Mundial Cocina Mestiza

Sad this place closed. :[
Went there on a groupon for my Ma’s birthday last June. It was really good and was hoping to try it again. Went there in mid-​August for my birthday and it appeared to be closed with a sign that said «kitchen had burned down.»
Sad to say, I don’t believe it has reopened elsewhere.

My wife and I visited Mundial Mestiza this past Saturday and really enjoyed our dinner. Unfortunately, the service leaves a lot to be desired, and I think in the short term, it will hurt their business. In all fairness, we visited about two months ago and it was the same situation. The problem is not the server, but the quantity of servers. The restaurant needs to hire more help, at least on the weekends. We observed most diners irked by the same situation of having to wait for and flag down one very busy server. One man was the host, the bus boy, the server, and the bartender. Oh… and he was also covering the back room.
Our diner, however, was excellent. We started with a pitcher of blood Orange Sangria and an order of the Mudial Ceviche. It was excellent — with whitefish, shrimp, octopus, mango, red onions, pico de gallo, grapefruit, and orange in an oregano & carrot escabeche. I posted a fe photos.
For an entrée, I had the Caserola Azteca, which was layers of huitlacoche, squash blossom, wild mushrooms, baby spinach, black beans, corn, nopales, oaxaca cheese, crispy tortillas and artichoke molcajete sauce. The flavors were amazing and non-​stop.
My wife had the fish special, which was a Turbo filet served on mashed sweet potato, with a poblano crema. The fish was very fresh, and the poblano crema was a flavorful addition without covering the taste of the filet.
We enjoyed our meal very much, and if they hired more help, the dining experience would be perfect. We still plan to return in the future only because the food is so darn good!
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We had a groupon to this restaurant but I wasn’t very excited about it. My favorite Mexican restaurant is in Pilsen, too. So I had low expectations. But I was completely wrong.
I loved the experience. This restaurant doesn’t have traditional Mexican food. It’s fusion food very creative and well done.
We had ceviche as appetizer, it was delicious. It had lot’s of little shrimps and small pieces of octopus in a bowl made with corn.
Then we had vieiras malagellas and camarones maya, both were excellent. I loved the arucula and apple salad that cames with the vieiras.
I’m not giving ***** because it’s a little expensive, the main dishes are more $ 20.

Ha! I beat my destined fate of choosing crap restaurants on the fly and finally, FINALLY, my wittle finger landed on a goldmine of Mexican feasting bliss.
In a vain attempt to culcha ourselves, fiancé (Fifi as he will be referenced thus foward) and I took a delightful stroll through the National Mexican Museum of Art one chilly Saturday afternoon. Looking at a lot of art and festively painted skulls naturally worked up our appetites, so Fifi and I made a beeline to Unilocal and found this little Mexican gem just a few blocks away.
Now usually when I select a restaurant with no proper recommendation, no review in the RedEye, and no stamp of approval from friends, the restaurant will have hatched from the depths of kitchen hell with bland food, pissy waiters and over-​priced drinks, usually topped off with a parking ticket or missed last bus. Mundial made all that seem like a bad dream.
Fifi and I were treated to a lovely waitress (and not in the form «lovely» usually means to me, i.e. dreadful. She actually IS lovely), soft lighting, a view to the kitchen and exquisite brunch.
We dined on:
Garnacha Trio, a variety of three Corn masa pockets stuffed with Oaxaca cheese, cuitlacoche, squash blossom, Chorizo & potato, microgreens, and
guajillo arbol cream sauce
Huevos en Cajita, eggs cooked over a bean purée masa tortilla smothered with tomatillo-​guajillo salsa serve with frijoles puercos and topped with queso fresco
And the very best…
Smoked salmon over herb potato cakes, artichoke salad, scramble eggs, and jalapeño Chipotle béarnaise. First and foremost, this is a mountain of food. Really good food that I cannot cook. Second, this is deliciously, succulently smoked salmon with a creamy, dreamy spicy béarnaise that I licked off my fork. More than once. This dish is the way to go at Mundial. Consider your visit a fail if you do not order it at brunch.
Mimosas, cocktails and the like are also served, but we were happy to sip hot caramel-​flavored coffee and favor our delectable meal.
I win the Russian Roulette of brunch!

After a lovely visit to the nearby National Museum of Mexican Art, we were, of course, dreaming of some tasty Mexican cuisine.
I jumped on my Unilocal iPhone app et voila! A plethora of Mexican restaurants within walking distance. After viewing some photos & reviews, we decided to give Mundial Cociana Mestiza a go.
Mundial Cociana Mestiza is a Lation-​fusion themed restaurant… & they do it RIGHT! We both started off with a dark larger from Brazil & fresh, made-​to-​order tortilla chips with warm salsa verde.
My man ordered their Camarones Mayas (grilled shrimp… to perfection… with a side of bacon & Swiss chard rice) while I enjoyed a VEGETARIAN tamale of huge proportions!
Yes! Vegetarian tamale! In my entire life, my whole life, I have never once eaten a tamale… until my visit to Mundial Cociana Mestiza. (Can you read my excitement between the lines, here?)
We finished our meals with another drink: myself the Red Pig Ale from Mexico & my man a Peruvian beer; both refreshing & the perfect way to end our meal.
Hooray for the Unilocal iPhone app & hooray for Mundial Cociana Mestiza! A beautiful space, a wonderful menu (seriously, check it out!) & excellent, excellent service.

Located near Ashland and 18^th st didn’t really know what to expect. Would this be a typical style like Lalo’s or more of a trendy place.
Did my menu research and check out the reviews. Pricey for the items were a bit high and reviews all good. So expected a semi-​fancy trendy place. Great food for the price… well different once we got our food… greeted by our waitress… very nice and told us the menu of the day… many unknown items on the menu… appetizers a bit pricey. Guacamole $ 9.really?
Ordered the Pollo Montego… Not bad… veggies really good… Try the chipotle hummus… GOOD as well… .my wife ordered the Tampiqueña Sinaloense. I personally thought the steak was good. She was not a fan of it… There was some mysterious green strips of something… but tasted like reheated spoiled chicken… enchilada was a flauto with sauce over it…
T
As our night progressed our waitress seemed to have disappeared. Refills were needed on our water and coffee as well… I understand they were close to closing, but not a way to push customers out… finally came to refill my coffee, but disappeared again until the end…
One thing that needs to improve is the men’s bathroom. I hope that is not what they were going for but needs a total make over.
WIll I go back? Don’t know…