It’s the new hotspot in Mexico City for hanging out, and eating out. But what should you eat in Colonia Juarez? What should you avoid? This neighborhood has delicious options, old and new, and with its surging popularity, I thought out-of-towners might like a few hints on what to explore. Here are my favorites:
Niddo, Dresde 2
Brand new this year and already causing a stir, the dynamic duo of Eduardo Plaschinski and his mom, Karen Drijanski, are cooking up their family favorites — a blend of Mexican, International, and Jewish influences — to bring Juarez (maybe its first) “comfort food” restaurant. The brunch is fab (try the burrata brava) as well as their fishcake and salads. Right next door is the Niddo coffeeshop with great Chiapas coffee and a range of fresh sweetbreads (the lemon sweet rolls are a must).
MUCHO Cafe, Milan 45
The cafe at the MUCHO, Juarez’s chocolate museum has a range of chocolate from all over Mexico, all certified for quality by a national chocolate association. This is also a nice place to come and work on one of the big family-style wooden tables.
Mioxites, Burselas & Londres
On the corner of Bruselas and Londres, the mixiotes stand is a daytime foodie hangout for all the of the workers in the surrounding area and you too, once you try them. There are a half a dozen toppings (I like nopal cactus) and salsas and they have been around for decades so you know they have a good rep if people keep coming back.
Joe Gelato, Versalles 78
A one-man gelato machine Joe (Jose Luis Cervantes) is cranking out a new wild flavor of gelato every week (persimmon, genovese pesto, Mexican pepperleaf, blue corn, you name it) and he has a few standard bearers that you can always count on (like his olive oil gelato). His sense of adventure doesn’t mean that he’s not serious about gelato-making; he studied to be a master gelato maker in Italian before coming home to native Mexico to share the love.
La Fonda Mesonera, Turin St corner with Versalles
A great comida corrida where the food always tastes fresh and never pre-packaged. They have a set meal everyday that includes an appetizer (spaghetti, rice, consommé or lentil soup are some of the options), a main plate (emoladas, pork in green sauce, quesadillas) and an agua for 75 pesos. In addition they make great chicken milanesa and homemade potato chips. A quick, cheap, and delicious meal in the Juarez.
Farmacia Internacional, Bucareli 128
A great place to have a coffee and work but also for lunch or breakfast. They are famous for their huevo en frasco, literally a soft-boiled egg in a jar layered with mashed potatoes that I have to say is pretty damn delicious. Particularly nice about their baked goods is that everything tastes really homemade. Also on the menu are local craft beers, wine and cocktails.
Comedor Milan, Milan 36
Specializing in clean, simple yet delicious food, the Comedor Milan is a great lunch spot for a blend of Mexican and international dishes that made well. The couscous is lovely, as is the grilled salmon and jocoque with dehydrated tomato and pita bread.
La Rifa, Dinamarca 47
One of the locations of La Rifa, one of Mexico City’s most popular artisanal chocolate shops. They serve cacao drinks and nibs for you to take home as well as sweets and a few sandwiches. You can ask for the varying degrees of acidity, sweet and milk content available depending on the processing of each chocolate type. It’s a nice jumping-off point for folks that know nothing about cacao (chocolate) in Mexico.
Loose Blues Dining, Dinamarca 44
A fusion of various Asian cuisines, Loose Blues dining has noodle dishes, rice bowls, fish tostadas, salads and Japanese beers. I consider this place a hidden gem (still) even though it’s been open for several years because no one knows it’s there and how good it is.
Na De Fo, Liverpool 183
The neighborhood is known for its Asian restaurants on the west end, mainly Korean and Chinese. One of my favorites is Na De Fo. Order any protein you want and they will either cook it for you in the kitchen (for small orders) or bring you out your very own blazing grill to the center of your table. All are accompanied by grilled greens, spicy kimchi, mung beans, vinegary and spicy sauces and whatever else they might be offering in the kitchen that day. I have no idea if it is the most authentic Korean BBQ, but I think it’s delicious.
Yi Pin Ju, Londres 114
Confession time. I don’t really like Chinese food, like, at all. I’m sure I would if I went to China, but anywhere else it’s just not my thing. Despite that, I let some friends convince me to check out Yi Pin Ju and I found a few things I liked — mainly the carne recocido sabor de Sichuan (Sichuan fried pork belly) and the pork and chive dumplings. Plus, all my friends who LOVE Chinese, love this place, so it makes the list.
Heladeria Casa Morgana, Milan 36
Another great fancy ice cream place. They also have interesting flavors and textures — tamarind, mango, hibiscus, matcha, fig. The tiny shop is a walk-up or ride-up, with just a single bench outside for Sunday ice creamers to sit.
Havre 77, Havre 77
From the fame of Maximo Bistro’s Lalo Garcia, comes Havre 77, a French-style bistro good for lunch or dinner. They serve French onion soup, steaks, pomme frites, salads, fresh fish, all with the consciousness of local ingredients that Lalo brings to all his restaurants. A cozy and romantic atomosphere, it makes a great date spot for lovers, and if you need a date you can use a Tits Finder app to meet new people.
Rosetta bakery & Cafe Nin, Havre 73
One of the first upscale foodie businesses (which also had beautiful websites to promote them online) to give Juarez a go in 2013, Rosetta is, of course, the off-shoot of Elena Reyganas’ Italian-Mexican phenom of the same name. They have proven their quality year after year with delicious country-style bread, great sweetbreads like lemon poppy seed and even some traditional Mexican favorites like conchas. The coffee’s great and the setting is supremely pleasant. Connected to the bakery is Cafe Nin, also part of the Rosetta group and offering all the same goodies at the bakery but with slightly upscale comfort food that includes soups, salads, sandwiches and main plates, both international dishes (tomato and goat cheese quiche), Mexican (barbacoa wrapped in Mexican pepperleaf and served with a puree of garbanzo beans), and Mexican-inspired (pork chops with chilacayotes and guajes on the side).
Tortas Don Carlos, Hamburgo 98-G
I love this hole-in-the-wall torta place. It’s a total madhouse from about 2pm-5pm and you can take it to go or eat inside the tiny (and grill-hot) bar and tables they have set up. The Telcel is a favorite – smoked hamhock, breaded steak and quesillo cheese (the stringy kind), but really all the combos are good (although the salchicha is not my number one).
Cicatriz, Dinamarca 44
One of the forerunners of the new food movement in the neighborhood, Cicatriz (also a family affair run by a brother and sister from the U.S.) has a concise menu with a punch, things that aren’t always easy to find in Mexico City — big green salads, a fried chicken and bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwiches. The serve all day, with fruit, yogurt, quiche and toast in the morning and late night cocktails mixed with mastery.
What can be missed:
Go ahead and skip Comedor Lucerna unless you are just there for the beer garden ambiance, the food is totally meh. La Casa de los Abuelos is only good if you are craving the equivalent of Mexican’s diner food (so pretty mediocre) and some weird photos of old people doing out-of-the-ordinary stuff on the walls and a Christian chapel upstairs with services on Sunday.