Latest news with #MexicoCity-inspired
Eater
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Eater
A Beloved Chinatown Space Is Reborn as a Mexico City-Inspired Cafe and Bar
As the sun sits high over Chinatown, the front foyer of Cafe Tondo is bathed in pink light, casting a warm glow on the well-worn concrete floors that were once the home of a tire shop. Opening on July 25, the Mexico City-inspired cafe and bar takes over the former Oriel under the A Line train tracks, bringing a new destination to the neighborhood for everything from early morning coffee and conchas to afternoon spritzes and salsa after dark. Cafe Tondo, which translates to circular in Spanish, comes from a collaboration between first-time restaurateur and Mouthwash Studios co-founder Abraham Campillo, Mike Kang of Locale Partners, and chef Valeria Velasquez. Drawing on his upbringing in Los Angeles's Mexican culture and memories of his mother's hospitality, Campillo set out to open Cafe Tondo as a place for the community to settle in, especially as he sees public spaces that encourage gathering slowly disappearing. 'As designers who often do digital things, we feel specifically within our community that algorithms are pushing us further [apart],' he says. Campillo saw those spaces, where friends could spend hours, slipping from espresso to wine without having to move locations, across Latin America and Europe, but felt like they were missing from Los Angeles. 'LA has the best weather,' he jokes, pointing to places like Canyon Coffee and Seco as in line with what he envisioned for Cafe Tondo. Sean Davidson Sean Davidson At Cafe Tondo, Velasquez explores dishes from Campillo's childhood, her upbringing in Bogota, and years living in Mexico City, starting with piloncillo and cinnamon-tinged cafe de olla and croissants in the morning, and then Milanesa at night. Before joining Cafe Tondo, she worked with 108 and Amass in Copenhagen, Café Altro Paradiso and Mattos Hospitality in New York, and Rosetta in Mexico City. 'It's like a celebration of Latino culture, especially Mexico City's vibrant culture,' Velasquez says of the menu. 'I am Colombian. I was born and raised there, but I now live in Mexico City. I've been [in Mexico City] since the pandemic started, and it's definitely shaped my style as a cook.' Cafe Tondo marks her first project as a head chef in the U.S. Starting at 7 a.m., the Cafe Tondo will serve drip coffee and espresso drinks with beans from Verve, alongside mate, cups of slow-simmered bone broth, matcha lattes made with Rocky's Matcha, hot chocolate, and suero, a classic Mexican drink made with sparkling water, salt, and lime juice. A weathered wood pastry case from Rosetta sits on the counter at the front, with conchas, pan de muerte, pan de elote, and more pastries made using Velasquez's recipes. Larger plates include chilaquiles verde, eggs al gusto, and hot cakes made with masa from Mercado La Paloma's Indigenous Mexican restaurant Komal. Starting in the afternoon, a menu of wine, spritzes, and beer will be available, including Tecate or Modelo-based cheladas, micheladas, and vermouth spritzes. Those looking for a non-alcoholic option can sip on ice-cold bottles of Jarritos or Mexican Coke, or a Tondo mocktail. Coffee will be available all day. Emily Ferretti At 4 p.m., the daytime menu is replaced by Colombian empanadas with a yellow-hued flaky masa crust, and tortas filled with carnitas or mushrooms. Smaller bites include marinated olives, chips and salsa, gildas with skewered anchovies, and fries. Only two larger dinner plates are on the menu: chicken Milanesa with arugula salad and aioli, and steak frites drizzled with a verdant chimichurri. 'We all grew up eating [Milanesa], in every [Latino] culture,' Velasquez says. 'It's something that is so international, but also so close to home.' For dessert, Cafe Tondo will offer affogato de olla, rolled out on a revamped dim sum cart — a nod to Chinatown. Aunt Studio designed Cafe Tondo; the group is also behind Mouthwash's headquarters in Chinatown. The group drew inspiration from the building's prior lives — as a tire shop, massage parlor, and most recently Oriel — retaining original elements such as the patinated concrete floor, exposed ceilings, and painted white brick walls. In the evenings, neon lights cast a red-pink glow on the exterior of the compact building, reminiscent of the light that fills Cafe Tondo during the daytime. A gray-hued stone bar sits just inside the main room, flanked by a mirrored column with a window that peeks into the kitchen. On the other side of the bar, wine glasses and bottles sit on dark wood shelving, above a reflective metal La Marzocco espresso machine. Stools with white upholstery offer seating at the bar, while cushioned banquette seating and two-tops line the outer edge of the room. In a small room tucked to the side, the dining room flows into the outdoors as a glass garage door opens directly onto the enclosed patio. While the entire main dining room is available on a walk-in basis only, the patio and secondary room can be reserved for private events or booked for seated reservations. 'The art is from my house. The food is the food I grew up with, the music is the music I grew up with. I see the beer my uncles would drink late at night. It's a very personal thing. But then again, I think the beauty is in the sharing.' — Abraham Campillo The heavy, scalloped tables throughout Cafe Tondo were built by Ombia Studio in Mexico, and the ceramics adorning the walls are from Isabella Marengo of Bugambilia. All of the art at Cafe Tondo is from Campillo's personal collection; he jokes that moving the pieces from his home to the cafe will just allow him to collect more. More than just the dining room will be familiar to those who knew it as Oriel. Campillo kept the restaurant's kitchen staff, paying them even during the three-month transition and the buildout. With such a small back-of-house footprint, it was essential to have a team that was already familiar with working in it. Patio after dark. Sean Davidson Campillo approached Cafe Tondo with the intention of it being for the Chinatown community, including keeping prices relatively accessible as the cost of living in the area continues to rise. All the dishes on the breakfast menu are under $20, with the steak frites being the most expensive at $30. Glasses of wine range between $15 and $17, while cans of Tecate are only $5. He also views local businesses — both old and new — as part of the community, rather than competition, emphasizing that there is room for all types of spaces in the neighborhood. Campillo also plans to program regular performances at Cafe Tondo, including weekly Sunday jazz, DJ residencies, bolero, and salsa, which he hopes will lead to some dancing. 'I'm most excited having a place where you can have a concha, a pan de elote with a coffee or mate, and then you can come later in the day, and you can have Milanesa or empanada, and you can dance as well,' he says. Campillo feels the vulnerability of sharing Cafe Tondo with the world. 'The art is from my house. The food is the food I grew up with, the music is the music I grew up with,' he says. 'I see the beer my uncles would drink late at night. It's a very personal thing. But then again, I think the beauty is in the sharing.' Cafe Tondo opens on July 25 and will hold hours from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. on Sunday, 6 p.m. to 11 p.m., Tuesday to Thursday, and 6 p.m. to 2 a.m. Friday and Saturday. Starting August 1, the cafe will be open from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Sunday, 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, and 7 a.m. to 2 a.m. on Friday and Saturday. It is located at 1135 N. Alameda Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012. Pan de muerto. Emily Ferretti Concha. Emily Ferretti Emily Ferretti Passageway to the secondary dining room. Sean Davidson Cafe Tondo operates as a cafe during the day, and a bar at night. Sean Davidson Milanesa. Emily Ferretti Gildas. Emily Ferretti Milanesa torta. Emily Ferretti Vermouth spritz. Emily Ferretti Chelada. Emily Ferretti Cafe Tondo after dark. Sean Davidson
Time Out
10-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Time Out
The team behind Winona's has opened a Mexico City-inspired cocktail bar
Earlier this spring, we said farewell to Leyenda, Ivy Mix and Julie Reiner's bar in Cobble Hill. Lucky for us, an alum of the Pan-Latin bar is back, shaking up cantina-esque tipplers in Bed-Stuy. Introducing a Mexico City-inspired cocktail bar and cantina to Bed-Stuy, Dolores (397 Tompkins Avenue) opened its doors on July 2. The new bar is a joint venture from husband-and-wife Cressida Greening and Emir Dupeyron, the duo behind the beloved Crown Heights eatery, Winona's. Pulling on Dupeyron's childhood growing up in Mexico City, the resulting bar channels cantinas found in the area mixed in with art from the 1930s and 1940s. Transforming the space—which previously held the dimly lit, cocktail lounge and queer bar, Oddly Enough—the bright green exterior now houses hand-carved tables, green velvet banquettes and a walnut and marble bar. Channeling the rhythm of the city, albeit, in liquid form, the team tapped the surefire talent that is Leanne Favre. A renowned mixologist, Favre previously held the title of creative director at Cobble Hill's Clover Club and worked as creative director and head bartender at the shuttered Leyenda. As partner and beverage director of Dolores, Favre is shaking up agave-forward cocktails, including tried and true cantina staples with Margaritas on draft and Palomas with just the right amount of carbonation. Creativity continues with the Mexican Espresso Martini, a riff on the classic Carajillo cocktail, that swaps out espresso for a Mexican-made coffee rum and amaro. Meanwhile, her Midnight Cowboy martini variation comes with a spear of cotija-stuffed olives. Naturally, it wouldn't be a cantina without some food. Botana, or shared snacks, dominate the menu with Sopes con Picadillo, Chicharrónes Fritos or fried pork belly and a Pressed Seafood Aguachile with a combo of octopus, shrimp and squid. There's also a full menu of tacos to be had here, much of which take note from famous eateries found across Mexico. The Cochinita Pibil Turix with its Yucatán-style braised pork takes inspiration from El Turix taqueria in the Polanco neighborhood of Mexico City while The Lengua 'El Bosque' is an homage to the decades-old Bar El Bosque in the San Miguel Chapultepec area. But the weekends are sure to lure taco lovers of all kinds with its Tacos de Canasta deal. Translating to 'basket tacos,' the tacos are filled with various meats, covered in oil and layered in baskets to steam and stay warm. Available on Fridays and Saturdays from 11pm until sell out, this late-night bar bite will run you $2 per taco. So come the weekend, let's just say, you'll know where to find us.
Eater
03-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Eater
The NYC Restaurant Openings You Should Know About This July
This is Eater's guide to all the new restaurants, bars, and cafes that have opened this week. Throughout July, we'll update the list weekly. When we've been to a place, we will then include an abbreviated number of openings on our heatmap to let you know the ones we like. If there's an opening in your neighborhood that we've missed, let us know at ny@ . Bed‑Stuy: Dolores has opened – a Mexico City-inspired cocktail bar and cantina from Emir Dupeyron and his wife, Cressida Greening, who are behind nearby Winona's. Drinks come from business partner Leanne Favre, who was at Leyenda. 397 Tompkins Avenue at Monroe Street Brooklyn Heights: Fini Patio Bar has opened, an Italian-style patio pizzeria and bar from Sean Feeney, a co-owner of pasta spot Lilia with Missy Robbins. 159 Bridge Park Drive, at Pier 5 East Village: Monkey Sushi has opened, a Japanese sushi spot from Toronto, and the second one in Manhattan. 120 First Avenue, at Seventh Street Elmont: Hundredfold has opened, a French‑American brasserie by Los Angeles chef Timothy Hollingsworth, also behind Chain. 2501 Hempstead Turnpike near Clearfield Avenue Fidi: Fogo de Chão has opened, which is the newest location of the Brazilian steakhouse chain. 40 Courtlandt Way, Tower 3 at the World Trade Center Fidi: The Paris Café has reopened, a historic French-style tavern and bar, a collaboration between Legeard Studio and Opus Hospitality, of which this is its first project. 119 South Street at Beekman Street Greenpoint: Van Leeuwen's Flavor Lab has opened this new location that will also rollout test flavors. 136 Franklin Street, at Greenpoint Avenue Hell's Kitchen: Samsaen has opened from chef Dhanapol 'Oak' Marprasert, a Thai spot that channels Bangkok, named for a district in that city. 480 Ninth Avenue, between 36th and 37th streets Tribeca: Jason and Yvonne Metz behind ramen sushi bar Zutto have opened a casual sit-down spot Wok in Duane, a pan-Asian noodle and wok station. 181 Duane, at Greenwich Street Upper West Side: Tacos Cano has opened, a casual Mexican taco counter with birria and items like 'baby burritos.' West Side Rag reports that the former restaurant in the space for 26 years, Taqueria y Fonda, sold the business to Alexis Cano and his father, Elio. Both families are originally from Guerrero, Mexico, 968 Amsterdam, between West 107 and 108 streets Upper West Side: The U Bar and Grill has opened from Maria Figueroa, who also runs Inwood Bar and Grill in Upper Manhattan. Look for a menu of burgers, sandwiches, salads, pasta, and brunch. 1207 Amsterdam Avenue, between West 119 and 120th streets Upper West Side: West Side Rag talked to co-owner Fay Karoon of Thai coffee shop Typhoon Café, which has opened in the neighborhood. For now, it's drinks-focused. Karoon owns another cafe in Thailand and moved to New York six months ago, but previously lived in Boston and Seattle. 947 Columbus Avenue, between West 106 and 107 streets Williamsburg: Rose Marie has opened, a casual eclectic bar and restaurant from the Tex-Mex Yellow Rose team. 524 Lorimer Street at Frost Street See More:
Los Angeles Times
11-02-2025
- Business
- Los Angeles Times
8 L.A. supper clubs that pair good food with live music
Guests mingle and wait for a seat at the bar inside Somerville on Slauson Avenue. Feb. 11, 2025 3 AM PT The sloping View Park-Windsor Hills neighborhood bustles during the day as residents grab smoothies from Simply Wholesome market, order pies from Crustees or walk the track at Reuben Engold Park. But with few late-night dining and nightlife options, the unincorporated community turns sleepy after dark. That's changing with the opening of Somerville, a swanky spot on Slauson Avenue from partners Yonnie Hagos and Ajay Relan of GVO Hospitality, behind five locations of Hilltop Coffee (including one just next door) and Lost, a Mexico City-inspired rooftop in downtown. With modern continental cuisine and a full cocktail menu with live bands that take the stage every night, the space brings the supper club model to a South L.A. neighborhood steeped in Black history. The immersive lounge pays homage to Central Avenue, a once-thriving thoroughfare that, for decades, served as the heartbeat of L.A.'s Black community with a strip of jazz and blues clubs that brought big-name musicians such as Duke Ellington and Billie Holiday to their stages. The restaurant is named after Hotel Somerville, a former mainstay on the avenue that's since been converted into Dunbar Hotel, a senior living center. 'We wanted to create our version of what that era might have been,' said Relan. Since Somerville launched last November, it's not uncommon to see clusters of guests draped in stylish furs and beaded gowns idling near the Slauson and Overhill intersection, hoping to snag a seat at what's quickly become one of the city's toughest reservations. The lounge belongs to a growing supper club scene in Los Angeles, one that spans a long-running showcase in Los Feliz, a Glassell Park sandwich shop that flips to an evening jazz club and a clandestine wine bar in Highland Park. Here are nine L.A. supper clubs to visit next time you're craving dinner alongside a live show. No matching places! Try changing or resetting your filters Showing Places Glassell Park American $$ By day, it's one of L.A.'s favorite bakeries and dinettes. By night, on Sundays and Mondays, it's a low-lit jazz haven. Bub and Grandma's is perhaps best known for its stellar and sprawling bread operation, its pies and some of the best sandwiches in town but at BG Nites — the only time you'll find the Glassell Park restaurant open past 3 p.m. — it hosts a rotation of jazz ensembles near the front windows, dims the lights, pours the wine and lets the night unfold in a neighborhood-restaurant setting. Trios, solo pianists, experimental groups and more provide the soundtrack to a special menu that includes many of the Bub and Grandma's daytime hits, plus BG Nites-exclusive dishes such as roast chicken with tangy white barbecue sauce; a succulent burger on a pillowy house-made bun; and vinegar-laced steak tartare. This is a jazz night with comforting food and a cozy, casual feel. Find each month's BG Nites lineup on Instagram , and be sure to time your arrival around 6 and 8 p.m., when the sets begin. Route Details Beverly Hills Italian $$$ By Stephanie Breijo Cipriani's upstairs jazz club boasts both style and substance. The world-famous restaurant — founded in Venice, Italy, nearly a century ago — serves a full menu of fresh pastas, steaks and Italian specialties on white tablecloths in the ground-floor dining room, but ascend the stairs and you'll find the new Jazz Café. Here, small palm trees bend in S-shapes from the walls over zebra-patterned banquettes, servers clad in white tuxedo jackets offer tremendous service, and the music rotates throughout the evening. The vibe is that of Hollywood's Golden Era or supper clubs of the 1930s and '40s, with performers often donning evening gowns or suits with fedoras, and their songs range from jazz standards with trios and quartets to frontman-forward silken soul. Many of its attendees don their own finest in a nod to the theme. An abbreviated menu features Cipriani's signature Italian dishes and sips, including whole veal chops, pastas and caviar — as well as beef carpaccio and the Bellini (white peach puree and Prosecco), which Cipriani's founder Giuseppe Cipriani is credited with creating — plus a new selection of smaller, snackier items like egg-and-anchovy sandwiches. Tables tend to book out weeks in advance, so keep an eye on reservations before heading over. Route Details Toluca Lake Jazz venue By Danielle Dorsey It's a rainy Wednesday evening, but every table at Verse is occupied, filled with couples on a date night, groups of friends celebrating birthdays and music-industry types obscured behind sunglasses and furs. The nondescript exterior gives way to a moody dining room with spacious seating facing a stage that's back lit with built-in bookshelves, making the entire affair feel like you're private dining in some millionaire's upscale den. The restaurant, our server tells us, features 58 strategically placed speakers that pipe in clear, even sound no matter where you're seated. Live bands take to the stage each night, including residencies from notable names such as Terrace Martin and Ozomatli, the latter of whom is ongoing every Thursday in February. The menu from chef Oscar Torres pulls broad Mesoamerican and Mexican influences, resulting in creative plates including maple-glazed pork belly over butternut squash risotto, Mediterranean octopus and squid ink-glazed potatoes floating in a moat of pipian verde and cheesecake topped with briny caviar for dessert. The cocktail menu features creative and classic options, including a Negroni blanco with mezcal. Route Details View Park-Windsor Hills Soul Food New American $$$ Entering Somerville feels like stepping back in time, with velvet-clad booths, Art Deco light fixtures that cast the space in a sepia glow, and a grand piano that anchors the stage under a crystal chandelier and billowing canopy. The menu from chef Geter Atienza (formerly of New York's Bouchon Bakery and Broken Spanish) blends steakhouse, new American and soul food influences, and local musicians of note such as Terrace Martin regularly take the stage. Menu highlights include fried chicken sliders smeared with honey mustard and caviar-dotted crème fraîche, and a creamy lasagna with braised collard greens. The beverage menu features a wine list curated by Westside Winos, the group behind West L.A.'s Offhand Wine Bar, with a similar emphasis on West Coast and organic wines, and the cocktails are named after jazz and soul hits. Try a Love Supreme, a chartreuse-hued drink with rice vodka, Midori, Cointreau and lemon. Route Details Downtown L.A. Italian $$ Wander down the mirrored hallway until you find yourself in the bustling lobby restaurant in downtown's Per La hotel, with coffered ceilings, plush booths and a marble fireplace that towers in the back of the room. Originally built as the Bank of Italy headquarters in 1922, the hotel features Italian-inspired touches throughout, and the restaurant menu follows suit, along with plenty of local influence. That means you'll choose between dishes such as salmon crudo in a zesty pomegranate sauce with Fresno chiles, orecchiette with short rib guajillo ragu and Sicilian-style duck over apple and celery root puree. Cocktails weave similar themes, including Ciao Bella with gin, Creme de Violette, sparkling wine and lavender, and a mezcal Negroni with white cacao and chocolate mole bitters. A brief wine list includes West Coast and European bottles. Live jazz bands play near the host stand every Thursday from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. Route Details Beverly Grove Italian $$ By Stephanie Breijo It's hard to tell which takes center stage: the food or the piano. At the first standalone restaurant from Francesco Zimone, who owns the L.A. and Santa Barbara locations of the world-renowned L'Antica Pizzeria da Michele, both vie for their place in the spotlight. Zimone's new Beverly Grove restaurant puts the piano in the center of the dining room, where live music can be found every Thursday to Saturday from 7:30 to 10 p.m. Pianists might be joined by an upright bass, a trumpet, a vocalist or some combination thereof — and sometimes play more than one instrument themselves. To dine, find Tuscan cuisine with upscale flair: There are Wagyu meatballs simmered with heirloom tomatoes; house-made ravioli stuffed with braised oxtail; caviar-topped linguine with scampi tartare; dry-aged steaks; and more. The wine list — nearly all Italian — offers plenty of range to complement the jazz no matter your mood or tastes. Florence Osteria and Piano Bar is chic without feeling stuffy, a casual but elegant night set to music. Route Details Santa Monica American $$$ By Danielle Dorsey This basement speakeasy attached to the Georgian Hotel feels like the sort of old-school-inspired haunt where, decades ago, you might have seen Frank Sinatra flirting with some Hollywood starlet in the corner, in between sets played on the Steinway & Sons piano built into the golden quartzite bar. No cell phones are allowed and you'll have to make a reservation to be shown to its secret alleyway entrance, but this only adds to the time capsule allure. The food blends Italian and classic steakhouse influence, including doppio ravioli with braised lamb shoulder (get the truffle supplement) and grilled lamb sirloin with smoked tomato jam, with classic sides such as cream spinach. The beverage menu features a worldly wine list and house cocktails that put a modern spin on classic drinks, such as Ruby Slipper, based on a Manhattan but with scotch, port wine and absinthe. Route Details Los Feliz Jazz venue By Stephanie Breijo An institution, a time warp, a neighborhood watering hole, a steakhouse, a musicians' gathering place: The Dresden remains all of these things and more at 70 years and going strong. The 1950s aesthetic lends to the eternal charm of this Los Feliz landmark, which is split into two sections. In the main dining room, large curved white booths and rouge-colored walls make a striking setting for a full menu of steaks, chops and pastas. The other half of the space comes to life with music from Wednesday to Sunday, when soloists and bands let it rip in front of the lounge section's rock wall, and play to the guests perched on bar stools or on the swiveling chairs at low tables lit by candles. The abbreviated lounge menu includes Americana stalwarts such as wedge salads, prime rib French dip sandwiches and a fanciful shrimp cocktail served in a vintage vessel with a silver rim to trap the tails' shells. This is a space that calls for a martini or two as you take in one of L.A.'s most consistently diverse jazz lineups: There are Old Hollywood-inspired crooners, jammy modern ensembles, soft instrumental sets, funk trios, yacht rock covers and more, depending on the night of the week. Casual and with a crowd just as eclectic as its programming, this remains one of the city's most fun live-music finds to pair with good food. There are never any covers at the Dresden, but note there is a two-drink minimum on Fridays and Saturdays. Route Details Get our weekly Tasting Notes newsletter for reviews, news and more. You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
