For our blowout meal while visiting Valle de Guadalupe, I made reservations at Fauna which for several years had been touted among the "best" (in lower case and strong quotes) restaurants in Latin America. Of course…those lists…..Fauna was chosen as the "best" in Mexico in 2023 according to Eater. Of course, I kind of temper my expectations at bit. We've dined at Maido, which has claimed the title of Best Restaurant in the World in 2025 and Osteria Francescana when it held that title back in 2018. Both meals were good and innovative; but each with short comings for us. Still, what I had read and seen regarding Fauna was interesting, so I made those reservations.
Of course our driver, Ivan was super punctual, and off we went! We were dropped right at the entrance of Fauna which is located in the huge and sprawling Bruma Wine Resort.
We were greeted and seated. The Missus wasn't too fond of the communal seating arrangement, but I kind of enjoyed the social aspect.
I had a cocktail and the Missus wine while we looked over the menu.
We started with some wonderful shellfish. I think the Missus's favorite was the super sweet abalone, which came with a nutty pepito flavored aspic. The blood clams were so sweet and an umami bomb.
The Baja Oysters were mildly briny and refreshing, with a clean finish.
The Tuna Fin Sopes where a bit salty and the sopes were on drier-chewier side. For some reason, it also lacked a nice "maize" flavor as well.
The Octopus with Tomato was interesting as it was quite herbal. The octopus was cooked perfectly and quite tender.
The scallops in the Scallops in Eggplant Puree was so sweet and tender.
But the eggplant puree was thinner than I anticipated and really lacked the smoky-savory flavor we enjoy. It was also a bit on the salty side.
The Rabbit and Celeriac was an interesting dish as the rabbit was compressed.
Surprisingly mild in flavor, the rabbit was super moist and tender. The celeriac added some nice sweet tones as well. This was served with some blue corn tortillas, which, unlike the sopes were mildly sweet and "maizey".
Seeing Sweetbreads on the menu; you know I just had to order it, right?
Served on a savory, lovely potato puree, and with crispy fried kale to add an interesting bitter-sweet flavor and also textural contrast to the nutty-buttery, mildly offaly sweetbreads, this was an delici-yoso dish!
The Striped Bass with a Pasilla Adobo was very good.
The fish was perfectly pan fried, crisp exterior, moist and flaky, while a bit on the salty side. The adobo was wonderful, smoky, slightly sweet, mild spice, quite rich in texture.
There were two dishes we were advised to order by folks we know. The first being the Charred Cabbage.
Which lay in a large dollop of a sauce made of Chilhuacle Chiles, which was the sweeter side. The cabbage was fine….and we've been ordering charred cabbage this when we see it on menus since we had it at Senia. The cabbage was quite mild in flavor, even though it was charred and should have really developed a sweet smokiness.
And then there was the Wagyu which was served with a Pasilla Chile Stuffed with Cheese which was kinda overkill.
The steak was toothsome and quite beefy, though cooked past our preferred doneness.
The Missus did enjoy the desserts.
While the Missus was not particularly fond of the communal seating and definitely not in same league as Pujol; I think we'd return if we had a chance.
We felt sorry for the young man who was part of the Asian couple across from us. He was so excited to be dining at Fauna; but the young lady accompanying him was having none of it. She made many rude comments…sometimes not even touching what was on her plate! She just didn't want to be there it seems, making the meal as unpleasant for her date as possible, and was totally unable to just "suck it up" for the sake of the young man. Sigh….
Fauna
México 3 Km #73
Francisco Zarco, B.C., Mexico
After dinner we strolled around the area a bit.
Thinking that perhaps we might want to stay around here should we return to Valle.
This was really not to my liking. The crust of the pizza was rubbery and soggy, the edges quite chewy. I don't think it had been baked long enough. It did look nice and I thought the amount of cheese was good, but in spite of the curry, I thought this a bit bland overall. The curry itself was quite thick and had some spice; but for some reason the flavor just seemed to vanish in the entire package.
Well, I wasn't too inspired by the whitish color. Was not a fan of the way too soft coating which lacked crispness, something that I like in my karaage.
As for the Sisig slice……well, this was fairly bland, even with the slices of serrano chilies; it really lacked the tangy-sour-porky flavors that make 
The katsu was really crisp, perfectly fried….I think I'm going to ask Rob the next time I see him, what kind of panko he uses. The chicken was moist, nicely seasoned without being overly salty, though I think it could be a bit more tender. 
Man, look at the langostas! The beans were bland and watery and the rice on the harder side and also very mild in flavor, but those lobsters! There was a time when the Missus just didn't care for lobster; having had quite a few bland versions of them . But time and visit to places on the east coast and Canada, She has come around. And these were delicately, sweet-oceany, with a firm, yet pliable texture. 
Which came with a side of sticky rice; which was actually more hard and dry than "sticky". The dish consisted of two whole "wings" and another odd piece. The chicken was nicely fried, more crunchy than crisp, and very moist. The flavor seemed to be a bite "off" though. There was a hint of lemongrass and garlic; but it seemed to need a bit "more" savory-salty tones, and came thru as being on the bland side, an adjective that one really doesn't associate with Lao cuisine.
Well, this was quite a hefty lunch! The miso soup was fine; not watered down like many other versions these days.
The rice was moist, tender, and fragrant; though the portion size was a bit too large for me. I think if I go solo again I'll make sure to get a half portion of it. I was really heading into 
I waffle between getting the filet or loin cut….after this meal, I guess I'm back on "team loin"? I really like the meaty texture, fat content, and the porkiness. The sauce tends to the sweeter side in my opinion, so I use it sparingly.
This was pretty bad. The dan bing was rubbery…speaking of rubbery, the skin of the duck was not crisp, the fat hadn't been rendered from the duck properly and it had way too much sauce. This is what happens when you can't "do your own thing" with Peking Duck.
I quickly noticed something about these almost $3 a piece shumai…..do you see it? Well, the wrappers were really too thick, but all of them had 
First off, look how these lack uniformity, second, how haphazardly the wrappers are placed. Third, the filling was hard and dry. It was also overly salty. The shape was like someone rolled a meatball and just threw wrappers over it.
While the potatoes had a generous amount of bell peppers and onions, it was bit on the greasy side. No complaints about the bacon as She also ended up poaching some of mine.
