Tons of Restaurants Are Bringing the Flavors of Mexico City to the U.S.

"Buzzwords tend to bloom like algae in the restaurant world: a rash of " coastal Italian" spreading across one corner of the map, an eruption of " all-day dining " blanketing whole cities. Reporting on the food industry sometimes feels like being a field scientist, watching for subtle shifts in the ecosystem. Aha, a new one is beginning to flourish. See right there - the corn tortillas elegantly sheeted with roast meats, the citrus-heavy cocktails, the neo-retro design. The conditions have been right for some time."

""When we say Vecino is 'Mexico City-inspired,' we're referring to Mexico City's incredible creativity and approach to food," says Adriana Jimenez, founder of Vecino in Detroit, whose chef, Edgar Torres, was born and raised in CDMX. Within the sprawling metropolitan area, "Mexican traditions mix freely with global influences," Jimenez says, and "you can find unforgettable food on a street corner or in a Michelin-starred dining room. It's not a pretentious food culture - it's one that truly celebrates the joy of eating and sharing.""

"Like a Parisian bistro or Hong Kong cafe, Mexico City-inspired restaurants evoke not just a cuisine but a specific place. In New York, Olmo, Dolores, and Comal all explicitly draw from Mexico City in design and menu. There's Lost Rooftop and Cafe Tondo in LA, the latter from a chef who previously worked at Rosetta in Mexico City, and Licha's Cantina in Austin, which serves "Mexico City soul food.""

Buzzwords spike into trends across the restaurant world, and a Mexico City-inspired movement has emerged. Restaurants across New York, Los Angeles, Austin, Detroit, and other cities adopt CDMX design, menu elements, and chef backgrounds. Chefs and founders reference Mexico City's creativity, the mixing of Mexican traditions with global influences, and a culture that ranges from memorable street-corner food to Michelin-starred dining. The approach emphasizes joyful, unpretentious eating and sharing, with dishes like corn tortillas with roast meats and citrus-forward cocktails reflecting neo-retro design sensibilities and broad tourist interest in the Mexican capital.

Read at Eater