Izote, Mexico City

Went there with my wife last Saturday evening. We arrived at 9PM w/out a reservation and were immediately shown to a table. I had heard that the food was great but the service not -- we found that the food WAS great AND the service was, too! We especially liked the steady re-supply of fresh warm tortillas, condiments, and limes to our table, all without our asking. After some excellent starters, I had steak and my wife had fish; we paired these with an Argentine Cabernet-Malbec blend from a winery that I was unfamiliar with, but it complemented the food very well. All in all, the most memorable meal we have had in several years, which is saying something because we usually dine out in the DC/NYC/Boston corridor and have the chance to eat at some nice places. Better value for your money than you typically find in New York, too.

A very nice room but very disappointing experience. White and rosado wines were surprisingly expensive and lightly poured. Food was mixed, such as the trio of ceviche of which two were OK and the third (scallops) were small, slightly fishy and sitting in an overly simple soy marinade. My wife's steak was a beautiful piece of meat, but was practically raw, and had to be sent back twice just to get it medium rare. (Little surprise that one of our party fell ill the next day.) Painfully slow service aggravated the situation -- it took us almost 20 minutes just to get la cuenta.