Bar CDMX — Restaurant in Los Angeles

If all it takes for bringing Mexico to DTLA is blasting loud Spanish tunes, some neighborhood names written on the walls and badly translated arcade game marquees, then I’m surprised there aren’t more of these types of bars around!

If you remove that stuff though, it’s still a pretty chill bar. It seems spacious at first but soon you’ll find no where to sit or stand very quickly once it starts to fill in. The buildout of the bar seems oddly designed. There are very long/wide booths along the walls that work best for large groups. But if it’s just you and your girl or a friend or two, that’s a lot of space being wasted. The bar itself is wide which is great but the end cap has this very short table that doesn’t make sense given it’s not wheelchair accessible and all the seating outside of the booths are high stools. It would have made more sense to build out small personal tables along the walls to have more floating tables in the open areas. And it would open it up more if dancing were to happen. There’s also awkward counter spaces along the pool table area which makes it incredibly hard to play with just a few people trying to stand around and enjoy their drinks. (The pool table was already missing the 8 ball which is odd given it was the first night open) While I myself love arcade games, it doesn’t make sense to use up that extra space for games when you could have more seating in that area. Regardless of that the games are fun to play; it just gives the bar a different vibe than what it appears to be from the outset. But what about what really matters? The drinks! The place could be a broken down shack and would still be happening if it has a good bar program right? The drinks were pretty good for being a limited menu. Not sure if this is just for their soft opening or what, but it has 3 sections; one being cocktails on tap, some classics and then beer. Which isn’t such a bad thing especially at those prices. I had a few mojitos and they were very refreshing, crisp and well balanced. The more classic drinks geared towards the sweeter side but still tasty. There’s nothing particular that stands out and they mostly use pretty traditional standard well spirits. For a Mexican bar I was expecting more of a variety in Mexican liquors. Maybe that will change in the future. There wasn’t anything in terms of food that we saw so can’t opine there. With so many options downtown, Bar CDMX feels more like an after party bar. The one place you go to after you finished partying somewhere else, or end your bar crawl. Or the first stop before you get a chance to hit up another place soon after. It even feels more like an industry bar where all the other bar workers in DTLA go to hang out and just take shots. If you’ve been to Death & Co, it feels like the waiting room bar before you head into the main room/bar. But You have Seven Grand and Bar Jackalope just upstairs. Library bar, La Perla, Freehand and so many more in that general area all within walking distance. That’s not counting all the other great spots further out in any direction. Is it worth checking out? Sure why not! It’s a no frills, easy stop if you’re in the area. And who wouldn’t want to just go and hang at a spot that plays some of Mexico’s greatest hits while sipping on a Paloma on...

I saw an article about Bar CDMX and was looking forward to checking it out while I was in LA.

The space was cool and reminiscent of bars in Mexico City.. I was curious about their cocktails on tap.

We got a Mezcal Margarita and Mezcal Paloma. Not bad. It was light on the Mezcal, but ok otherwise.

What sucked was the service. The bartender brought two drinks I didn’t order. It was a little loud, so I thought maybe he misheard me. No big deal, it happens.The way he handled the situation was what made me think he’s never had a job in the service industry. He told me I ordered the drink he brought and he’s not drunk. Ok, I didn’t think he was drunk and nor was I. I even told him that I thought it was just a simple misunderstanding, but I was absolutely certain I didn’t order what he brought. He even got my friend’s drink wrong, but we accepted it anyway.

He made it sound like he was doing me a favor by not charging me for something I didn’t ask for. (very big of him). And condescendingly said “you know a daiquiri and Diet Coke are very different.” I thought “thanks for the lesson champ”. But I didn’t say it.

In the end it was a totally rookie move on his part.

So as much as I wanted to like the place, the service was surprisingly horrible. Maybe training in working with customers might help. I’m not optimistic that this guy would get it. He didn’t seem very teachable, but...

I know this is a new bar but in my personal opinion you can't just put nopal decor and photos of Frida and automatically call it Mexican vibes 🤷🏻‍♀️ The drinks are pricy and not tasty at all. We bought different drinks and none of them were good (tropic thunder, mojito, mango mezcal, carajillo). Since it's a basement bar I'd hope they had the AC higher but it was too hot inside. There's plenty of tables but mostly for big groups. Not enough stools to sit around the pool table. There's a little arcade all the way in the back so that's cool. There's also a taquero at the entrance where you can get 2 tacos for $5 and you can bring them to the...