As we've mentioned elsewhere, Colonia Cuauhtémoc is mostly residential with a restaurant row along Rio Lerma. This restaurant row is not to be underestimated. Cuauhtémoc may not have the hipster flash of Roma or La Condesa, but it's no slouch when it comes to food. Here are some of the best places to go.
Bravo Loncheria
Bravo Loncheria is a torteria offering lunch sandwiches on bolillo rolls made in-house. The torta is a humble, local dish—think something like banh mi. It's meant to be affordable, and that's about the height of its aspiration. But Bravo has elevated the torta, while still keeping the price extremely reasonable. Fresh breads, filled with chicken or short rib or marlin, are paired with sides of sweet potato or grilled octopus. This is a lunch counter, but it's far from a typical one, as the crowds huddled around come midday can attest.
Rokai
Rokai is a Japanese restaurant in the heart of Mexico City, from Hiroshi Kawahito, a chef born in Tokyo and raised in L.A. The sashimi earns high praise, but what sets the place apart is its emphasis on tasting menus, particularly omakase. Omakase is an enormous tasting menu, whose name implies a great deal of trust. That trust is well-earned. Chef Kawahito only works with fresh fish and seafood. Common complaints tend to be about the price, or from people who went into the omakase not knowing what to expect. But if you're open to a great sushi experience and willing to pay for it, Rokai is the definitive place in Mexico City.
Don Asado
Don Asado is a Uruguayan-style steakhouse. That means a few things. The first thing it means is that the cuts might be a little thinner than you're used to. The second is that it's all about the meat—and lots of it. Steaks take center stage, but they also have pizzas, including a meter-long pizza offering that's hopefully meant for groups. The general consensus is that the food is very enjoyable—not life-changing, but good, especially for what you pay. Guests also say that the atmosphere is good—it's open, a place to come with friends, relax, and talk for awhile, provided you can hear over the Juan Gabriel videos.
Les Moustaches Restaurant
Upon seeing the name, you might assume a tongue-in-cheek atmosphere, but Les Moustaches takes itself very seriously. Offering French and international food in an old Porfirio-era mansion, the place has been satisfying the palates of business and political visitors for 40 years, and Chef Rafael Bautista has earned quite a reputation here. Guests repeatedly point to the service as attentive but not overbearing, and dishes like the fried calamari and the filet Wellington draw as much praise as the quiet ambiance.
Le Bella Lula Reforma
La Bella Lula offers Mexican cuisine—specifically, Oaxacan food—near the U.S. Embassy. The mole is singled out for praise across review sites up and down the internet. La Bella Lula has been fairly successful—in addition to three locations, they've opened up the seafood-centric Lula Mar as well as Dona Lula. Information in English is hard to come by, but that just means that most of the enthusiastic rants about the authenticity of the Oaxacan cuisine are in Spanish, and that's probably a good sign.
(featured image via Flickr)
