Mesa Coyoacan — Restaurant in New York

Definitely better than A-OK, but not even close to "as good as it gets". This is a solid 4 star restaurant.

Trendy vibe. Wait time on peak hours is about an hour. Staff is pleasant and very friendly, but if you're hear during peak hours, you can get lost in the shuffle if you don't remind the waitresses you're there. Ambiance is trendy, dark, rustically beautiful, but also quite loud. There are only a few traditional sit-down tables towards the back. Good place to go drinking with a few friends, especially if you're young and beautiful. Drinks are pretty interesting. And strong.

The restaurant seems to have mastered the fine art of grilling and the food is generally quite delectable, but there were some very noticeable glaring misses.

Crickets: B They serve as drink finger food. Desiccated. First time I ever ate crickets before. Not as gross as I thought they'd be. Inconsistently spicy... some were very spicy, others not at all. I always imagined the legs sticking in your teeth, but thankfully that didn't happen.

Ceviche de Camaron: C+ It didn't taste particularly fresh, nor was it interesting. Wasn't much more than bland salsa with avocado and some shrimp. Like tomato soup with shrimp. It was in desperate need of more flavor.

Steak Quesadilla: A Ugly thing. Came to the table and I said "Oh, boy... this is gonna suck!" but lo and behold, it was delicious. The restaurant really knows how to grill steak, and the steak quesadilla really showcases this strength! Looks disgusting, tastes divine!

Sopecitos (steak): A As with the steak quesadilla, this is a showcase for the restaurant's skill in grilling meat. Unlike the quesadilla, it's not ugly; it's looks pretty and tastes delicious. As with the quesadilla, I would order this again next time we come back.

Plato de Carnitas: B+ Delicious carnitas. Nicely spiced / flavored with good fat in places. Slightly over cooked in places, otherwise would've been a solid A.

Costillas en Adobo: C+ Description sounds delicious but it was beyond overcooked. The meat was dry and inedible. It was my fault for not sending this awful dish back to the kitchen. I should've returned it immediately, but by the time it came we had over-eaten and were exhausted. The meat was so dry the dish was completely inedible. Shame on the kitchen!

Mixiotes de Carnero: A My brother in law ordered this. The banana peel keeps the meat very moist and tender. Nicely spiced. Excellently cooked. Beans were yummy and presented beautifully. All in all this has every trapping of a chef's signature dish.

Churros: A- Definitely freshly made. The only way they could've been better is if they were served hot from the fryer. Maybe with a bittersweet...

I'm always skeptical when a place in New York says that they have "authentic" Mexican food and pretty much all the diners are not Mexican. Give me a taco stand in Sunset Park or Corona any day. But I kept hearing about how wonderful Mesa was, so what the hell.

And yeah, from what I've learned about Mexican food, it was pretty authentic. How about that.

Like most of the world said, the margaritas were good. I was more impressed with their selection of mezcal, though I wish that some more creativity went into their mezcal cocktails.

The guacamole was pre-made, but still pretty good. And I wasn't a huge fan of the quesadilla... I know that the authentic way to do it is have it basically be like a tortilla folded in half. Sort of like a flat taco. but they used a crispy shell and put a bunch of crema on it, which didn't do much for me.

Our waitress recommended the Carne Asada to me, which I hesitantly accepted. I don't often eat steak, but when I do, I want it to be from a high-end steak house where I can really taste it. Mesa's steak was pretty good though. Tender and properly cooked. I was happy. During the meal, I even managed to snag a bite of an enchilada, and it was tasty as well.

I don't live near here, but if I did, I wouldn't be upset if this were my local higher end...

What a gem of a restaurant! No doubt Mesa Coyoacan is an authentic Mexican restaurant with unique flavors and dishes that cannot be found elsewhere. The guacamole and shrimp ceviche was the best way to start the evening. It was so good that I was eager to have what was next. For entrees, my table had the pulpo & chorizo tacos, enchiladas verdes, enmoladas, camarones al ajillo and the signature dish — chiles en nogada. I tried every single dish and was astonished at how flavorful every bite was. The signature dish was like no other dish I’ve tried before — perfectly sweet and savory. I have to mention the horchata that I drank, because it is the best I have ever tried. It is not too sweet and it had a delicious smoky flavor that I fell in love with! The dessert was the perfect way to end the meal. The flambéed plantains were so delicious and Instagram-shot worthy, like everything else.

The best part of the night was the service. Stefania was our server and she made our night extra special. Her attentiveness, kindness and communication in describing every dish to us was memorable. Gerardo the manager was also wonderful to us and we want to thank the Mesa Coyoacan team for making our night...