If you've gone a little stir crazy since borders have been closed and you haven't been able to visit your favourite Mexican restaurant, well Ochuna is hoping to bring that experience to you. This brand-new restaurant, located inside Tropicana, had its grand opening last night, and the media was invited to give you a first-hand experience.
With seating capacity for 200 people, live performances, and exotic food, Ochuna strives to provide luxurious service for high end customers. Courtney Menzies dined with them last night and has this story.
Ochuna, the new restaurant that opened at Tropicana, is more than just that. According to the manager, it's a new type of experience right here in Belize City. He's hoping that from the moment you hear the name, you think of exotic dishes and memorable performances, without having to leave the country.
Yael Rosas - Manager, Ochuna Restaurant
"We choose the name because it comes from Mexico and we choose this name we feel in a good way here in Belize of course we wanna show you here in Belize and we want to make Belize exotic again because we have good places to have fun and here we wanna bring this new concept so this is part of the name, when you see food, drinks, everything we're going to have here. We have some concepts from Miami and Cancun and all parts of Mexico that we have some restaurants there and we want to bring the show here the same. While the people are having dinner, we want to have shows, performance, action, so we want to make different concepts here in Belize."
Reporter
"And you cater to high end customers?"
Yael Rosas
"Yes, it's part of it."
And it's a high end experience: we were serenaded by a saxophonist, swept up by the violinist and dazzled by the drummer. Indeed, an experience far beyond just a regular dinner outing.
And they chose to stage all this eclecticism - not in Placencia or San Pedro, but in the much-maligned Belize City - which they said offered the perfect setting for their vision to be realized.
Yael Rosas
"Belize is exotic, we chose Belize because here the people is amazing, the way that they are, I love it, so we really wanted to come here because our slogan is going to be let's make Belize exotic again. So we want to make Belize exotic, bring people around the world to come here watch the show eat the food and everything."
But, like every restaurant, the experience revolves around the food they serve. The executive chef told us what he hopes customers will get out of dining at Ochuna.
Hector Sordo - Executive Chef, Ochuna Restaurant
"We're trying to create a new experience of the local people and tourists as well so we created this menu, based in Asian flavours, mix it with some Mexican flavours as well and of course the Belizean flavours so you're going to have a new experience tasting this menu and it's like something you have never tried here. I'm just saying the truth and I hope you guys like it."
But while there are many flavors he hopes to incorporate, most of the meals - like these succulent lamb chops - were locally sourced.
Hector Sordo
"Most of the ingredients are local so the only thing that I imported is ribeye because I couldn't find a quality that I'd want to offer to the customers here right now, I've been trying food all over the city and I just chalk about the ribeye, the flavour, and the tender so I'm just trying to get better products from outside like ribeye but most of the ingredient are local. The lambchops are local. The salmon, it's not possible for it to be local."
But he also told us that it wasn't easy combining the different cultures into the items on the menu.
Hector Sordo
"The ceviche, I've had from all over the city, for me it's like a pico de gallo while in Mexico it's like a salad, a sauce. So here I have to make a mix between Belizean and Mexican ceviche because we eat it raw in Mexico, we cook it with the lime juice, but here I know you like it precooked, like blanche. So, I blanche them but then I cook it with the Mexican flavours and your vegetables."
And while they're looking to attract tourists, the manager, Yael Rosas, told us that this experience will also be for the everyday Belizean.
Yael Rosas
"We're going to try to have different kind of discount, special days, we're going to have this for local people. We're going to have different things, promotions, and stuff."
And they will need every seat to be filled - if they hope to recover the investment in this lush, luminous location.
The restaurant is a part of a chain of businesses linked with the Tropicana Casino. They have other restaurants in Mexico as well as the United States.
