Jorge Vallejo is the Mexican chef-owner of Quintonil in the Polanco district of Mexico City, a two-Michelin-star restaurant that has risen to No. 3 on The World’s 50 Best Restaurants 2025, the highest-ranked restaurant in North America. Born in Mexico City, Vallejo studied at the Centro Culinario Ambrosía, worked on cruise ships and then at Noma in Copenhagen, Diana at the St. Regis Mexico City, and Enrique Olvera’s Pujol in Mexico City. He opened Quintonil in March 2012 with his wife Alejandra Flores, whom he met while both worked at Pujol in 2009.
Quintonil received two Michelin stars in the inaugural Michelin Guide Mexico 2024 and retained them in 2025 and 2026. The restaurant has climbed The World’s 50 Best Restaurants from No. 27 in 2021 to No. 3 in 2025, with Vallejo named North America’s Best Restaurant in the same year. In 2022 he won the Estrella Damm Chefs’ Choice Award, the only World’s 50 Best award voted by other chefs. Quintonil’s menu is 98% Mexican in origin, with most vegetables grown in the restaurant’s own urban garden or sourced from producers across the country.
TL;DR
- Mexican chef born in Mexico City
- Chef-owner of Quintonil in Polanco, Mexico City (opened 9 March 2012)
- Two Michelin stars since the inaugural Michelin Guide Mexico 2024, retained 2026
- No. 3 on The World’s 50 Best Restaurants 2025 (highest-ranked in North America)
- Estrella Damm Chefs’ Choice Award 2022 (voted by other chefs)
Jorge Vallejo key facts
| Born | Mexico City, Mexico |
| Nationality | Mexican |
| Main restaurant | Quintonil, Newton 55, Polanco, Mexico City (opened 9 March 2012) |
| Michelin stars | Two at Quintonil since 2024 (retained 2025, 2026) |
| World’s 50 Best | No. 3 (2025); No. 7 (2024); No. 9 (2022, 2023); on list since 2016 |
| Style | Modern Mexican; 98% Mexican ingredients; heirloom vegetables, native herbs, insects |
| Partner | Alejandra Flores (manager; met at Pujol 2009; co-founder of Quintonil) |
Early life and training of Jorge Vallejo
Vallejo was born in Mexico City. He dropped out of high school and enrolled at the Centro Culinario Ambrosía in Mexico City, one of the country’s leading culinary schools, where he trained in both management and culinary arts. His early career took him through an unusual combination of kitchens: he spent time on cruise ships before moving into fine dining, first at Diana restaurant at the St. Regis Mexico City, then abroad at Noma in Copenhagen under René Redzepi.
The decisive period came after he returned to Mexico City and joined Pujol, Enrique Olvera’s pioneering modern Mexican restaurant, in 2009. At Pujol he met Alejandra Flores, who was working as manager and had completed a master’s in hospitality management at Les Roches in Switzerland. Flores had also served as operations and commercial director for the Enrique Olvera Group. The couple began dating and in 2011 left Pujol with the explicit goal of opening their own restaurant in the same Polanco neighbourhood.
Quintonil opened on 9 March 2012 on Newton Street in Polanco as a casual daytime restaurant with second-hand furniture, a daily menu, and a small loan as starting budget. The name refers to quintonil, a species of Mexican amaranth green. Vallejo has said the concept from day one was to “welcome customers and bid farewell to friends”, a family-restaurant framing that was unusual for a chef starting in fine dining. Over the next decade the restaurant evolved from casual to fine dining without losing that hospitality register.
Jorge Vallejo career timeline
- Childhood: Born in Mexico City; drops out of high school
- 2000s: Studies culinary arts at Centro Culinario Ambrosía, Mexico City
- Mid-2000s: Works on cruise ships; then Diana restaurant at the St. Regis Mexico City
- Late 2000s: Stage at Noma in Copenhagen under René Redzepi
- 2009: Joins Pujol in Polanco under Enrique Olvera; meets Alejandra Flores
- 2011: Leaves Pujol with Flores to open own restaurant
- 9 March 2012: Opens Quintonil on Newton Street, Polanco, Mexico City
- 2016: Quintonil enters The World’s 50 Best Restaurants at No. 12
- 2019: Ranked No. 24 on The World’s 50 Best
- 2022: Ranked No. 9 on The World’s 50 Best; Vallejo wins Estrella Damm Chefs’ Choice Award
- 2023: Ranked No. 9 on The World’s 50 Best; La Liste’s top Mexican restaurant
- May 2024: Two Michelin stars in the inaugural Michelin Guide Mexico 2024
- 2024: Ranked No. 7 on The World’s 50 Best
- 2025: Ranked No. 3 on The World’s 50 Best, named North America’s Best Restaurant; Michelin Guide Mexico 2025 retains two stars
- 2026: Two Michelin stars retained in the Michelin Guide Mexico 2026
Jorge Vallejo signature style: 98% Mexican, heirloom and seasonal
Vallejo’s central argument is that Mexican cuisine already contains everything a three-Michelin-star kitchen needs and that the chef’s job is to showcase it with precision rather than import foreign ingredients. The Quintonil menu is 98% Mexican according to Vallejo himself; only the caviar, an unspecified fish, and olive oil are imported. Most fruits and vegetables come from Milpa Alta and Xochimilco (the chinampa farming districts of Mexico City) and from Hidalgo and the State of Mexico. Pork comes from Michoacán and Yucatán, beef from Durango, fish from Baja California.
The tasting menu runs nine courses and changes seasonally. In July 2025 the menu was built around asparagus, carrots and mushrooms; other seasonal focuses have included ant larvae and cactus. The emphasis is on heirloom vegetables, native Mexican herbs (quintonil itself features in several dishes and drinks), and unusual ingredients like chicatana ants, grasshoppers and Melipona honey from stingless Mexican bees. A separate counter seating area serves a shorter menu including insect-based tacos, with a view into the open kitchen.
The dining room holds about 42 guests across two small windowless rooms and counter seating. Volcanic stone floors, wood and mirror cladding, custom tables made by craftspeople on Mexican Federal Highway 15, and plates purchased from an outlet in Austin, Texas. The restaurant now employs 60 people, and a substantial urban garden supplies the kitchen with fresh produce (in some cases travelling just 30 metres from garden to plate). Quintonil also owns two wine labels, including Alfalfa made from Nero d’Avola grapes in Valle de Guadalupe.
Notable dishes at Quintonil
Several Quintonil dishes have become reference points in modern Mexican cuisine. The blue corn and crab tostada with green pipián (enhanced with galangal, lemongrass and makrut lime) is the restaurant’s most cited opening course. Tamales of duck pibil with elote cream bring a Yucatán technique to Mexico City fine dining. Braised oxtail in traditional black recado sauce is a deep reinterpretation of the black mole canon. Prickly pear sorbet and the crème fraîche with Melipona honey and caviar close most tasting menus. Insect tacos (grasshoppers and chicatana ants) on the counter menu are the most talked-about of the casual offerings. The seasonal vegetable courses from the urban garden rotate most frequently.
Jorge Vallejo awards and recognition
- 2016-present: Quintonil on The World’s 50 Best Restaurants (No. 12 in 2016)
- 2022: Estrella Damm Chefs’ Choice Award (The World’s 50 Best Restaurants, voted by other chefs)
- 2022: No. 9 on The World’s 50 Best Restaurants
- 2023: La Liste’s top Mexican restaurant; No. 9 on The World’s 50 Best
- 2024: Two Michelin stars in the inaugural Michelin Guide Mexico
- 2024: No. 7 on The World’s 50 Best Restaurants
- 2025: No. 3 on The World’s 50 Best Restaurants; Best Restaurant in North America
- 2025-2026: Two Michelin stars retained in the Michelin Guide Mexico
Jorge Vallejo impact on Mexican cuisine
Vallejo’s most concrete contribution is the demonstration that a Mexican restaurant can sit at the very top of the global rankings using almost exclusively domestic ingredients. When Quintonil reached No. 3 on The World’s 50 Best Restaurants in 2025, it became the highest-placed restaurant in North America and the highest-placed Mexican restaurant ever on the list. The 2024 two-Michelin-star rating in the inaugural Michelin Guide Mexico confirmed the French-inspection system’s recognition of what 50 Best voters had been tracking for most of the 2010s.
The second contribution is the partnership model Quintonil runs with Mexican producers. The restaurant’s commitment to 98% Mexican sourcing creates a meaningful supply chain with the chinampa farmers of Xochimilco and Milpa Alta, pork producers in Michoacán and Yucatán, and beef producers in Durango. Vallejo has been explicit that the goal is to support regional producers whose work has a positive impact on their communities and ecosystems. During the COVID-19 pandemic he ran initiatives supporting struggling local producers and feeding vulnerable communities in Mexico City.
Within the modern Mexican generation he sits alongside Enrique Olvera at Pujol (his former employer, also two Michelin stars in Polanco) and Santiago Lastra at KOL in London, who worked with René Redzepi on the Noma Mexico pop-up. His peers across Latin America include Leonor Espinosa at Leo in Bogotá and Alex Atala at D.O.M. in São Paulo, all working in what The World’s 50 Best has called the Latin American terroir generation.
Jorge Vallejo FAQ
How many Michelin stars does Quintonil have?
Two Michelin stars, held since the inaugural Michelin Guide Mexico 2024 and retained in both the 2025 and 2026 guides. Quintonil shares the two-star tier in Mexico with Pujol, the Polanco restaurant run by Vallejo’s former employer Enrique Olvera.
Where is Quintonil?
At Newton 55 in the Polanco district of Mexico City, near the Polanco metro station. The restaurant occupies a small converted building with a discreet facade and seats about 42 guests across two small windowless rooms and a counter area.
Is Quintonil really No. 3 in the world?
Yes, on the 2025 World’s 50 Best Restaurants list. The restaurant has climbed from No. 27 in 2021 to No. 9 in 2022 and 2023, No. 7 in 2024, and No. 3 in 2025. The 2025 ranking also made Quintonil the highest-placed restaurant in North America.
Did Vallejo work with Enrique Olvera?
Yes. Vallejo joined Pujol in Polanco in 2009 under Enrique Olvera and worked there for two years before leaving to open Quintonil in 2012. He met his wife Alejandra Flores at Pujol; she was operations and commercial director for the Enrique Olvera Group before co-founding Quintonil.
Does Quintonil serve insects?
Yes. Insects are part of traditional Mexican cuisine, and Quintonil’s menu includes grasshoppers (chapulines) and chicatana ant preparations, especially on the counter-seating short menu. Melipona honey from stingless Mexican bees features in several desserts including the crème fraîche with caviar course.
What is next for Jorge Vallejo
Following Quintonil’s 2025 No. 3 ranking on The World’s 50 Best and the 2026 Michelin star retention, Vallejo remains focused on Quintonil as the core of his work. The restaurant continues to deepen relationships with regional Mexican producers and expand its urban garden. Vallejo and Flores have signalled interest in international events and collaborations rather than opening additional full restaurants. His public Instagram (@jorgevallejoa) is the best source for current menu updates.
