Restaurant guide.

BUSINESS MEXICO brings you an ongoing list of some of Mexico City's top restaurants, rated by cost, service, decor and cuisine. A new restaurant is rotated onto the list every month, and we welcome your comments, recommendations and criticisms of the restaurants you've visited in order to compile the most accurate and complete listing possible.

Email us at busmex@amcham.com.mx or write to BUSINESS MEXICO, Lucerna 78, Colonia Juarez, Mexico D.F., C.P. 06600. 1-3 dreadful to poor 4-6 mediocre to fair 7-8 good to very good 9 excellent 10 extraordinary Restaurant food decor service cost (in U.S. Remarks

Dollars per

person) Thai 8 8.5 8 $30 This haven of Thai Gardens cuisine has a calm, 5281-3850 uncrowded and unrushed Calderon de ambience. A menu de la Barca 72 degustacion offers a Col. large range of dishes Polanco and lets you try a

little bit of

everything. Spring

rolls and the Thai

chicken curry are

recommended, while

vegetarian dishes

abound. Products are

imported directly from

Thailand. Restaurante 10 9 10 $55 The original in Madrid Botin is the world's oldest 5395-157.6 restaurant, says Corner of Guinnness, and the Homero and Mexican version lives Lagrange, up to the reputation Col. of its forebear. Polanco Service portions are

generous and wait

staff is very

attentive. The rack of

lamb is highly

recommended while

appetizers, soups and

salads all won rave

reviews. El Samurai 6 6.5 6 $30 One of the oldest 5523-1469 Japanese Nueva York establishments in 85 (near town, serving World Trade everything from sushi Center), to teppanyaki to Col. shabu-shabu ("the Napoles noise which fine

strips of meat and

vegetables make when

being submerged in

seasoned stock"). But

with average food and

sullen wait staff it

needs to update its

act a little. Los 9 8 7 $25 Warm, cozy ambience Almendros and attentive service 5531-6646 staff complement a Campos splendid Yucatecan Eliseos 164 menu. Panuchos or Col. papadzul are great Polanco starters. The sopa de

lima and black bean

soup are excellent and

the ensalada de puerto

is highly recommended.

Fowl and fish

selections are

plentiful and

pechiguitas de pollo

Los Almendros is

excellent. Tezka 10 6 9.5 $50 Self-described Spanish 5228-9918, Basque cuisine offers ext. 5067 a rare taste sensation Amberes 78 you won't forget in a (inside hurry. Though the Royal Zona decor is dull, the Rosa dishes and Hotel), presentation are Zona Rosa, exquisite. Among Col. Juarez recommended items are

sweet potato empanadas

(filled with lobster),

the pescado bruja,

veal and the lamb with

cafe cortado. Mughal 9 8 9 $35 Elegant and attentive Oriental service combined with Bistro exquisitely prepared 5616-2768 dishes make this Av. San experience well worth Jeronimo the dent in the 263 wallet. Egg rolls and (in the chicken brochettes are Escenaria great starters. The mall) main courses are

divided into fowl,

meat, fish and

noodles, with rice and

vegetable sides.

Serving sizes are

generous and sublimely

prepared. The 7.5 8 7.5 $30 The menu is a mix of Dubliner traditional Irish 5250-8105 dishes and concessions Mariano to the Mexican palate. Escobedo A mixed starter plate 434 offers potato cakes, Col. crab cakes, Irish Anzures sausages, chicken

wings and french

fries. Fish and chips

are available as is a

reasonable salad

selection. The potato

soup or lamb soup

could suffice as a

meal. Main courses

feature classics such

as corned beef,

shepherd's pie, steak

and vegetable pie and

a wide variety of

steaks. La Pigua 8 9 9 $40 High-class restaurant 5281-2437/ featuring delicious 5281-1302 seafood from Compeche. Alejandro Menu reflects regional Dumas 16 specialties by using Col. Maya food names so Polanco don't be afraid to ask

for translations.

Chiles rellenos, cream

of seafood soup and

crabmeat (concha de

jaiba) are recommended

appetizers. Filet of

huachinango, shrimp in

ajillo sauce and

pampano fish highlight

the main courses. Bros 9 8 9 $35 Wonderful for a meal 5250-1325 or drink, Bros is a Lope de fine restaurant and Vega 266 pub combined into one. Col. Bright wooden floors Chapultepec and a big bar in the Morales middle provide a

classic Irish pub

feel, while great

seafood highlights the

menu (which is

actually written on a

chalkboard on the

wall). The appetizers

are real treats as

well as the main

courses but beware of

the rack of lamb. It's

good but very

expensive. Le Cirque 9 9 10 $70 A perfect dining 5263-8881 option for the rich Mariano and famous or those Escobedo who want to pretend 700 like they are. Located Col. Nueva in the Camino Real Anzures Hotel, there are no

windows, which allows

for an intimate dining

experience or a

private business

lunch. Very expensive

food and drinks

highlight the menu, so

come psychologically

and financially

prepared.

Recommendations

include the rack of

lamb or a seafood

dish. Gentlemen are

required to wear a

jacket. Mazurka 8 7 7 $30 An old mansion 5523-8811/ converted into a 5543-4509 restaurant offers a Nueva York pleasant setting. No 150 Mexican offerings Col. here, as the food is Napoles authentically Polish.

For platters, we

highly recommend the

kaczka, roasted duck,

golobki, cabbage

stuffed with ground

beef and the

nalesnick, a

cheese-stuffed crepe

with blueberries, for

dessert. Aguila y 8 9 9 $40 A very chic and modern Sol Mexican restaurant 5281-8354 that leaves behind the Moliere 42 colonial area and Col. ushers hungry patrons Polanco into the new age of

local cuisine and

architecture, while

conserving its

"Mexicaness." The

restaurant's

modernized versions of

traditional Mexican

appetizers and entrees

are quite tasty and

the impeccably dressed

waitstaff gave

top-notch service.