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Any chance getting to Polanco in 1.5 hrs from MEX internation flight?

Any chance getting to Polanco in 1.5 hrs from MEX internation flight?

Old Jun 15, 2017, 1:46 pm
  #1  
bdh
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Any chance getting to Polanco in 1.5 hrs from MEX internation flight?

Hello All,

My wife and I have an overnight layover in MEX connecting from an international flight. Our flight is scheduled to arrive at 8:10PM, and I made a dinner reservation in Polanco for 9:45PM (the latest time I could get). Is there any chance we can make it there in time, or should I just give up and cancel the dinner plans?

We'll probably just carry-on bags, so no waiting for luggage, but we are coming in from an international flight, so we'll have to clear customs.

Thanks
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Old Jun 15, 2017, 2:13 pm
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S, puedes

I just did this a few days ago. The answer is that it depends on the wait time in the immigration (INM) line. My wait was nearly 30 minutes, but I was seated near the front of the airplane; other passengers had to wait longer. After that, it took probably 10 minutes to clear customs and get an Uber car. Finally, the drive to Polanco took approx. 30 minutes.
So yes, it is possible. However, if you experience a long wait in the immigration queue, 90 minutes might not be sufficient.
If I were you, however, I would keep the reservation and expect that most likely I could arrive on time at the restaurant.
Buena suerte
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Old Jun 15, 2017, 2:16 pm
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Also

Oh and I did not check any bags. I would highly advise against checked baggage here because that would only raise the risk of delay, as you probably already know.
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Old Jun 16, 2017, 3:21 pm
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bdh
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Thanks for the reply. It's good to hear we at least have a chance of making it. Obviously we'll be at the mercy of traffic and immigration lines, but if there's a chance we'll probably give it a shot.
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Old Jun 17, 2017, 9:26 am
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Originally Posted by bdh

We'll probably just carry-on bags, so no waiting for luggage, but we are coming in from an international flight, so we'll have to clear customs.

Thanks
If you are coming from South America, the baggage wait is up to an hour. If you are flying AM (and other various airlines), carry-on weight/size can be quite restrictive, so just be prepared.
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Old Jun 17, 2017, 9:37 am
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If your reservation is for 9:45, how late can you arrive and still be seated? (What's the custom for fine dining in Mexico?) Also, at what time is last order or, in other words if you arrive very late and still get your table, will you be rushed to decide very quickly? (I would hope that a good restaurant wouldn't do this, but at times I've had to negotiate by saying that I've already decided or that I won't order every course.)
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Old Jul 5, 2017, 10:27 am
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Just an update for everyone, we ended up making our reservation, but just barely. Our flight into MEX got delayed about 30 minutes, so we had roughly 1 hour to make it from the gate to the restaurant. We were in the front of the plane and walked quickly to immigration, so when we got there there was absolutely no one in line ahead of us and we were through immigration in 3 minutes (definitely got lucky there).

The queue for a taxi was about 20 minutes according to the guy working the booth, so we got an Uber, which took maybe 10-15 minutes. Then, with traffic it took maybe 45 minutes to drive to Polanco. We ended up at the restaurant 10 minutes late for our reservation, but there were no problems getting seated (I called from the Uber to say we'd be late).

Originally Posted by MSPeconomist
If your reservation is for 9:45, how late can you arrive and still be seated? (What's the custom for fine dining in Mexico?) Also, at what time is last order or, in other words if you arrive very late and still get your table, will you be rushed to decide very quickly? (I would hope that a good restaurant wouldn't do this, but at times I've had to negotiate by saying that I've already decided or that I won't order every course.)
We were told we were too late to order the tasting menu (though I think even if we were on time for our reservation we'd have been too late since they stop offering it at 9:30), but at no point did we feel rushed ordering from the a la carte menu. We ordered starters, entrees, and desserts, and they also brought out three other small courses in between the courses we'd ordered. By the time we left (maybe 11:30ish) things were definitely winding down and most of the tables were empty, but there were still a few other tables that hadn't finished yet.

Last edited by bdh; Jul 5, 2017 at 10:38 am
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Old Aug 24, 2017, 4:31 pm
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Was this at Pujol? I was there a couple years ago and have reservations at their new space, it's supposed to be much nicer.
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Old Sep 2, 2017, 4:28 pm
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Originally Posted by DutchessPDX
Was this at Pujol? I was there a couple years ago and have reservations at their new space, it's supposed to be much nicer.
No this was Quintonil. It was fantastic, but I haven't been to Pujol, so I can't compare the two.
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Old Sep 2, 2017, 7:25 pm
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Originally Posted by bdh
No this was Quintonil. It was fantastic, but I haven't been to Pujol, so I can't compare the two.
We did both about 2 years ago and thought Quintonil was the lesser of the two. Heading there in a couple months and only made reservations for Pujol since the moved into their new space. Glad you made it!
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Old Sep 11, 2017, 10:24 am
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Originally Posted by bdh
No this was Quintonil. It was fantastic, but I haven't been to Pujol, so I can't compare the two.
We have reservations at both Quintonil and Pujol in a few months (though thinking about cancelling Quintonil). Are you saying there's a cutoff time for tasting menu ordering at Q?

Q to all: If your dinner time reservation options are 7p and 930p, and you're doing the tasting menu, which time would you choose in CDMX?
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Old Sep 11, 2017, 3:41 pm
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Originally Posted by TravelManKen

Q to all: If your dinner time reservation options are 7p and 930p, and you're doing the tasting menu, which time would you choose in CDMX?
Whenever possible, I'd choose the reservation for a time when the table doesn't need to turn by a time certain.
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Old Sep 11, 2017, 9:49 pm
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Originally Posted by TravelManKen
We have reservations at both Quintonil and Pujol in a few months (though thinking about cancelling Quintonil). Are you saying there's a cutoff time for tasting menu ordering at Q?

Q to all: If your dinner time reservation options are 7p and 930p, and you're doing the tasting menu, which time would you choose in CDMX?
Yes, the tasting menu is only available 1pm-3:30pm and 6:30-9:30pm (http://www.quintonil.com/menus/alimentos-en.pdf). I think this is by when you're seated though, so the 9:30pm time might in theory be ok for the tasting menu, but you'd probably want to call and confirm. Our reservation was 9:45pm and the server still went and asked the kitchen if the tasting menu was possible. We couldn't do the tasting menu, but the fact that the server asked makes me think we weren't that far off from the cutoff (i.e., 9:30pm).
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Old Nov 12, 2017, 11:40 pm
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Wow some great recommendations here - will definitely have to try Pujol on my next visit. ^
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Old Nov 13, 2017, 9:34 am
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I was just at Pujol 2 weeks ago, fabulous meal as always, their new location is amazing but problematic. Apparently they built their brand new restaurant in a residential area. The building itself is gorgeous, very modern, surrounded by a bit of a garden and the interior is quite an improvement over their previous space. However, their neighbors don't seem to appreciate the restaurant. There were signs along the street leading to the restaurant saying "Don't eat at Pujol. They're operating illegally." Signs were in English and Spanish. When I entered the maitre de asked if I liked their new restaurant and I joked, "Yes, I seem to like it much more than your neighbors" he just joked and said "They'll get over it".
It didn't ruin our dining experience, and we'll likely be back when we visit Mexico City again (Pujol has become our dining tradition in MC) but thought it was an interesting development for a restaurant in the top 50 in the world.
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