If you’ve started compiling a list of must-visit Valle de Guadalupe restaurants with a view, then Fauna Restaurante at Bruma Winery needs to be at the top. The restaurant is included in the World’s 50 Best Restaurant list for Latin America, the chef-owners have worked at some of the most famous restaurants in the world, and the food is simply delightful.

If you’re used to a traditional tasting menu experience, or one that has you seated at your own stand-alone table, prepare to enjoy Michelin-level dining in an entirely new way. Fauna is all about community, and that idea encompasses everything from the communal dining tables to the hyper locally sourced ingredients.

Side note: the restaurant has the most beautiful vegetable and herb garden behind the dining area, and it’s definitely worth a gander.

The concept here reminds us quite a bit of the unique interactive concept at Trust restaurant in Orange County. Basically, you put your trust totally in the hands of the chefs, and their daily changing menu. If you had a favorite dish the last time you visited, it’s almost guaranteed that that dish will have evolved into something totally new, depending on what’s in season.

Keep reading to learn more about what we loved about this Ensenada restaurant. 

The Concept at FAUNA

Located in Mexico’s much lauded Villa de Guadalupe wine country, FAUNA is a cutting edge restaurant concept that features an experimental, daily-changing menu. Chef’s David Castro Hussong and Maribel Aldaco Silva opened Fauna restaurant in 2017 with the goal of showcasing Ensenada’s abundant local ingredients, and redefining the idea of luxury in Villa de Guadalupe.

The Location & Atmosphere

There are so many wonderful Valle de Guadalupe winery restaurants that we are going to need to put together an entire blog post just on this segment of the places to visit in Mexico’s Baja wine country. 

Case in point: FAUNA is part of Bruma Winery, which produces several rose wines, Bordeaux-inspired blends, and Chardonnay. The dining room and dining tables were largely created by foraging in the area for materials that could be repurposed and reused. The dining room itself is bright, open, and airy, and fits perfectly with the surrounding desert elements.

Communal Dining

The Mediterranean climate, paired with the vineyard views, make for an unbeatable dining experience. Even the walk up to the restaurant is filled with magic. Towering sunflowers and beautiful desert gardens show the property’s commitment to preserving the pristine Mexican landscape.

The other feature that sets Fauna apart from other luxury restaurants in Valle de Guadalupe is  the communal dining concept. The restaurant features two large rectangular tables in the main dining room and two additional similarly-sized tables on the patio. The idea here is to encourage guests to interact with one another and discuss the dishes. 

If you consider yourself a foodie, you will love this!

The Chefs

Husband and wife team of Chefs David Castro Hussong and Maribel Aldaco Silva are the brains behind Fauna. David manages the savory side of things while Maribel is the Executive Pastry Chef, and responsible for the mouthwatering desserts.

Chef Castro Hussong is something of a celebrity chef in Mexico, and for good reason. Prior to directing the dining program at Bruma’s Fauna restaurant, he worked under Chef Dan Barber at Blue Hill at Stone Barns in New York’s Hudson Valley, and at three-Michelin star Eleven Madison Park under Chef Daniel Humm at Eleven Madison Park. He also staged at Noma, and has been on the cover of Food & Wine en Español.

The Menu and Chef Philosophy at FAUNA Restaurante

When you dine at Fauna, prepare to bring your appetite. The Fauna Feast is a seemingly endless array of world-class food that encompasses 15 to 18 dishes. To ensure you don’t spend the entire evening in the dining room at Fauna, the chefs serve between one to three dishes at a time. 

This is a nice cadence, and one we found pleasant when we dined. Each bundle of dishes is paired with a cocktail, glass of wine, or a beer. 

The menu was filled with unique local ingredients and preparation styles. Some of the standout items were: 

• Quinoa with cactus
• Oysters with tomato water – so wonderfully briney, but acidic
• Tuna fin sopes
• Fresh fish ceviche with cucumber
• Pork with pickled lentils
• Braised lamb with chilhuacle, a chili native to Oaxaca, Mexico
• Churo with guava and dulce de leche

The presentation of the dishes was just beautiful, and you can see by the photos that the team at Fauna is a talented bunch. 

You can also order a la carte, but with so much magic happening on the tasting menu, you might find yourself with a bit of foodie envy as you look around at the diners seated next to you.

The Wine List at Fauna

As you might imagine, the wine list at Fauna is dominated by Mexican wine producers. You will find the property’s signature Bruma wines, as well as icons like Casa Magoni. There are more French wines than you might expect, and a small number of California wines from Napa and Paso Robles. 

Final Thoughts

Fauna Restaurante marks another great 5-star dining experience in Valle de Guadalupe! If you visit a restaurant like this in California, or any major food city, for that matter, it could cost triple what it does in Baja. The creativity that the chefs bring to the menu will impress even the staunchest critics. 

Do visit this restaurant when you go to Valle.