Neighborhood: Cuauhtemoc
Type of Food: Seafood
What to Order: Everything (including the aguachile, shrimp gobernador taco)
Food Score: 9.3 / 10
What To Skip: Nothing. Maybe the dessert.
Vibe / Design: Coastal casual, bright
Crowd: Skews younger, maybe hungover
Service: A
Costela isn’t situated in the most popular area in Mexico City when it comes to travelers. It’s not in Roma, or in Condesa, or Polanco. It’s in Cuauhtemoc. A more local neighborhood just north of Reforma and the iconic Angel of Independence statue. However, Cuahtemoc has many cool restaurants and bars, especially along Rio Lerma and Plaza Melchor Ocampo. Costela is a gem, a highlight, and shouldn’t be overlooked.
Concept
You've struck gold here if you’re looking for fantastic seafood in Mexico City, a city with no shortage of great seafood spots. Seafood is especially important and necessary if you’re trying to kill a massive mezcal hangover from the night before.
What’s especially cool about Costela is the focus on sustainable ingredients. Apparently, over 75%+ of the menu is sustainable. So you can indulge, soothe what ails you, and feel good about yourself, all at the same time. Who can argue with that?
The main focus is fully immersing folks in a Mexican ritual that is seafood when hungover. Specifically, on coastal Mexican cuisine coming from the northwestern shores of Mexico. More specifically, Baja, Sonora, and Sinaloa. And the mastermind behind it all is chef Alexander Suastegui.
Atmosphere
The atmosphere is what I would call coastal casual. It’s a relatively small place, in what seems like a converted garage with orange-red hues, beach sunset motifs/paintings, checkered flooring, and plants everywhere, but they also have some outdoor patio seating. Overall, it’ll make you feel like you’re hanging out right on the sea, diving into seafood that was caught mere steps from where you’re sitting. Ok maybe a bit hyperbole, but you get the point. The folks who designed the space, I believe, are from Mazatlan in Sinaloa, so yeah, it makes sense.
Drinks
The drinks here will save you from the pounding headache you’re suffering through - the perfect savory combo of salt and alcohol. They don’t have just your standard run-of-the-mill micheladas either. The Tijuano and Lagunillo stand out - both with clamato and beer bases, but that’s where the similarities end. The former with clams, shrimp, and some “northern” spices, the latter, with Japanese crispy peanuts and sesame. The unique cocktails come from Joseph Mortera of Cafe Ocampo so you know they’re not messing around. Plus a good selection of wines and of course, mezcal.
Food
While I was still reeling from the previous night’s mezcal, I was super excited to sit down, pour myself a michelada, and drown my hangover in raw and cooked seafood. Shawn from Mexico City Social and mi novia, @soycristina joined me and yeah, they were in the same boat, no pun intended.
We heard that the octopus with cucumber is phenomenal but we decided to start with a somewhat mild shrimp aguachile. Probably for the best, it was lacking in fire. Always kick things off with the raw stuff though. It was flavorful and the shrimps were plump and, well, shrimp-y.
We also got some tasty raw plump oysters and clams (alemejas chocolatas) straight from Ensenada that were chopped up with some cilantro, onions, and tomatoes and soaked in some lemon juice and maybe some Worcestershire. They were good, maybe not overly memorable, but they did have some tang and acid. And of course, helped with the hangover too thanks to the juice.
We then migrated into the tacos. I think I have to say it’s one of the best shrimp gobernador tacos I’ve ever had. A chewy flour tortilla smothered in gooey melted cheese. Don’t skip this.
The fried fish was also delectable. Think of it as a relatively simple but upscale and decked-out fish stick from your childhood that you then fold into a tortilla. Crispy, light and flaky. Fantastic.
If you still have room, I remember enjoying the dessert, but it was outshined certainly by the seafood. Some grilled peaches and ice cream, topped with some bacon. An impressive combo to end on.
The bottom line is: don’t sleep on Costela. Way better than your average, run-of-the-mill seafood restaurant here. They already set the bar high and Costela vaults over that easily. Oh, and you don’t have to wait hours for a table like some other seafood spots in CDMX.