Last weekend, a few friends and I ventured into the city with an ambitious agenda of touring the capitol, perusing the Air and Space Museum, visiting the zoo, and enjoying a quality lunch. The goal was to accomplish all of this without spending too much money, or collapsing in the heat (whichever came first). Somehow, we pulled it off with little pre-departure planning, and found ourselves starving outside a quaint tapas restaurant on 7^th Street NW called Oyamel Cocina Mexicana.

Nothing less than a saving grace, Oyamel materialized before us just as we were giving up hope of finding a mutually agreeable location. We powered on by a few smaller sandwich joints and a couple Mediterranean-esque lunch spots, despite the moaning objections from our stomachs. The wafting aroma of traditional Mexican cuisine and an ultra-cool interior, which we could see through the large glass windows lining the front of Oyamel, drew us in immediately. We were at once greeted by a wonderfully friendly host who informed us it would be a 15 minute wait (the place was crowded and obviously very popular) and handed us menus to browse.

We were seated in no more than 10 minutes, and decided to order guacamole for the table. At about 14 dollars it’s a little pricey relative to other Mexican restaurants, but the amount served is generous, and the servers prepare it fresh in front of your table in a large stone bowl. Once we had our fill of guacamole and the spicy salsa, the first bowl of which was complimentary, we each placed our orders.

Oyamel serves tapas, meaning the dishes are smaller and visitors generally order two to three to make a full meal. The menu offers a wide variety of unique seafood, beef, pork, chicken, and vegetarian dishes including the cachetes de puerco con camote (“negra modelo braised Kurbota pork cheeks with sweet potato, habanero pepper, onion, cilantro and spiced pecans”) and the camarones al mojo de ajo negro (“shrimp sautéed with shallots, arbol chile, poblano pepper, lime and sweet aged black garlic”).

Two of my friends chose the camarones ($10.00) along with the tinga poblana con puerco taco, a “stew of shredded pork with chorizo, chipotle, lettuce and avocado” ($4.00). My other friend and I also selected the tinga poblana taco, along with two other tacos. I went with the pescado Mexicano, a seared fish taco with cilantro pesto ($4.00), and the cochinita pibit con cebolla en escabeche, a barbecued pork-style taco ($4.00). My friends raved about the camarones, which happened to be the server’s favorite. Our tacos were also delicious and were served in convenient V-shaped dishes that held the tacos upright and together.

Overall, Oyamel gave us a wonderful dining experience, perfect for a day strolling through the capitol. Time permitting, I’ll be back in the city sampling more of Oyamel’s offerings; perhaps the sautéed grasshopper taco?

-Paige (EPC)