Toro Cabo, Cabo San Lucas, Mexico

Under the direction of executive chef Maximiliano Rios, the menu at Toro Latin Kitchen & Bar for this 2020 winter season stirs up big emotions, and it’s all because of time.

Time to research and create. Time to sit down and read new books full of recipes and time to study. That time has become the chef’s ally in preparing culinary presentations that invites the most demanding palates to relax and enjoy.

Toro opened in 2015, and since that time, the Latin American kitchen has begun an endless number of dishes that end in perfection. This year, Maxi Rios made some changes to an already established and successful menu, but evolution is necessary, as the chef says.

Each season brings new challenges to the table and fulfills customer expectations, which increase year after year. It is demanding. But Toro Latin Kitchen & Bar does not freeze in the face of fear; what it is bolder, more subtle, more detailed.

Inspiration was found once more in Latin America, where South America is the premier ally. The flavors go back to the past and a diversity of verbs where grannies and aunts were the main sources of research. With the help of the whole team, the ideas evolved little by little until they became fourteen dishes.

What they try to accomplish are flavors from home that reminds you of family. For example, a new offering on the menu is preserved or pickled eggplant that are left for a minimum of ten to fifteen days to mature after they are cooked.

Another delicacy on the menu they did not have last season are oysters. The presentation of the dish is entirely different and a little bit crazy. It features a type of ponzu jelly that allows the oyster to explode in your mouth. You’ll enjoy an authentic oriental ponzu experience. The dish is also finished with an orange zest to refresh your palate.

All this knowledge comes from hours of study and bringing home techniques from past travels and friends who shared their secrets. As a result, the traditional flavors in the dishes come with a twist that transforms them into Toro Latin Kitchen & Bar style.

If you want to talk about tacos, you need to try the crab taco because this dish is entirely different. Instead of using a typical corn tortilla, you will have one made from yucca. Yes, you heard it right, a yucca tortilla. The tuber is well-known in Costa Rica and Brasil, which means you are back in Latina cuisine.

At the end of your path throughout the continent, the chef recommends you order acevichado, created with ginger, a cream sauce, and a Peruvian milk with something called “chalaca,” a type of pico de gallo that is made of purple onion, habanero, lemon juice, and chopped coriander.

Anyway, we could write for hours about the latest menu at Toro and the chef’s efforts to find the perfect harmony of Latin-American flavors. Instead, we ask that you go there. Visit Toro Latin Kitchen & Bar and benefit from the time they have spent creating the winter menu.