Baltra Bar — Restaurant in Mexico City

This was one of the worst bars I've been to & I cannot understand how it is ranked so highly in the world. The set up is awful - we were sat outside in the middle of the sidewalk, literally next to the stand for smokers. It was a tiny hard bench with a small table. No water was brought (despite seeing the waiters bring it to other tables). It was chilly out & since I had made reservations in advance, I asked if my boyfriend & I could be seated inside. They said give them a few minutes then continued to ignore me and sit walk-ins inside while we sat outside in the cold while smokers blowing cigarette smoke in our face. I saw a group of 6 leave and again walked inside and asked if we could sit in any of the seats that were just vacated. They shooed me out and told me go wait. So fine, we sat outside at our little bench & it took 20 minutes before a waiter came to even ask for our order. Another 15 minutes went by and our drinks arrived. They were fine - nothing special. Certainly not to the level of the drinks at Hanky Panky or Handshake Speakeasy. We drank them & did anyone come over to ask if we wanted another drink - nope. Sat another few minutes before completely losing my patience - walked to a server, handed them cash & walked off. Went to a whiskey bar around the corner & had the best time. Perhaps Baltra was understaffed or something but if that’s the case, then accept less reservations and don’t take walk ins. Don’t try to stuff as many people as you can onto a sidewalk to maximize profit. Would never go back to Baltra Bar and would not recommend it at all. Stay away...

CDMX 2024 #87, Cocktail Bar #10: Baltra was our go-to cocktail spot back in ~2018 (before their World's Best Bars fame).

We recently tried to come here for drinks one Friday night but were told we needed a reservation. A few Fridays later we tried again (sans-res) and--to my surprise--we were given a table. Maybe the host was in a better mood this time--or was a different person (or maybe we were less drunk shrug).

We ordered: Uva 1A, Manzana 5A, Melón 3A, Limón 4A; First Trick, Limón 4B*, Limón 4A, Limón 4A (drinks run ~$200-250/ea).

Their current drink theme (as of May 2024) is...fruit! I think all the drinks we ordered were tasty, but my top three were: Manzana 5A (Whisky The Singleton, Calvados, guayaba, palo santo!), Limón 4B (Tequila Patrón Cristalino, vermouth, maraschino, genciana), and First Trick (Jack Daniel´s, Oporto Tawny!, Fernet branca!!, Pedro PX, mantequilla!!!).

The ingredient choices in their drinks are funky but so, so rewarding IMO.

The group favorite drink was the Limón 4A (Vodka Tito´s, Limoncello, Yuzu, Prosecco). We ordered 3 of them as the table next to us recommended it.

I think Baltra boasts some of the best drinks in the city (compared to Rayo, Limantour, Brujas, Hanky Panky, etc.), but the space is quite cramped. What it lacks in space, it makes up for in drinks (which is more important to me).

If you want a crazy experience, I'd...

My second visit to Baltra Bar left me with mixed feelings, despite a slightly improved experience compared to my initial visit, which was lackluster at best. One thing that consistently bothers me about this establishment is the attitude of the staff. They act arrogant and almost as if they own the place, which creates a pretentious atmosphere.

Although there were plenty of vacant tables available, we were informed by the waitress that we would have to wait at least 30 minutes for a table. They were only jotting down names without taking any contact information to notify us when the table became available. After waiting for 30 minutes, we found that no table was ready. We had to wait another 15 minutes before finally seated in a cramped outdoor patio.

We ordered a couple of rounds of martinis, but unfortunately, were filled to the brim, making them difficult to lift without spilling. While service showed marginal improvement compared to my previous visit, it remained painfully slow, with waits exceeding 15 minutes per drink.

On both occasions, I couldn't help but notice a preference towards foreigners over locals among the servers and staff, which is disappointing. Considering these experiences, I fail to see how Baltra Bar maintains its status among the top 50 best bars...