The best new bistros in London, New York, Paris and Mexico City revealed, from tasting menus that don’t cost the earth to the tastiest tacos in the taco capital
- We recently revealed the Priceless Cities Best New Bistro shortlist
- The idea of the competition is to highlight ‘new spots that defy categorisation’
- The winners also include a vegan Chinese restaurant and a Brooklyn wine bar
It’s time to serve up some mouthwatering news – the hottest new bistros in London, New York, Paris and Mexico City have been named.
In September we revealed the shortlist for a new competition called Priceless Cities Best New Bistro run by restaurant and hotel guide Le Fooding and Mastercard. The idea is to highlight ‘new spots that defy categorisation, where young generations of chefs, sommeliers, mixologists and restaurateurs are free to express their various talents’.
Now it’s time to feast your eyes on the five winners.
London – Tayer + Elementary and Mao Chow, joint winners
The judges say that Tayer + Elementary serves a ‘unique, ever-evolving and affordable tasting menu served right at the kitchen counter’
Tayer + Elementary can be found at 152 Old St, with dishes including mutton tartare and an ‘incredible milk ice cream’
Tayer + Elementary
The judges say that this spot (tayer-elementary.com, 152 Old Street) has a ‘unique, ever-evolving and affordable tasting menu served right at the kitchen counter’.
The judges added: ‘[The] cuisine combines originality (incredible mutton tartare!) with modesty (incredible milk ice cream!).’
Mao Chow
Mao Chow is described as ‘a pocket-sized vegan spot with really creative, tasty and spicy Chinese cuisine’
An image showing some of Mao Chow’s dishes. The restaurant is run by the California-born chef Julian Denis
‘A pocket-sized vegan spot with really creative, tasty and spicy Chinese cuisine,’ is how the judges describe Mao Chow (www.mao-chow.com, 159A Mare St, E8 3RD), which is run by the California-born chef Julian Denis.
They added: ‘We haven’t seen anything as fun and exhilarating on the Chinese food scene since Mission Chinese. Mao Chow truly pays homage to London by reviving a certain punk style, adding a little extra spice to this anti-bourgeois and ultra-divisive (and not just because it’s vegan!) spot, where everything is radically delicious and done like nowhere else.’
New York – Saint Julivert
There are nothing but ‘good vibes’ at Saint Julivert, in Brooklyn, according to the judges
Saint Julivert is apparently so good that once you’ve visited, you’ll want to move into the neighbourhood so you can dine there multiple times a week
This neighbourhood wine bar (www.saintjulivertbk.com, 264 Clinton St, Brooklyn, NY 11201) won over the judges with its ‘tasty, effortless cuisine (mostly seafood), bare-bones decor and an original wine list’.
‘Nothing but good vibes,’ they said.
And added: ‘It’s the type of spot that’ll have you considering a move just so you can walk in and dine there multiple times a week, seated around the bar or at one of the communal tables, shoulder to shoulder with other lucky New Yorkers.
‘The seafood creations with their Mediterranean, East Coast or Latin American influences from Alex Raij and Eder Montero [the co-owners and co-chefs] are perfectly executed… and the sourcing of ingredients is truly top-notch.’
Paris – Le Maquis
Old-school bistro Le Maquis wowed the judges with its simple and delicious dishes
This gem is described as ‘an old-school bistro given new life by a duo of young chefs who serve modernised classic French fare (Restaurant Le Maquis 53, rue des Cloys)’.
The judges added: ‘In the classic sense of the term, the French bistro never should have been anything other than this. And it’s precisely that “this” which Le Maquis does so well (simple and delicious dishes of the day, an old-fashioned bar, unfussy wines), making it so easily distinguishable from the now stale old bistros, and the faux modern bistros that often overplay their hand.’
Mexico City – Expendio de Maiz
Expendio de Maiz is ‘a one-of-a-kind corn-obsessed joint that serves a carte blanche menu composed around heirloom varieties of corn’
Expendio de Maiz cooks local – and produces the best tacos, in the taco capital
Welcome to Expendio de Maiz (www.expendiodemaiz.com, Av. Yucatan 84, Roma Nte) ‘a one-of-a-kind corn-obsessed joint that serves a carte blanche menu composed around heirloom varieties of corn, putting a playful new twist on the great Mexican classics’.
The judges added: ‘Today, as Expendio de Maiz reminds us, it is so critically important to remain in place, to cook local, to seek out pleasure in the infinitely small.
‘And why not in a small kernel of corn? If you’re bringing heirloom grains back, you might as well do it by producing the best tacos of the year in the taco capital of the world.’
Yum: One of the flavoursome dishes on offer at Expendio de Maiz
For more information visit www.bestnewbistro.com.
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