Tulum Latin Gastropub

I would agree with other reviewers that the space is confusing. We visited around 6pm on a Saturday night. The restaurant was empty. There was a video game machine in the corner (very puzzling). We were told to find a seat wherever, and that there was a back patio, so we headed that way. There were two other groups out there. Service was good. Chips & salsa were yummy. Drinks were mediocre (we both ordered margaritas that tasted cheap, but weren't). The menu is extensive and I was excited to see more than one vegetarian option. My husband got one of the specials and he thought it was really good. I ordered a Burrito Suizo, vegetarian. I would never order it again. The vegetables inside were huge, an odd combination, and there was no flavor. So it was giant pieces of broccoli, tomato wedges like you'd find in a salad and big chunks of carrots and squash, all barely cooked. Very difficult to eat in a burrito. There was no sauce and no seasoning. The website looks great, and I thought, based on that and the name, that we were going to a somewhat upscale Latin restaurant, but I think the menu is confused about what it wants to be and so is the space. With some changes, they could be great. It's a quality location.

This place doesn't seem to know what it wants to be. We walked in and I wasn't sure if I was at a bar, a lounge, a club or a restaurant. We came in a Thursday around 7pm and there were a bunch of people sitting at the bar but nobody was sitting at any of the tables. We stood inside for 5 minutes without anyone coming up to greet us. Our waitress was also the bartender, so service was slow.It's kinda if a weird set up with the tables: they have normal chairs on one side and a lounger type bench on the other.The margarita and the passion fruit mojito were on point.As far as the food goes, it was decent. The chips and salsa were solid. We ordered the Molcajete Estilo Mexicano - A pre-heated stone mortar filled with chicken, steak, pork chops, rib tips, Mexican sausage (chorizo), cactus, quesadillas, and topped with molcajete sauce made in-house. The meat was flavorful, especially the steak.The fried quesadilla was underwhelming. Not much flavor.All in all an uneven experience. They've been open long enough to get their act together but not sure they are really trying that hard. I was expecting more but left feeling disappointed.

We walked past this place and decided we would pop in as they were a little newer. The restaurant was basically empty except for one large party and a table of two. She told us to seat ourselves and immediately when we sat down we knew the music was going to be way too loud for us to be able to enjoy our meal. Luckily we spotted a patio out back and went out there to sit. It's a pretty big patio, but there are only three tables kind of haphazardly placed. It looks a little unfinished and we also saw a rat run across it (which may not be their fault but still is a bit unpleasant).Our server let us know they had 6 things on the menu for Peruvian night which were all written on the chalkboard in the front of the restaurant. When my boyfriend asked for a description of what was in them she said she'd never had any of them before. Then we we sat outside we asked them for a menu and she brought us a picture of the board on her phone. We both just ordered the arroz con pollo because she couldn't provide a description on anything else. When we asked what the price would be we were told "I don't know I think something in the 20s?" It ended up being $20 per meal, which is extremely pricy, especially for what we got. We did not find out the final price until getting the bill.We waited for our food for 40 minutes before my boyfriend went inside to get us more water (we'd each had a single glass and they never came out to check on us or refill) and ask them what the timeline was looking like for food. One other couple had come to sit outside and left after about 5-10 minutes probably because they never got a menu either. The food was okay. I thought the rice on the side was pretty good taste wise, just had a little bit of crunch to it. The chicken made me a little nervous and it was not what I had seen when ordering arroz con pollo in the past. The staff were all very nice, which is obviously a plus. I just don't think I could ever go back there after this experience.

Amazing food and excellent service. The decor and ambiance were great. Can't wait to go again.

Came here for dinner with a good friend and her friend who's nephew who owns the place. Started off with a margarita and went with the Cuban sandwich. While waiting, they bring out fresh bread for the table which was a nice touch.When I got my sandwich I didn't realize it came with fries which was nice. Although on the menu there was no mention of pickles so I thought I was safe because I'm not a fan of them on my Cuban. When I got it, it had them on there with tomatoes. I took them off but I'm not a wasteful person so had I known I would've asked to get it without.The pork was a little spicy but a nice touch but overall I was happy with my meal and can see myself coming back. Way to go Tulum!

Amazing service, ambience and staff! Food has always been a 10/10! This entree has always been my boyfriends and I's favorite. We would come here at-least once a week! Would definitely rec. Drinks here are also amazing! Pina Colada and Ronas! Can't go wrong with either.

Listen.... I want this place to succeed but they need help. We came in on a Monday night at 6:30. We left at 8pm and were the only table the entire time. Granted, we're a table of ten. Anyway, these guys need more business. With that said, here are the opinions I have.I want to try to be concise with this. Everything was okay. The food did not all come out at once. By the time the last person got their food the first person was done eating. There were only two guys working in the kitchen. Also, the bartender is the server is the food runner. It's all one man. And he might've been helping in the kitchen actually. If they hope to be profitable they're gonna need more staff on a busy night. The food all looked beautiful and my Aguachiles was delicious, though I'm not sure how it differs from a ceviche. It was basically a shrimp ceviche but it had a lot of large shrimp in there so that was great. My partner did not enjoy his carne asada. I tried it. The potatoes were bland and oily and the meat was chewy... BUT, I'm Mexican and that's legit how we grew up eating carne asada. It's stringy and chewy so like... I guess that's up to personal preference. The rice and beans were good, so was the guacamole, and the chips and dip too. All good. Finally I gotta talk about the atmosphere. It's very cool, 80's music playing, cool art, trendy chairs. Very cool. Not at all what you expect from a Mexican place.PS. The owners son? was asleep on one of the couches the entire time we were having dinner. I get being a family business but that's inappropriate for a place that's going for the type of ambiance they're going for. A teenage kid slouched over asleep while we try to have a night to remember is not a good look.

Highlights/Lowlights1) Conveniently Located on KK in BayView2) Walk Ins OK/No Need for a Reservation3) Very Average FoodWe stopped in to try Tulum on a Saturday night around 7:30pm. Tulum is conveniently located on bustling KK in BayView. We didn't have a reservation but didn't need one! There were plenty of bar spaces open as well as some tables. We were seated right away and given menus and waters. The ambiance here is ok, there is some cute wall detailing but you can also tell they just moved in and there were still some odds and ends laying around. I ordered a regular margarita on the rocks and my husband ordered a mango mojito. Drinks were very ok, nothing terrible but nothing out of this world either. We ordered guacamole and the jalapeño poppers for our appetizers. Guacamole was good, chips that came with were VERY salty. The poppers were a little odd. Our server brought the bacon-wrapped poppers to our table but took them away right when he set them down (no explanation). A few minutes later we were brought different poppers. These ones looked (and kind of tasted like) the ones you buy in the freezer section of the grocery store. Unfortunately the insides were cold on these. For entrees we did an enchiladas verde and the Lomo Saltado. Again, both of these were very average. The Lomo Saltado was really peppery and the fries that came with did not taste like they were made in house. Enchiladas were ok but with so many authentic Latin American restaurants in Milwaukee these don't really compete. Service overall was friendly! I think we will come back and try again but might wait until the team here gets some of the kinks worked out.

The interior is really nice, that's about all the positives. We walk in at 6:30 and some of the staff is taking shots. The place is empty, like 4 people at the bar and 1 table of 2. It take 10 minutes for anyone to acknowledge us at the bar even though we made eye contact with all of the staff. Eventually decide we're only going to stick around for a drink and appetizer because we were discouraged by the lack of service and rude employee making a lot of noise and ruckus trying to install a camera. Tools and junk all over the bar while guy is screaming and struggling to screw into the beautify wood bar. The entire vibe is just off. Eventually we order drinks and onion rings, wait 15 minutes and then are told they are out of them, we take a refund and bounce. I understand that they just recently opened but it's been a few months already no need for someone to be making excessive noise and mess on a Friday night during dinner time, do that when your closed! Very disappointed, I hope they can turn it around and bring it back to the glory that odd duck was had in the same location.

Clearly low on staff, service took forever (they had ONE bartender handling the bar and all tables) (he did best he could) food took forever and the place was incredibly hot inside, my drinks were melting before I could finish them. Wouldn't recommend unless it's literally empty.-Drinks were good -Food was great Slow service just made it a frustrating experience