Restaurante Castizo — Restaurant in Mexico City

As a world traveler and food enthusiast, I’ve experienced dining at some of the finest restaurants across the globe, but my recent visit to this establishment was a disappointment from start to finish. We specifically reserved seating on the rooftop, but upon arrival, we were seated by the entrance door—the most uncomfortable spot due to all the traffic. When we inquired about the rooftop, the waiter casually mentioned it was closed, something the host should have informed us about right away. To make matters worse, she forgot to bring us menus, and we had to wait a full 10 minutes just to get them, despite the restaurant not being busy.

The most frustrating part was watching several waiters standing idly, seemingly with nothing to do, while we waited excessively for everything. Our main dishes took over 40 minutes to arrive, and when they finally did, the quality was shocking. We both ordered the seabass, which was incredibly dry, tasteless, and clearly not fresh. The only redeeming part of the meal were the potatoes.

To top it all off, we had to ask for the check four times before anyone brought it to us. Given the service, food quality, and overall experience, the price was outrageously high. This experience was far below the standards of any dining establishment, let alone one charging...

I am really disappointed in this restaurant as it came highly recommended. First they would not let me do the tasting menu as they had a rule that the whole table needed to do it together. I don’t understand how this makes sense, if I came alone and would be able to try the tasting menu what is the difference if I am sitting at a table with others. I ordered three dishes, the squash blossoms which were good, the onion soup which was fine but way too expensive for the tiny bowl you get and the sea bass which was recommended by the waiter. The sea bass was basically just cooked in butter and was very expensive for something with not much flavor. My bill came to more than the tasting menu and I left hungry but did not want to order more as I was disappointed with 2/3 dishes I received. And to add to it the service was EXTREMELY slow we had to wait 15+ minutes just for someone to bring a menu after we asked and then again for the bill at the end it took them at least 20 minutes. The worst part was that I noticed after that the waiter added on a tip to my bill without asking???? Which should be illegal. They always ask here before adding a tip but he took it upon himself to choose how much we were tipping. Awful. Overall a poor experience I will not...

Restaurante Castizo was an incredible find!

First you'll be greeted by friendly staff and a very pleasant ambiance, thanks to lanterns suspended from a (fake) vine-lined ceiling, invitingly large chairs and tables, and decorative mirrors in a cute indoor patio. You're now primed to have a nice meal, but here's the twist: the food is even better than what you're expecting!

We over-ordered a lot, but ultimately powered through and enjoyed the entire meal. Our top favorites were the octopus a la gallega, gambas al ajillo with a touch of honey, flores de calabaza stuffed with truffle cheese, sea bass a la donostiarra, and the kinder egg dessert, which you would normally order from the rooftop bar but the chef was kind enough to make for us. The only dish I wouldn't recommend is the patatas bravas, because there are so many significantly better things on the menu that it only takes up precious space.

I'm so glad we happened to be staying nearby and couldn't go too far due to the pouring rain; we never would have stumbled upon this spot otherwise. I happily recommend trying this out if you're in the mood for outstanding tapas and don't mind slightly above average prices. Well worth it--will come back when we...