Cantinas in Mexico City / La Única de Guerrero, the first in the neighborhood
Born in 1933, it's the heart of the Guerrero neighborhood. It grew to become a multi-story restaurant-cantina with excellent service and an inexhaustible menu.
By Alejandro Pohlenz
"Good drink. Good food. Good people. Good life!", is the slogan of the UDG which is not a traditional cantina (like those that offer snacks to accompany alcohol): it is a restaurant-bar with a vast menu, live music (there is rock & roll), a playground for children, a nursery and a film set. Scenes from one of the highest-grossing films in the history of Mexican cinema were filmed at the Única de Guerrero: We the Nobles (when Karla Souza's character was obliged to work to understand the real value of money).
The first cantina in the Guerrero neighborhood
It is said that it was the first cantina in the Guerrero neighborhood and it was opened by a Spanish immigrant (we have seen other places that arose thanks to the entrepreneurship of Iberian exiles), Don Ramón Suárez Fernández, in 1933. The place was 5 square meters and it grew outwards and upwards: now it can serve 800 people and has several floors. The owner is Don Ramón's grandson, Pancho, who is there every day and is very kind (the master's eye...).
The menu is amazing because it has Maria Sabina's magic mushrooms, octopus hands (octopuses don't have hands), elephant ears (will it be?) and a Chiquitibum fish (what will that be like?). It offers drinks like the salty dog and the triton... Seriously now, I pointed out above that the menu is endless, although the specialty, they explain, is the kid.
Lots of food to choose from
You can order, to whet your appetite, traditional cocktails (oyster, octopus, shrimp, back to life). Continue with the abundant diversity of soups; then, many salads, arrachera, all kinds of meat cuts, fish; specialties, such as the sea bass wheel or the aforementioned Chiquitibum papillote; a dish called "Guffy"; "Guachinango" (with "g"), and the cantina classics: pig's trotters in vinaigrette, milanesa, rajas with pork, kidneys in sherry, criadillas, machitos, tongue, grilled meats, fajitas, tortas and tacos... phew, I'm exhausted! Such an assortment, that you can go every day of the year without repeating a dish. What's more, there are special menus every day. Wow!
- What we love and you should try: the kid.
- What we don't like so much: the criadillas.
- Food Police insider advise: you can go with children, but they go on the second floor, where there are games for them.
- Address: Calle Guerrero 258, Guerrero neighborhood, CDMX.
- Hours and days of operation: Monday to Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. Sundays from 12:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.
- Ideal for: eating.
- Payment: cash and cards.
- Accessibility: yes.
- Parking: Valet parking.
- Reservations: no.
- Phone: 55 5526 8394
- Nearby public transportation: Tlatelolco Metro.
- Pet Friendly: yes.
- Suitable to go with children: yes.
- Vegan options: yes.
