Acre Baja

Farm feast.

It started as a fantasy based on a holiday excursion. Cam Watt, owner of Vancouver’s The Keefer Bar, was walking through some nature trails outside of San José del Cabo in Baja California Sur with his business associate and friend Stuart McPherson, when they came upon a 25-acre farm for sale. Could this be a place to make extensive gardens, a true farm-to-table restaurant, and some nice accommodations? Turns out the answer was yes—though there was an obstacle.

That would be Hurricane Odile, which struck during the early building phase, and completely wiped the construction out, forcing McPherson and Watt to begin again from scratch. They decided to focus on the farm, the gardens, and the restaurant and bar, and the place, called Acre, is now open for business, in the outback area of Cabo, less than 10 minutes from the Old Town.

Mexican restaurant veterans Kevin Luzande and Oscar Torres run the gardens and the kitchen, tempted away from their previous jobs by the lure of doing real farm-to-table dining in a direct, hands-on way. The modern, seasonal, rotating menu features fresh dishes such as tuna tataki, chicken liver mousse, charred octopus, and lamb meatballs. Dani Tatarin, who was manager of The Keefer Bar, has taken up residence here, to run the bar, and build its cocktail and wine lists; a tamarind old fashioned or a glass of Spain’s Canta Perdices should start you off right.

McPherson says, in an almost bewildered way, that “the next phase is the treehouse portion of the hotel, pool, and spa.” So, despite the major setback, the property looks to become a complete realization of the dream hatched over a meal at nearby Flora farms. “I have to look in the mirror sometimes to make sure it is me, as it’s not something I ever envisioned doing,” says McPherson. Visualized or not, Acre is now a reality, and splendid.

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Post Date:

March 9, 2016