Restaurant Spotlight: Loretta Chic Bistrot (Wine Spectator)

When wine director Laura Santander and chef Abel Hernández opened Eloise Chic Cuisine in 2013, the restaurant made waves in the quiet Mexico City neighborhood of San Ángel. The elegant French restaurant earned Wine Spectator’s Award of Excellence that year, and four years later, the duo opened Loretta Chic Bistrot just up the road. Though its wine list is slightly smaller than its older sibling’s, Loretta Chic Bistrot also holds an Award of Excellence for a 200-label list uniting Old and New World styles. Spain, Italy and France are the highlights, but in addition to the classics, you’ll find regions that are hard to come by on Mexican wine lists, like Bulgaria, Lebanon, Armenia, Slovenia and Croatia. Santander’s goal is to offer an amusing and surprising program to pair with Hernández’s cuisine, which blends Mediterranean inspiration with North African recipes and local ingredients. Distinctive dishes include baked feta cheese with candied cherry tomato, smoked beef with potato froth and tagliatelle with a wild-pig ragù made with olive and cocoa. The menu format is particularly sharable, encouraging guests to experience the wide range of flavors and textures.