Two tips for this upscale Mexican eatery: Those bar seats are inviting, but food isn’t served there. And make reservations. The place gets packed most evenings and especially on weekend nights. Suzana Davila creates a menu nightly, writing it on a chalkboard that is taken tableside to guests. A menu might include chicken with mole sauce; asada adobo cascabel, beef slow-cooked in a chile and garlic sauce; or fish served with breaded shrimp. Grab a seat in the red-walled, slick dining room, or, if the night is nice, on the patio, which is surrounded by a steel fence with enough leaf-like openings to give just the right amount of privacy.

See more: Mexican restaurants, American contemporary restaurants