Contramar

Contramar Restaurant Review:

A high-ceilinged, whitewashed, airy space, Contramar attracts a fashionable, well-heeled crowd (publishing, models, artists, bankers) that comes here to see and be seen. Apart from being perpetually chic, it also has a top-quality menu that adds novel twists to customary Mexican seafood dishes. Among its standouts are raw tuna tostadas with chipotle mayonnaise, sautéed soft-shell crabs, pescado a la talla Contramar (a split snapper, half with a dry red spice rub, the other half with green), and mussels in a spicy chipotle broth. Contramar is only open for lunch, doesn’t accept reservations, and on most afternoons, customers wait on the sidewalk for over an hour until a table is ready. Therefore, it’s best to arrive just after they open, or at 5 p.m., when the crowds have thinned. There's a full bar and a wine list with some very good, reasonably-priced Spanish choices. Many in Mexico City accompany seafood with a michelada---beer mixed with lemon juice, served in a glass with ice and a salted rim.