Tio Gringo's Totally Unbiased Restaurant Guide to Monterrey, Mexico
Written: Nov 09 '99 (Updated Nov 10 '99)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Great food, great prices, great variety!
Cons: Can't get food like this at home!!
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| mrkstvns's Full Review: Mexico |
Monterrey -- the largest city of Northern Mexico -- is blessed with quite a few great restaurants, and while most serve typical Mexican food, there's a definite regional flavor to most of them. Northern Mexican food features roasted or grilled meats --- the fajita (known as arrachera around Monterrey) is probably the best known, but the most distinctive is slow-roasted young suckling goat: a dish called cabrito. Some other foods that are characteristic of Northern Mexico are flour tortillas, dry beef (carne seca), and the delicious burnt milk candies called Glorias.
There are also quite a few restaurants serving other types of cuisine for those who want an occasional change of pace.
Dining out is one of the great bargains of life in Monterrey --- most of the restaurants are quite reasonably priced compared to what you'd pay in comparable restaurants in the U.S. Some are outright bargains for what you get!
The restaurants that I list here are my very favorite in Monterrey. Most will not be listed in any guidebook that you find, but they're all excellent places places that I've been to several times and that I really love visiting.
Nice Restaurants For the Romantically Inclined...
Iallinilli's:
Intimate restaurant in an old stone house on the edge of the Barrio Antiguo area on Zuazua, right behind the Marco museum. Elegant dining with outstanding Italian cuisine. Stone walls and floors, wine racks along the tops of the walls, hospitable service, a garden patio area in the center of the building is a refreshing place to sit in the winter months, but a bit hot in the summer. The mushroom soup is outstanding. Fresh, homemade pastas. Complimentary white pizza served with chili flavored olive oil. Dinner for two with drinks will probably run about US$35. Outstanding quality at reasonable prices make this cozy restaurant my very favorite restaurant in Monterrey!
Luisiana:
The staid, conservative place for elegant dining. International menu. Located on Hidalgo Plaza right off Zaragoza (next to the Fiesta Americana Hotel). Upscale place where business and government people tend to go, or where locals go for special occasions. Good food, but somewhat high prices. Dinner for two with drinks will probably run about US$60. Coat and tie required.
Xampanayas:
Fairly new restaurant, opened in early 1999, specializes in Spanish cuisine. The paella is excellent! Located on the edge of the Barrio Antiguo on Zuazua next door to Iallinilli's. Popular place, especially on Wednesday nights when they feature flamenco dancing. Prices are fairly reasonable: dinner for 2 with drinks will probably run you about US$30.
Just for Fun...
Casa de Pancho Villa:
During the week, dinner is served in the intimate front rooms of this inconspicuous restaurant located on Padre Meir in a fairly residential area, somewhere near Serafin Pena (I recommend calling for the exact address since there's no sign outside -- the place just looks like a house). This is where young regiomontaños hang out on Friday and Saturday nights as live bands rotate sets on the big stage in the cavernous outdoor dining pavilion behind the restaurant. On weekdays, dinner is served in the more intimate front rooms as musicians play in a corner of what was probably once a living room or parlor. Very nice setting in an old house. Fajitas and grilled meats dominate the menu. Lots of fun! Dinner for two will run about US$25, plus drinks, depending on how long you stay. There may be a cover charge, but it's cheap -- about $5.
Sierra Madre Brewing Company:
This place was an instant hit when it opened in 1998. Located along Lazaro Cardenas in the upscale Garza-Garcia area. Very popular, especially on Friday evenings after work. This is one of the few brewpubs that I know of that brews only lager beers. Of course beer is the main attraction here, and I recommend trying the sampler the first time to see what you'll like best. Food is typical U.S. pub-grub type fare: burgers, pizza, buffalo wings, etc. Prices are about the same as what you pay in a U.S. brewpub: maybe US$35-40 for dinner for two with drinks.
Carlos and Charlies:
This is a chain of fun, casual restaurants and bars that's a lot like the Bennigan's chain in the U.S. Carlos and Charlies has locations in several Mexican resort cities, such as Cancun and Mazatlan, and the Monterrey location is pretty much the same as those. Located on one side of the shopping mall in Garza Garcia, off Lazaro Cardenas. Carlos and Charlies is always clean and predictable, and feels like a gringo chain restaurant. Fajitas and similar Mexican light dishes dominate the menu, though most people come for the big margaritas. Dinner for two with drinks will probably run US$30 or less.
Tradition Demands It...
El Rey del Cabrito:
The garish decor of red and yellow neon lights doesn't end at the door of this Monterrey landmark, inside are tons of off-beat decorations, including a giant stuffed bear and lots of photos of the owner rubbing elbows with celebreties. The smell of kid goats roasting over slow fires can be detected blocks away, and as you get closer to the restaurant, you can watch the chefs roasting the goats from the big plate glass windows. Cabrito is kid goat -- a delicacy of northern Mexico -- and make no mistake about it, that's what you should eat at this restaurant. The only trick is deciding which cut of meat you want to try. My favorite is pierna -- the thigh. Mmmm... ¡Que rico! Moderately priced, dinner for two will run about $30. You can also take out if you want. Two locations, both right on Constitucion, one near the Macro museum, the other about a mile further down, near the pulgas.
El Gran Pastor:
Locals sometimes disagree over who serves up the most authentic regional cuisine, and while many folks like the garishness of El Rey del Cabrito, others say that tasting the food at El Gran Pastor will tell you which restaurant is really the best. Young goats roast over slow fires in big picture windows at this local chain of restaurants too, and the meat is every bit as delicious. Several locations around town, the one closest to most tourist paths is probably on Prieto (the other side of the Santa Catarina from Constitucion) near Tlaxcala.
Cheap Eats...
Cafe Morelos:
Small, clean, fairly new restaurant along the pedestrian shopping area of Morelos. Typical mexican food --- good, filling, and cheap. Breakfast or lunch should run about 50 pesos to at most 100 pesos ($5-10 US). Breakfast items include various styles of eggs (huevos), such as huevos rancheros, or you could try the machacado con huevos (scrambled eggs with dried meat), which is one of the regional dishes most popular in northern Mexico.
Las Monitas:
Small cafe on a corner of Morelos in the heart of the pedestrian shopping area. Las Monitas has been a fixture for years and is known for having waitresses dressed as nuns. Typical Mexican food with an inexpensive comida corrida (full lunch meal) for about US$5. Great choice if you're hungry around 2pm.
Josefina's Pizza:
All you can eat pizza buffet for about 45 pesos ($4). Popular place with young families, often crowded and noisy. There are several locations around town, but the one closest to most tourist sites is on Zaragoza at Padre Meir, adjacent to the Macroplaza.
Cafe Florian:
Basic diner-type restaurant, very similar to a Denny's or IHOP. Nothing spectacular, but the food is servicable and good enough for an inexpensive meal. Various locations around town, but a couple that are close to tourist sites are on Padre Meir at about Escobedo, and on Hidalgo inside the Plaza de Oro Hotel. Prices are comparable to what you'd pay at a diner in the U.S. --- about $5 for breakfast or lunch, maybe a bit higher for dinner.
Summary...
There are a lot of other options around town, the restaurants on Zuazua or Coss near the Palacio de Gobierno are pretty good, but I don't recall the names of them offhand (one might have been Regio). One serves up authentic regional food, another serves up Spanish food, there's also one down here that serves up Argentinian fare. Chinese restaurants are often a good bet in Mexico (they never blandify the food, as is common in much of the U.S., Canada, or England). You'll also find fast food everywhere, if that's what you're into, and there are familiar U.S. trademarks around if you insist on seeking them out (yes, Dominos delivers to downtown hotels).
No matter which way your tastes run, there's a restaurant in Monterrey that's perfect for you. I've listed a few of my favorites here, but still the search for great food goes on...
Recommended:
Yes
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