On the Town: Tapeando

Berezi Gastrobar

Plaza Samara: Antonio Dovali Jaime 70, Santa Fe. 

Tel.  5292 4753

$$$

A scallop never looked so good

This smart new ‘bar de tapas’ is located on the mezzanine level of a new but characterless mall in Santa Fe, overlooking a pretty landscaped garden.  It offers Spanish classics well done: croquetas those perfect little béchamel balls, are crunchy out/creamy in and served with pleasantly mild ali-oli. We’ve never seen, in Mexico, the little skewered gildas, named after Rita Hayworth’s character in the eponymous film.

Costillas, little morsels of pork  rib are falling-apart tender and lightly sweetened with balsamic.

And callo con romesco y velo de azafrán is a minimally cooked scallop that sits proudly on a dollop of smoky/tangy hazelnut-thickened sauce from Catalonia and is worth the trip to this un-loved part of town.

Capote

Álvaro Obregón 179, Colonia Roma Tel. 5511-0429

Tapeando at Capote

Open: Tuesday- Sunday: 2 p.m.-2 a.m.

$$

Pedro Martín, the Canarian chef once of Tezka and other high-falutin’ D.F. venues has opened an unpretentiously cool bar at the end of Alvaro Obregón with a few tables in and out (which are these days quite difficult to procure). The menu is all tapas, simple-to-complex little dishes, reasonably priced meant to be shared and accompanied by wine from the wallet-friendly list. Service, however, tends to range from perfunctory to downright rude, a rarity in this town of smiling hospitality.

Kaah Siis

Mazaryk 123, corner Schiller,  Col. Polanco

Tel. 5250-0274

Open Monday- Saturday 1:00 p.m. to 12:00 a.m.

www.kaahsiis.com

$$$

A new venue for interesting ‘Alta Cocina Mexicana’ offers two tasting menus based on local artisanal and seasonal products. Dishes can be shared or one can take advantage of the tasting menu. The eight course mega is a bit too much even for this glutton – go for the six.