SAN さん Matcha — Restaurant in Mexico City

A cramped, tiny sando/matcha shop where the matchas aren’t worth the hype.

Sando shops seem to be the latest trend in CDMX, popping up everywhere, and SAN is one of the newest players in the food scene. From the outside, it looks aesthetically pleasing, but stepping in, it’s a different story—it’s such a tiny space that even non-claustrophobic people might feel uncomfortable.

When I arrived, there was a bit of a wait, and I quickly noticed that all the tables were full—both the few tiny ones inside and the ones spilling onto the sidewalk. The location, near Glorieta de los Insurgentes, already has heavy foot traffic, and pairing that with the café’s cramped layout made the experience feel even more chaotic. The inside didn’t provide much relief either; while there was “spaciousness” for the customers, the baristas had only a sliver of space to work in as they scrambled to make orders.

Despite that, the barista who took my order was somewhat friendly. However, I was asked if I wanted to leave a tip, which felt out of place, considering it’s more of a take-away spot with no table service. I ordered the matcha ichigo latte (essentially a strawberry matcha latte), paid, and waited in the next-door area since the café was packed.

The drink itself was aesthetically pleasing, but even getting a straw in the drink was a challenge because of how tiny the space was—I had to do it mid-air. Unfortunately, the first sip was a letdown. The matcha tasted diluted and lacked the creamy, latte-like texture I was expecting. The milk itself felt watered down, and the promised strawberry [milk] flavor was practically nonexistent. At times, I could almost taste it, but it was too faint to be enjoyable, even though the strawberry purée was visibly present when I received it (4/10).

Overall, this was a disappointing experience, not worth being uncomfortable for ten minutes for an overhyped matcha. I appreciate that the baristas were making matcha the right way, but it didn’t translate into my drink, especially with the lack of creaminess and balanced milk-to-matcha ratio. The café is aesthetic, but the odd location and cramped setup don’t fit the vibe it’s trying to achieve, making the overall experience borderline disastrous—it’s just...

San Matcha is a beautiful spot, and the staff was so thoughtful and they even offered us an umbrella when it started raining. The space itself is a bit uncomfortable though, since there isn’t much seating. You really have to be committed to waiting around for a table or plan to take your drink to go. We were lucky to get a seat, but it started raining right after.

The quality of the matcha itself seemed wonderful, but the menu is on the simpler side. With so many people used to sweeter or more creative matcha drinks, this one focuses more on basic matcha and milk combinations. They didn’t have soy milk or sugar-free vanilla, which I would have loved to see.

Overall, it’s a nice place to experience authentic matcha, but I think it would shine even more as a place to purchase the powder and make your own drinks at home with your...

Small little stand, not much seating space but not really necessary considering the food being offered. High quality, ceremonial, grade Matcha, and fruit purées without sugar! Usually, specialty Matcha drinks are too sweet and don’t let the Matcha flavour are overly sweet and don’t let the matcha shine, but that is not the case here! The flavours blend and compliment each other beautifully, and I highly recommend the yuzu tonic Matcha as well for a refreshing drink. Sweet service, lots of workers in a small space to try and make the wait a bit shorter, though I wouldn’t call this a quick stop. If you like sweet, processed Matcha, this may not be the place for you. Otherwise - don’t know why there are...