Cantina in Mexico City / La Covachita de la Reforma: An Old-School Gem in Narvarte
Unwind in a relaxed and comfortable cantina, where you can enjoy delicious botanas, sip on your favorite drinks, savor tasty food, and listen to live music.
By Alejandro Pohlenz
The word covacha is derived from cueva (cave) and has different meanings according to the Spanish-speaking region in question. For example, for Argentines it is the witch's house (something I did not know). In other places in America it has a negative, gloomy, small, dark connotation; it can even mean kennel, den or hovel. In central Mexico, the covacha is a small warehouse where a lot of different things are kept, almost always messy. In fact, La Covacha de la Reforma was the warehouse of the restaurant La Reforma, established in 1963 by Mr. José Gayoso in Eje Central. When Don José died, his son founded his restaurant there, in the covacha. (Take a look at the video).
The fascinating mural of La Covachita
The place is quiet, with the exception of the occasional trios that show us, for example, nostalgia for Álvaro Carrillo... And today it turns out... that I am not the stature of your life... The place does not have "elegant" decoration and there are tables on the sidewalk (it is located on a corner). It's nice, then. What can be fascinating is a mural in which La Covachita appears as a stage background with a trio and, of the characters that I could recognize, Cantinflas, Pedro Infante, José Gayoso himself, Frida Kahlo (who cannot be missing), Enrique Guzmán in love with Angélica María, Salvador Dalí, a bullfighter (I don't know about bulls, I don't like them) and Amy Winehouse!
Botana and a la carte food
Now: La Covacha de la Reforma is a classic cantina in the sense that it gives you your usual botana after three drinks. Every day is different. There is a la carte food: I did not have the opportunity to try everything; however, I appreciated a very new dish entitled Filete Dijon (region of France where the famous mustard of the same name comes from). The meat with acceptable texture and flavor, and some onion rings. They recommend the octopus in its ink (I'm not a fan of the cephalopod), the suadero taco, the fillet ceviche and the cod. One of the star dishes is the chef's torta. Opinions stand out in which La Covachita seems expensive to them and that the botana of the day is "scarce." I didn't experience that, although it was Sunday and there were hardly any people.
- What we love and you should try: chef's torta.
- Address: Diagonal San Antonio 1932-local D, Narvarte Oriente, CDMX
- Hours and days of operation: Monday and Tuesday, from 1:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, from 1:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. Saturday, from 1:00 p.m. to 10 p.m. Sundays from 1:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.
- Ideal for: botanas, drinks and food.
- Payment: cash and cards.
- Accessibility: yes.
- Parking: no.
- Reservations: no.
- Telephone: 55 5538 3422
- Nearby public transportation: Metro Lázaro Cárdenas, Metro Etiopía
- Pet Friendly: yes.
- Suitable to go with children: no.
- Vegan options: yes.
