November 8, 2026 · What's New · MERO 18
We have a new menu. The new MERO 18 menu went live this November 2026, and before anyone panics: the cold bar was not touched. What happened is that everything around that core grew. Ceviches and aguachiles split into separate sections, the sushi bar filled up with nigiri, pokes and yakimeshi, a whole main-course section appeared with both sea and land on it, there are new desserts, and the wine and bar list has become a chapter of its own. Here's the tour, with exact prices from the menu.
What didn't change: the cold bar is still the heart
If you know us, you know how the menu opens. Oysters go by the piece and are shucked in front of you: fresh $70, in seven dressings — natural, ponzu, shaved, green aguachile, diabla sauce, cocktail style or chili ash — and hot $90, Rockefeller, zarandeado style or garlic mojo. Tostadas run from $150 (shrimp) to $170 (conch), and the tiraditos still come with either leche de tigre or ponzu: tuna $260, salmon $280.
The starters held their ground too: Shot Shot Shot ($90) with oyster, citrus and a hit of chile, guacamole ($150), tzatziki ($150), tuna tartare ($180), beet salad ($130), roasted cauliflower ($170) and Greek salad ($150). The dish-by-dish walkthrough we've always given first-timers is still at what to order at MERO 18.
Ceviches and aguachiles now have their own sections
This is the smallest change on the list and the one our servers are happiest about. The two used to share a block, which produced a lot of "a shrimp ceviche… but spicy?" from guests who weren't quite sure what they were ordering. Now they're two sections, each with its own styles.
The ceviches come in chili ash, traditional or mango curry: catch of the day $190, shrimp $200, conch $220, mixed $250. The aguachiles come in chili ash or Sinaloa style: shrimp $200, conch $220, mixed $220. Read apart, the difference is obvious — ceviche is citrus and patience, aguachile is chile and urgency. We draw the line properly in ceviche vs. aguachile vs. tiradito.
The sushi bar grew: nigiri, pokes and yakimeshi
Here's the big one. The sushi bar used to be a short list of rolls; it's now a section with four families. Rolls are still ten pieces each and there are eight of them, from plantain & cheese ($165) — shrimp, eel sauce and toasted sesame — to crab ($220) with tempura soft-shell crab and kanikama, by way of shrimp tempura $180, vegetarian $180, two tuna $200, breaded roll $200, salmon $200 and eel $210.
The new material starts below that. Nigiri arrived, by the piece and with nowhere to hide: tuna $60, shrimp $60, salmon $70, eel $70 — the most honest way to judge the day's fish, which is why we wrote a whole guide to nigiri. Pokes arrived too, on rice with vegetables, avocado, cucumber and your choice of protein: catch of the day $160, tuna $180, shrimp $180, salmon $200 (more in our poke bowl guide). And then yakimeshi, rice stir-fried in the wok: vegetarian $185, chicken $270, tuna $280, salmon $290, shrimp $290, mixed $290, beef $320. Never ordered one? Start with what yakimeshi actually is.
A main-course section was born: sea and land
For a long time, the answer to "anything hot?" was a breaded roll and not much else. Not anymore. There's now a main courses section with six serious plates. From the sea: charred shrimp ($280) from the stone oven with a spicy zarandeada sauce; shrimp in filo pastry ($290) under a sweet-and-sour sauce; grilled salmon fillet ($290) with sriracha, rice and salad; and seafood fettuccine ($290) with mussels, clams, shrimp and squid in tomato sauce with parmesan.
From the land, two dishes that change who you can bring here: tempura chicken ($270) with sweet-and-sour sauce and gohan rice, and a 250 g rib eye ($390) with patatas bravas. It's the first time this menu has carried a cut of beef, and it exists for a specific reason: the table of six where one person doesn't eat fish. More in our guide to the main courses and in the one about the rib eye.
Four desserts where there used to be two
The dessert list expanded as well. The fried plantain ($165) stays, as does the Catalan cream ($165) — the one that comes out with a candle in it on birthdays — joined now by a chocolate cake ($210) and a Basque-style cheesecake ($250) made with truffled cheese and signed by @JONAPLAZAS. That last one is what we'd order if only one dessert fits.
A much deeper wine and bar list
The other chapter that multiplied is wines & bar, which now opens with champagne: Moët & Chandon, 750 ml, by the bottle only — Impérial Brut $3,500 and Ice Impérial $3,800. Below that, Mexican wine by the glass and by the bottle, the most repeated request we got: reds 4 Soles $130 / $550, XA $150 / $650, Casa Madero 3V $300 / $1,400; whites L.A. Cetto Chenin Blanc $150 / $800, Casa Madero Chardonnay $240 / $1,100, Relieve Chardonnay $260 / $1,200; rosés and sparkling from Blanc de Zinfandel $150 / $650.
Spirits grew to match: four tequilas (from José Cuervo Especial $120 to Don Julio 70 $250) and four mezcals (Mezcal Cancún $160, 400 Conejos Joven $170, Mezcal Unión $170, Don Valdés $200), plus a row of rums, vodkas and whiskeys. Cocktails come in two blocks now: spritzes — sangria $220; tinto de verano, Aperol, Limoncello and St-Germain at $240 — and classics at $250: mojito, margarita, martinis, carajillo, piña colada, whiskey sour, cosmopolitan and moscow mule. To pair without guessing, read Mexican wine with seafood.
How to read the menu depending on your table
A longer menu is easier to enjoy with a route. These are the five we hand out at the door.
- Here for the cold bar: six assorted fresh oysters ($70 each), a shrimp aguachile ($200) and a tuna tiradito in ponzu ($260), with a glass of Chenin Blanc ($150).
- Here for the sushi: tuna and salmon nigiri ($60 and $70) to measure the fish, the two-tuna roll ($200), then a mixed yakimeshi ($290) in the middle. Context in our guide to sushi rolls.
- If someone doesn't eat raw fish: that's what the main courses are for. Charred shrimp ($280) or seafood fettuccine ($290), and the 250 g rib eye ($390) for beef. See also the shrimp dishes.
- With vegetarians: roasted cauliflower ($170), Greek salad ($150), the vegetarian roll ($180) and vegetarian yakimeshi ($185). More in this guide.
- For a celebration: Impérial Brut champagne ($3,500), hot oysters ($90 each), a mixed ceviche ($250) and the Basque-style cheesecake ($250) with a candle on top.
Picked your route? Book a table in under a minute — fill in the form, WhatsApp opens with your request ready at +52 998 490 1961, and we confirm right away.
Where to try the new menu
You'll find us on Avenida Carlos Nader, in downtown Cancún, inside Mezcal Boutique Hotel and open to everyone — hotel guest or not. The place is a jungle hidden in downtown Cancún: palms, canvas shade sails, a jungle garden with a cenote-style pool and, when the heat gets serious, a glass dining room with air conditioning. We're open every day from 7:00 am to 11:00 pm, with breakfast from 7:00 to 12:30. We hold 5.0 stars on TripAdvisor and 4.9 on Google.