Blanco Colima — Restaurant in Mexico City

It was my birthday, and I had heard so much praise about this restaurant that I couldn’t wait to experience it. I was excited to celebrate with my wife and a good friend, sharing this special occasion together. The moment we walked through the doors, the stunning architecture set the tone—this place was as beautiful as I had imagined. The atmosphere was magical, the kind of setting that instantly made you feel like you were somewhere unique. The cocktails were delicious, and the service was almost flawless, though it did fall short when it came to the wine.

The meal began with a series of side dishes, each beautifully presented. The asparagus was cooked well, and the flavor was fantastic, but I found it unexpectedly tough and stringy. It was difficult to chew, and despite my best efforts, I had to put it back on my plate. It was a bit of a letdown.

On a brighter note, the beetroot salad was a feast for the eyes and the taste buds. It was fresh and flavorful, though I should mention that it comes with a truffle glaze and a strong hit of garlic, which might surprise anyone expecting something lighter. The corn was another highlight—simple, but with a delightful combination of lime that paired perfectly with my mezcal margarita.

Then came the wine. I was hoping the server could guide me through the wine list, but unfortunately, they didn’t seem familiar enough with the options to offer a solid recommendation. We settled on a Bordeaux, but it ended up being rather ordinary and certainly not worth the price we paid.

When the main courses arrived, I was initially impressed. My steak with foie gras was cooked to perfection—juicy and tender—but the overall dish was too sweet. The sauce or glaze overpowered the natural flavor of the meat, and I couldn’t help but feel that it didn’t let the main ingredient shine. The mushroom risotto was delicious, but I found myself picking out thin slices of dried chili that marred the creamy texture of the rice. It was like chewing on dental floss. The cannelloni, while incredibly rich and flavorful, was so heavy that I could only manage a couple of bites before feeling like it was enough for my palate.

The evening ended on a much higher note with an affogato—a perfect, spectacular finish to the meal. To my surprise, the restaurant also brought out a birthday treat: a piece of chocolate torte with raspberry sorbet. It was a sweet gesture, and a much-appreciated one at that.

As a whole, I found the restaurant to be a stunning space with great ambience and good service, though the staff's personalities felt a little cold. The food, however, didn’t live up to my expectations. The flavors were overly complicated, and it felt as though the ingredients weren’t being respected—they were hidden behind layers of unnecessary additions. If the dishes were simplified, they could’ve been truly exceptional.

While I personally wouldn’t return or recommend the restaurant based on this experience, I must say it was clear that many people enjoy it, as it was buzzing with activity even on a Monday night. One thing I hadn’t anticipated was the DJ playing loud music throughout the evening. It added a bit of a surprise element to the atmosphere, but it was a bit too loud for my taste.

I’ve always believed that a five-star rating should reflect excellence, and given my experience, I feel this restaurant deserves a solid four stars—not quite excellent, but definitely above good. My review is based on my own experience, but don’t let it stop you from visiting this unique place—it may very well be what you’re...

Why 4.6 stars???? Even 3 is generous. The historic building that houses the restaurant is beautifully kept, and a lovely place to have drinks; however, based on our experience, I can't say the same for dinner. The flavors were alright, the fish was fresh, but the portions were laughable. I understand smaller portions in upscale restaurants, but this was ridiculous. Case in point: I wanted to treat my great friends to a nice meal, and asked if they had bread for the table--we got one (1) dinner ROLL (bolillo) placed in the middle of the table with about a tablespoon of butter for the 8 of us to share. I asked if we could have 2 more rolls, and after insisting we got one more (the servers seemed as if they were doing us a favor). I honestly wouldn't have minded paying for some rolls instead of this embarrassment in front of my friends. On the menu, they have "first plate" and "main plate". We decided to go straight to the main plate thinking we'd need room for dessert. We had the robalo al carbon, pesca del dia, tacos de lechon confitado and costra de rib eye from the menu (repeated orders). Apparently, you are supposed to get two dishes to make one meal, because the "main" plate is more like an appetizer. As the menu says, the cooked fish (al carbon) with the skin is 200 grams, and comes with a "side" of potato sauce with a few peas and lima beans, but is really just fish in a potato sauce, no sides. The same for the other plates, although we thought that the "first plate" of tacos was probably the largest portion out of all of our dinners (or "main" plates). We felt like something was missing, and if the chef is trying to be cost-effective, really-- a side of a vegetable medley (more than the tablespoon we got), some pasta, rice/pilaf, or couscous-- they would all provide satisfaction at a low cost to the restaurant, and satisfaction to the diner rather than thinking, "was that it!??". Also, when the servers came out with the meals, they brought only 3 plates, and had the rest of us wait for a while before they brought out the rest. That is a faux pas for any restaurant trying to be "upscale", as the dinners cool off while our table waits for all of us to be served . We were excited about desert and coffee until we realized that desert consisted of a choice of two fondants or a "lemon surprise". We didn't want anymore surprises and the fondant did not sound appetizing. We came out disappointed, as we chose Blanco Colima over other restaurants that would have provided a more satisfying...

TLDR: Overpriced, mediocre food with cold, robotic-like service. Completely baffled the reviews are so high.

I rarely write reviews unless its either exceptional or horrendous - this is for the latter to warn folks as a PSA. Visited on the recommendation of a tour guide and the high Google score. Read the reviews and was expecting a vibey, hip restaurant, but was met with a place that was trying too hard without even decent food to back it up.

Vibes: Beautiful space. DJ was spinning even on a Sunday night. Music was a bit hit or kiss but could see in its heyday would be the spot to be. I didn’t think the noise was too loud as per other reviews, but don’t expect a quiet dining experience.

Food: Absolutely atrocious. We ordered the hamachi, cheesecrust ribeye, octopus taco, confit pork tacos and the duck confit ravioli. Apart from the hamachi and the cheesecrusted ribeye (both are decent but would never order again) would recommend to stay far away. The pork confit was drier than , the octopus taco had a stray hair in my wife’s portion, and the ravioli has no right to be called a ravioli. A previous review alluded to the mushroom ravioli as being hard - I couldn’t agree enough. The skin of the “ravioli” tasted like a thick wonton skin that was boiled at the beginning of the day and left in a warming tray before being served. The skin was hard at the edges and the filling was not nearly enough to make up for it. For contrast, would mot even come back for the food at half the price.

Service: I will gladly admit I am not an expert on what typical CDMX service is, but at $2k MXN and 30-50% more expensive than the other restaurants we visited, the service only hit on technical terms as if they were checking off a flawed checklist, plates were cleared after every course which was appreciated. Other than that, it felt like they were obligated to ask if the food was good - I told him the food was ok and sent back 2 dishes half eaten with no question on how they could have potentially made it better. I also caught one person telling another server our tip amount and the second server muttering something under her breath.

Writing this so you don’t have to go through the same experience as I did. Completely shocked at the high reviews of this place- there are MUCH better restaurants within a one-block radius at significantly more...