For those of you just tuning in from some other place and time, La Pigua is a famous seafood restaurant located in Campeche, a few hours from Merida. For the geographically challenged from north of the Rio Grande, Campeche is a state and within that state is a city also known, confusingly, as Campeche. This state and city is on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico, and has a well-deserved reputation for seafood preparation which should continue to endure as long as Pemex doesn't get too aggressive in polluting the Gulf in their never-ending quest to find more natural resources to convert into dollars to line someone's pockets. But the Critic digresses...
Campeche is only about a 2 hour drive from Merida, but you can now save that time and not have to face the agonizing drive back, since there isn't really much to see or do in Campeche, although they are trying. You can have the excellent seafood right here in the formerly white city! It seems that La Pigua's owners have decided to go out on a risky (in Mexico) limb and 'franchise' their operation to some local folks here. Probably Casa Marina and their pompous announcement of having stolen the chef from La Pigua had something to do with the fact that they were going to open here at all costs.
The Critic hereby issues a public apology to the Fussy Crew, since he just couldn't wait and had to try the Pigua himself but promises that another visit can be made as soon as possible to reevaluate!
La Pigua in Merida is in a lousy location in the Critic's humble opinion, just off San Fernando at 62 street, one block before the already reviewed Borrego Acurrucado. Parking is difficult near the restaurant itself, which will be a detriment to the Yucatecan clientele who like to park as close as possible to anything they're visiting, and would probably drive inside the restaurant and be served in their car if that were at all possible. For hardy foreigners and waches, who were abundant that Sunday, this presented no problem since all the businesses are closed in the area and you can pretty well park along any part of the street.
Reservations are not accepted, so it is first come, first served. Sundays are quite busy and the Critic spent a good 20 minutes waiting at the door along with between 6 and 12 other potential diners, in a tiny area that doubled or should I say tripled as bar (for the restaurant), thoroughfare to the office area and waiting area for new guests. No one actually greets you - a waiter who is in charge of the seating eventually gets around to jotting your name down and then you're all set.
If you think, dear readers, that the review of this restaurant was going to be another negative nit-picking commentary, you are mistaken! Yea, rejoice, cybercitizens of the NotTheNews readership; be glad because the Critic absolutely loved the food! The service was very friendly, fast and knowledgeable. But the food! The coconut shrimp that Casa Marina displays as their creation appears here as La Pigua's. Whose was first? Who cares! They're great as an appetizer for two. Seafood soup was right on, chunky and seasoned just right, and the squid and octopus were not the tasteless chewy pieces of Firestone you get in your coctel in Chelem or Chicxulub. Try the Campeche Caviar, which is not a can of caviar brought to your table without an opener; but rather a pasty concoction made from the hueva or roe, of some fish whose name escapes the Critic at the moment. Fernando, maybe? No, but it's irrelevant anyway. Then as a main course, try the pampano with seafood sauce. The trick here is that the pampano is deep fried, then dressed with the rich seafood sauce which has all kinds of little goodies in it. Again, outstanding!
Their was no room for desserts of any kind, which all seemed to be some sort of Campeche thing.
On the way out, no one really was paying any attention and one just kind of leaves without anyone thanking you for the visit or whatever. Can't expect too much now can we??
All in all, this is an excellent restaurant, with good service and extremely good food. Pricewise it's more expensive than the average, but you won't feel ripped off, unless everything in your miserable life is judged by how much it costs; then you should go to the cheapest, ugliest restaurant in town (the Louvre) comes to mind and knock yourself out for 5 pesos a head. Back to La Pigua: a couple of points to consider would make it perfect in the Critic's humble and totally subjective opinion:
- Turn up the AC. It's just too damn hot at this time of the year to be scimping on the air conditioning. After waiting near the door for 20 minutes and with the restaurant full, those BTU's should be working overtime;
- Hire a hostess, preferably female, in deference to all those restaurants out there that advertise hostess positions in the local press and hasten to add that sexo femenino is a job requisite, duh. Someone to greet you when you arrive, offer you a courtesy drink if no tables are available, wish you a pleasant afternoon when you leave and generally act like he or she cares about you;
- Expand the waiting area or move it somewhere else. It's too busy and crowded with the waiters at the bar, all the guests standing there with the door opening letting in 40 degree heat furnace blasts every 2 minutes. If you're gonna make your customers wait, at least make them a little bit comfortable - you're not doing them any favors and they will appreciate the detalle.
So there you have it. Go as soon as you can, who knows
how long this will last, preferrably on a weekday to avoid the Sunday lunchtime
rush. And since a 5 is a 5, the niggling little details mentioned, that
separate the good from the great, give La Pigua:
horrendous, don't bother, not worth the price, time and/or calories
not really good, but has the occasional saving grace
average, some good points some bad, nothing special
good, only a few nitpicking details
really good, great food, great ambiance for what it is supposed to be,
great
