Mendl Delicatessen — Restaurant in Mexico City

Disclaimer: I am not the type of person to leave negative reviews, but my experience was absurd. I arrived a little after 9am. No wait and got a table outside. Ordered coffee and an everything bagel with cream cheese. 10 minutes passed and my coffee showed up, somewhat hot which made me think that it sat around a while. 10 more minutes passed and no bagel. Another five minutes passed, and I was still without bagel and had half my coffee left that I began to ration in order to leave some to enjoy with my bagel. My server didn’t notice, but the hostess ended up near my table and I politely asked her to check on my order. I mentioned I had been waiting 20 minutes. Her eyes lit up in what could be best described as a combination of shock and embarrassment. Five minutes later I was told my bagel would be coming out shortly. I had about a quarter cup of lukewarm coffee left and had been sitting at a table that could seat three for over half an hour. 10+ people were waiting, and for all intents and purposes I should have been gone by then. So, big shoot-yourself-in-the-foot moment by management there, hindering themselves from turning my 1-top into a potential 3-top. My bagel finally arrived but was plain instead of everything. I understand that since this place is new, they're still working out a few kinks. With that being said, although friendly, the staff seems to be inexperienced and are struggling to keep their heads above water. Usually when somebody mentions that they've been waiting unusually long for something, it's taken care of right away. In my case, I had to wait an additional 20 minutes to get a wrong order. So, something's off. Now for context, it's clear that a small fortune was invested in opening this place up. I can't imagine what type of lease they're on. They also undertook an intensive renovation over the course of several months. The high-end kitchen equipment speaks for itself. So, if all that was spent, what can be attributed for this blatant lack of staff training and hospitality? I've read a few other comments complaining about the service, but there does seem to be something fishy going on. If you look, it's almost all 5-star reviews and then more 1 and 2-stars than 3 or 4-stars. Why is that? Huh. Could it be that these reviews are bought, bots, or shills? Probably. Shoot, after that whole investment, what's a bit more to make sure your rating is good, especially soon after opening. What seems to be the case is that we are just numbers. Volume is their priority, because although we'd all like to think that we are somehow being done a favor by being purveyed a good product, at the end of the day, it’s a business. I can think of a few reasons for this huge discrepancy between the installations and service. It's possible they’ve decided to hire inexperienced staff to pay less wages, since don't forget, they're only numbers too. Another possibility is nepotism. Or maybe a combination of the two. Regardless, they seem to have received very limited training. Let me mention here that they were kind and polite, but when it comes to actual service and not just smiles and a friendly voice, they're unable to meet expectations. Most likely they’ll improve with time, but there is a feeling of disappointment. Disappointment that so much was involved to open this place up without ensuring that front of house and the kitchen could handle the throughput they're currently experiencing, but it does seem to be financially driven. By the way, I didn't eat my bagel, since I was looking forward to and was kind of set on an everything bagel (I also didn't expect to be there so long and had to leave). It looked alright, although it seemed smaller than your average bagel. I also found it unusual that it wasn’t open-face. I'm not sure who eats bagels that aren’t sandwiches that way, so I’m left to wonder. Maybe this a way of skimping on the schmear as well. I really hope they figure it out. Otherwise, I fear that after this initial hype they won't be able to keep repeat customers as much as they're...

CDMX Eats 2024 #63, Brunch #5, Deli #1: I often pass by Mendl on my morning walks and am always intrigued by the baked goods I see (and smell).

We initially came here to grab coffee and pastries when my partner's parents were in town. As soon as we walked in my FIL was immediately drawn to smoked lox on display.

We started off with our orders of coffee: an espresso, a flat white, and two cafe del dias. They then brought over a display of freshly baked goods, and we got a Danes frutos rojos ($75) to share.

The coffee was good (as to be expected from the folks behind Quentin) as was the Danes! While it was a little on the pricy side, the ingredients/quality justified it for the most part.

Because of the lox display, we ended up ordering more substantially than we initially planned. We ordered two sets of bagels and lox ($280/ea) to share between the four of us.

Everything about the bagel and lox was great: the bagel, the lox, the schmear, the veg inside. Yes, $280 isn't cheap for breakfast, but when you compare it to other places selling bagels it's not far off. And, IMO, it absolutely hits the spot. I'd rather spend a little more and get the real thing than save a little money and be disappointed. The bagel and lox reminded me of Russ & Daughters, and I'm not really sure there's higher praise to be had than that.

Speaking of, Mendl has the best service I've experienced in Mexico City (joining the likes of Contramar and Mi Compa Chava). Our waitress, Aishlynn, was attentive, helpful, and very plesant. Last but not least, the ambiance is 5/5 as well. Whether you're sitting inside, outside, or the in-between area, the entire place is a comfortable delight. Don't leave without checking out their restroom btw (not joking lol).

When we come back I'd like to order the following: huevos y lox + 'homemade onion rings'; or...

PSA: their average score just jumped from 3.8 to 4.5 in the last month (April-May 2023). 95% of the new reviewers here have only 1-3 reviews attached to their accounts. Looks like Mendl's is likely disingenuously flooding the reviews here with ChatGPT level bots.

TLDR: If you wanna feel like you're not cool enough and that you should be grateful to eat mediocre deli fare, then go for it. Honestly, everything surrounding the culture is definitely a vibe killer. I'd recommend Bagels Lepu instead.

The food is fine, though quite expensive for certain dishes. If you know Jewish fare and bagels then it (might) scratch the itch.

But the service is pretty terrible. Like surprisingly rude. They were short with me when I asked to pay with card - they said the terminal didn't work (which, you know, that happens, no big deal). But when they realized I was ordering a lot to go and I didn't have cash they changed their mind apparently to let me use the terminal (that was actually working all along). It seemed like they continued to make up weird fake rules like that until I eventually gave up. Also, nadie me contestaron cuando les saludé (más que dos veces).

My guess it's because management treats staff terribly since they also own Quintin and the service there also makes everything pretty uncomfortable.

P.S. If you read their reply, my sandwich lab is an old hobby account where I mostly post sammies I make at home for fun. I didn't realize that would seem like competition to them. But holy cow, thaaaaaat's pretty creepy to be obsessing over bad reviews to the extent they're diving deep into our socials. The tone of Mendl's reply only confirms that this is how they may treat you in the restaurant, folks. Again, I...