Iconic Restaurants in CDMX / París 16 Bistró, extraordinary food for every day
In 1985, Alejandro Hernández Attolini opened this place to sell soups and sandwiches. Since then, the decade that saw Luis Miguel emerge as the first great icon of Mexican pop has been frozen in this corner with tubular chairs, white crockery, and waiters in black vests and white aprons.
By Jazmín Martínez, "la tía Polís".
Perhaps this small café-like place houses about 10 or 12 tables, and that's enough for it to be iconic.
The menu is just the right size to understand that this is a restaurant of precise specialties. The veal Milanese has gained fame, enormous and served invariably with mashed potatoes and creamed spinach. But today, I want to give the hamburger its due as one of the best I've had in this city, with a side of French fries capable of winning awards: the meat, cooked perfectly, will ooze juices as soon as you take the first bite.
The wine list is friendly to diners, and you can order the house wine bottle for 380 pesos, a steal considering that trendy restaurants in the area hardly serve anything under 900-1000 pesos per bottle. They offer simple but well-chosen wines.
The menu speaks of another era: Spanish omelette, smoked oysters, Frankfurt sausage, cheeses, sandwiches with good bread, carpaccio... Time has also stopped on a menu that, nevertheless, does not need to be changed. Eating here is like returning to Mexico City, to the year when the Timbiriche group stopped being for children and started making songs for the youth audience. If he had lived in this neighborhood - but no, because his apartment was in the Nochebuena neighborhood - the Mexican TV show "Papá Soltero" surely would have come here to eat with his three children.
Some of the service staff have been here since day one. With the cost-benefit level they manage, París 16 leaves you with the feeling of having discovered something unique, holding a gem that others would envy. This is one of those places that you could easily call "one of the best restaurants in CDMX," as people say.
Food Police insider advise: during the season, they make 200 chiles en nogada daily, which you can only buy by booking in advance. The chiles fly off the shelves, and people crowd in a line outside the small establishment.
- Address: Av. Paseo de la Reforma 368, Juárez, Cuauhtémoc, 06600 Juárez, CDMX
- Contact info: 55 5511 9911
- Hours of operation: Monday to Saturday from 8 am to 5 pm
- Ideal for: breakfast or lunch, you can be here every day
- Type of cuisine: French-inspired with some Spanish dishes and other international options like Milanese or Parmesan chicken breasts. The place also has a deli touch due to the availability of cheeses and cold cuts.
- Payment: cash and cards
- Accessibility: yes, but the space is small
- Parking: metered parking nearby
- Reservations: not necessary
- Nearby public transport: Metrobús La Diana and Metro Sevilla
- Pet friendly: yes, if the dog is calm and not too noisy; remember the place is small
- Suitable for children: yes
- Vegan options: yes
- Wine bottles starting at: 380 pesos
