The 11th arrondissement is brimming over with vibey nightlife spots with small plates to match. I’ve visited many, and most are perfectly fine, but nothing to crow about. You’re there for the ambiance and the drinks; if the food is good, even better. But on a recent visit, Tarantula revealed itself to be far more than just another low-lit wine bar; this is a veritable destination for exquisite Northern Mexican cuisine. Since 2024, Chef Emmanuel Peña Treviño (ex-El Nopal) has been lending fine dining nuance and flair to a cuisine so often unfairly relegated to the category of street food, and the only thing I’m mad about is how long it took me to get here.
Northern Mexican cuisine stars on these plates brimming over with flavor and piqued judiciously with welcome acidity. The menu features an incredible array of around 16 plates at any given time, which range in price from 8 to 24 euros. On the night of our visit, there was also a 500-gram entrecôte (65) with a Mexican play on the Café de Paris sauce you’ll find in so many local bistros and brasseries.
We hemmed and hawed over the range of choices for a while before opting to begin with the grilled Roscoff onion (12). Soon thereafter, we received a pair of thick slices of charred onion sitting pretty in a white chile sauce. A steak knife was provided to make it easier to slice the onions in to bite-sized portions, and a (very paltry) plate of bread was offered to soak up that delectable sauce. It was smoky and nutty and slightly sweet, well-balanced and positively delicious.
Next, we enjoyed a dish of fermented eryngii mushrooms (16) that had been seared and arranged on top of a pile of black beans kissed with smoked Piquín chile and smothered generously (but not overly so) in beurre blanc, one of many nods to French culinary tradition on this menu. This dish was similarly bonkers good, with a touch more heat and a lovely tang from the fermented mushrooms.
The roasted cabbage (17) wowed me a bit less, though it was quite tasty. Roasted hispi cabbage was paired with a floral coriander and coconut sauce, and it was only improved by the bright leek condiment hiding beneath (which I only discovered about halfway through).
The chicken (24) was perhaps my favorite dish flavor-wise: rubbed in chile and perfectly burnished, with crispy skin and a Japonés chile sauce that had a lemony zing. That said, it was a bit more difficult to share than most of the dishes, given its presentation: a half a roasted bird on a plate. And what’s more, it didn’t seem particularly well paired with the (excellent) homemade tortillas.
I was happy, nevertheless, to receive them, as we used them to mop up all of the sauces still lingering on our plates, enjoying the chicken on its own. After hacking away at it for a while, we realized that the darkness of the room, and the casual vibes, made it feasible to pull it apart and eat it with our hands, which, if possible, only made it tastier.
There were so many other savory dishes that stood out to me on the menu: egg-mayo with chile (8), slow-cooked pork taco with salsa taquera (14), headcheese escabeche with avocado and toasted bread (13), tuna belly crudy with mayo, salsa macha, and seasonal yellow kiwi (18). Dessert, by comparison, seemed relatively uninspiring. Instead, we opted to venture out into the night with plans to return.
Despite the room so dark you need a flashlight to read the menu (elder Millennial here…) this is a place well worth returning to: for the long menu, for the warm service, and, of course, for the exquisite food.
Tarantula – 13 bis Rue Keller, 75011