creation of Executive Chef Javier Plascencia, who is well-known in BCS with restaurants in Todos Santos (Jazamango Farm-to- Table), Tijuana (Erizo, Caffe Serverios), Ensenada (Finca Altozano), Valle de Buadalupe (Animalon, iLupe), Cabo San Lucas (Animalon on the Sea), and San Jose del Cabo (Semillon). It was great to get a little history of the restaurant.

Overall, it was a great experience. The ambience is beautiful. A DJ played the right music and the right volume level throughout the night and the setting is beautiful. The presentation, flavor and portion sizes of the food was excellent and the service was attentive and Luis was terrific.