Some nights are just magical.
Last night we had dinner with our French friends. They’ve lived here for years and love food and drinks. Restaurants specializing in mixology are their favorites. With a careful combination of pre-planning and a little on-site begging, we were able to eat at Romita Comedor, a chic restaurant in Colonia Roma.
Colonia Roma is a cool neighborhood. It reminds me of everything I love about New York: the vibe is upbeat, the people are chic and restless, the possibilities are endless. The neighborhood was the most impacted by the devastating earthquake of 1985, and Mexico has worked hard since then to rehabilitate it.
Romita Comedor is a beautiful restaurant with beautiful patrons. In addition to being spacious with big windows and an open-air feel, the roof of the restaurant retracts. Sitting on the second floor is a bit of an urban fairy tale. Last night we could see the moon and stars as we ate, drank and danced. We happened to be there when they actually retracted the roof and it was impressive watching the sky unfold overhead. 
The restaurant is located (I’m guessing here) in either an old mansion or an old office building. Some very steep, very narrow wooden stairs greet you at the entrance. Wearing heels and afraid of heights, I gathered my courage and ascended the stairs. Old and out of shape (or just poorly prepared for the amount of stairs we had to climb) I wanted a mojito and an inhaler when we reached the hostess stand. This did not make the best impression on the host/bouncer, but I was friendly and explained that I operate best at sea level which he seemed to find amusing and also seemed to forgive my near asthma attack. 
Romita Comedor is an immensely popular restaurant. It takes weeks to get a table there. And then, even when you do, you are often on a waiting list. In our case, we made the reservation a week ahead of time and were still number 14 on the wait list. If you’re interested in eating there, I suggest pre-planning. The restaurant has a “first level” (which is an asthmatic distance from the ground floor) and a beautiful (and hot) fireplace, restrooms, a small bar and several tables. It also features a terrace. The walls are painted black and planters frame the walls. From the bar, you can peek into a very small kitchen. The terrace is open air and overlooks the trendy calle Alvaro Obregon. The second floor is reserved for smokers. We ended up sitting at the bar upstairs because there was more space (my theory is that people were too trendy and winded to keep climbing stairs). 
Despite the fact that it was for smokers, I personally liked the second floor better. More room and more staff= more attention. We ordered some fish tacos, and most of the drinks on the menu. Because we were number 14 on the list, we were there for more than two hours before we were seated. 
During our wait we enjoyed the chocolate cake and the freshly made non-alcoholic drinks. Made with freshly squeezed fruit, by hand, they were delicious. 
When we were finally seated, we ordered the octopus, the ribs and and the tuna. All were delicious. I had the tuna and I announced (probably a little rudely, in hindsight) that I wasn’t sharing anymore because I wanted to eat it all myself. 
The restaurant became immediately crowded at 10:00 pm. After waiting so long for a reservation, scoring a table, and finding no shortage of good things to eat we sat and we stayed. The crowd was chic. The music rocked. And best of all, the waiters and bar tenders were awesome. I was incredibly impressed that their mixology was a good blend of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. DH would highly recommend the Old Fashioned, I can speak for the mojito. The only drink (and with four of us, we sampled many) that I didn’t love was the sangria. All other drinks were both fun to drink and great to watch as the mixologist prepared them. 
The verdict: Romita Comedor is one of the restaurants on my Mexico City short list. If you go, plan for it so you’ll be sure to have a table. The restaurant is incredibly popular, and with good reason.
