Mexico City’s Rosetta

One of my favorite things about Mexico City is that restaurant ambiance is taken seriously. There are countless beautiful spaces to eat and drink at. In many of the neighborhoods, the colonial and classical architecture of the city remains, and many of the most beautiful restaurants we saw were found in these timeless structures. So much of the CDMX restaurant scene is an exciting trifecta of uniquity, romanticism, and allure. 

Our first meal was at Rosetta, which is a located on a buzzy restaurant-lined street in Colonia Roma. We each started with a Rosetta Old Fashioned, made by infusing mezcal with cacao flowers. Each was garnished with a single, tiny, flower bud.

The Food

They brought out fresh focaccia and peppery EVOO to the table, and it was some of the most chewy and bouncy focaccia I think I’ve ever had. 

We decided we couldn’t not get the tamales de elote y crema ahumada (corn tamal and smoked cream), and we were so happy we did. If I see elote on a menu, I’m ordering it. The smokey cream in the tamales gave structure to the natural sweetness and delicateness. Of course, it was garnished with a tiny yellow flower. It felt like dessert before the meal. But for actual dessert there’s lavender tres leches cake.

I’m obsessed with good pasta, so naturally, we ordered from their several pasta offerings. The tagliatelle salchicha italiana y chile de árbol (tagliatelle with Italian sausage and Chile de árbol). The unique selling point? Fried rosemary leaves for garnish. This contributed a soft crunch and a delicate, buttery, evergreen flavor.

To finish we had the cogote de puerco en mole rosado (pork neck in pink mole). Served very simply, the mole was delicious and the vibrant color– thanks to the pink peppercorns– was beautiful. 

The Vibe

The ambiance at Rosetta is really good, something we quickly realized restaurants here are not scarce of. They have a car port area set up for outdoor seating. The vibe is this natural, minimal, rustic elegance. It’s decorated very well, and adorned with beautiful climbing vines. We sat outside, and close by was always a waiter or two ready to attend to us. The service was exceptional. I loved the simple presentations of everything, from the plates and cloth napkins, to the individual flower in a small vase beside the single candle on the table.