Blanco Castelar — Restaurant in Mexico City

If I could give this restaurante a zero for service I would. We went for a nice dinner and it was a nightmare. Despite the fact that the place was half empty, the servers were frantically and nervously rushing around all evening. As soon as we sat down they wanted our order. My husband ordered champagne but they couldn’t wait for it to come to get our order. One in our party is vegan and the waiter was totally unwilling to help him find something appropriate in the menu (he was happy to eat vegetable sides - he just needed to know about cheese and sauces). The food was mediocre other than the huachinango en sal which was quite good. But the service throughout by the capitán was atrocious. Trying to pour the Champagne as quickly as possible even when we said we were not ready for more - my husband finally had to tell him we would take care of it ourselves. The food was slapped on the table and they tried to clear before we were done with each course. And there were plenty of open tables - and it wasn’t near closing time. Finally the manager stepped in but he couldn’t do much to get the staff to calm down and let us eat in peace. He seemed to understand the problem but just could not stop the frenetic behavior which made the experience unpleasant and full of tension. They sent us desert on the house, but frankly by that time we just wanted out. BTW we all speak Spanish so this wasn’t a language issue. Please don’t go. There are so many lovely places to eat with excellent food and service - don’t waste an evening...

We arrived in a torrential downpour. There was 6 inches of rain in the street so much that we actually had to takeoff our shoes and socks to even enter the restaurant. The staff was very accommodating and provided us with towels to dry our feet. The music was lively. The restaurant staff was extremely attentive to everything we could possibly ask for. It was my birthday and I asked to have a special photograph set up at our table with numerous bottles of high-end liquors and they accommodated my request without blinking. We had three appetizers. The avocado and asparagus appetizer was out of this world. The warm burrata salad was also extremely well executed ... better than most Italian restaurants. We also ordered a Morello mushroom risotto for an appetizer. That was very delicious and incredibly savory. Better than most mushroom risottos I've had in some high-end Italian restaurants. For dinner we shared the bone in ribeye. Cooked perfection & served table side. It was really something to see. The restaurant brought out flaming candles with the complementary dessert for my birthday, but we also ordered the flan which in our opinion was perfectly executed as best you can expect for. The Capitan of the restaurant was Juan Berber. He and his staff were extremely attentive every step of the way throughout the entire meal from the seating to the dessert. You really couldn't ask for a better experience. I am extremely impressed and we have eaten at high-end restaurants all over the world. You will do well eating here. Highly...

Beware of overcharges! Beautiful place, food was ok nothing spectacular. Our party was 12 people celebrating an anniversary. They would not separate the bill by couples and insisted on one bill then charge separately at the end. The waitress wrote in a pad what each couple ordered. It was all nice until the bills came the waitress was charing extra items not consumed and insisted that they were. I took my friends there for a great dining experience and instead were stuck with an additional bill they were forced to pay. The waitress called the manager and he did not resolve the situation. The waitress had a horrible attitude all throughout the service. As couples who had paid first walked to front of restaurant to wait for everyone to finish paying she accused them of not paying for items eventhough she wrote down orders. They took advantage of a large group and over charged at their leisure. I'm embarrassed and disappointed in this place. My friends were visiting Mexico for the first time and instead of a good memory of this place they took a very unpleasant experience with them and I feel very embarrassed by the situation they were put in.. they truly ruined a my anniversary dinner. THIS PLACE IS NOT WORTH GOING IF YOU ARE GOING TO BE OVERCHARGED, ACUSSED OF CONSUMING EXTRA FOOD AND DRINKS AND FORCED TO PAY!!!...