As in any big city, Mexico City has hundreds of restaurants in every corner. While you can find some excellent choices to eat Mexican food, you can get overwhelmed with the amount of options that exist. Look no more than Los Rurales, a new spot that serves traditional Mexican dishes with a unique twist to them.
Los Rurales opened four months ago in La Roma neighborhood, it is located in a quiet street minutes away from the popular Cibeles roundabout. The restaurant offers an innovative and unique vision of contemporary Mexican cuisine, incorporating dishes from different regions of the country.
I visited this place with a fellow food blogger and we decided to go with a tasting menu specially designed for us, this way we could try a variety of dishes and share our thoughts on the food. The menu, which was designed by a number of chefs to perfect it and make sure it satisfies the diner’s needs, has a big section of appetizers, which are perfect to share among your party. I strongly suggest you do so you can enjoy a wider range of flavors and plates.
To start off, you cannot miss the house cocktails, especially the one called Rural. This drink is made from mezcal, grapefruit and pineapple juice, celery syrup, lemon and Serrano chile, absolutely delicious! I am not a big drinker myself but I really enjoyed it because it has a subtle flavor.
Onto the food, my two favorite appetizers where the Asesina de Yecapixtla and the Parcela los Rurales. The first one is a cecina (salted meat), therefore the play on words in Spanish (asesina means assasin), ceviche with green tomato served in a tamal leaf. The second dish is a variation of a popular Mexican dish called esquite made from grains of corn, sauteed with butter and then topped with mayonnaise, sour cream, cheese, lime and chili powder. Los Rurales serves it as a salad and adds cheese, pumpkin, tomatoes and peanuts. Not only is it healthy, its extremely tasty!
For the main course my favorite dish was the Pato de Corral, which is duck with mole sauce and mashed sweet potatoes on the side. The combination of the mole sauce (which is a family recipe from the time of the Mexican Revolution) with the duck is outstanding. If you are not a duck lover I recommend you go for the Pollo a los Cítricos which is half a chicken marinated in a citrus sauce with potatoes on the side. I don’t usually order chicken at restaurants, but this one is well worth it and has been a signature dish since the restaurant started. If you are more into fish then go for the Indio Envuelto a huachinango (red snapper) with a mayonnaise and chile sauce. In case you have a sweet tooth, you must try the Budin de Elote with chile pasilla and toasted cacao.
At Los Rurales you will find a mix of both tourists and locals who crave Mexican food but want to try diverse dishes and new hot spots in the city. If you happen to visit the restaurant on a sunny day I recommend sitting outside and enjoying the vibrant scene of la Roma neighborhood while sipping on some cocktails or mezcales.
