Cantina Montejo: Three floors of camaraderie and Yucatecan food
It's Saturday at 4:30 in the afternoon and there's a line to get into Montejo. Inside and out, there's a festive atmosphere. What's happening on the first floor, in the bar area, seems like a big family gathering, as if everyone there has known each other forever.
“We have people who, just to be here, can wait up to an hour or more just to get in,” says Gerardo Ogando, manager of this Condesa classic.
In the three-story mansion, which has been operating since 1984, young and old, locals and visitors from out of town, mingle. Ogando says that some customers are so loyal and delighted with the service that they come from other nearby states to celebrate a birthday, and even, on occasion, to commemorate the life of a loved one who passed away and was a customer for decades. “They bring their photo as a final memento in Montejo,” he says.
Yucatecan cuisine is one of its main and most compelling attractions. In the restaurant, with its black and white checkered floor, like a chessboard, the most popular dish is the specialty: cochinita pibil. And if you order it wrapped in a crispy tortilla with cheese, the spectacular taco cachondo will arrive at your table. There's also lime soup, papadzules, queso relleno, and even light options for office workers on a diet.
In the cantina, where dominoes are still played, the traditional bar service is preserved. The dishes change according to the day of the week: Tuesdays are for pork shank with three chilies; Thursdays, for paella; and Saturdays, for carnitas. The rest of the days, the cook decides. Sometime in the afternoon, a trio will arrive to play classic boleros.
Several of the staff, both kitchen and front-of-house, have been with the restaurant for over 30 years, which speaks to its friendly, vibrant, authentic, and traditional atmosphere. La Montejo, named after the majestic boulevard of the same name in Mérida, is one of our favorites: always popular and reliable.