Wikipedia

Draft:Máximo Bistrot

Máximo Bistrot
Graphic logo with the text "Máximo"
The restaurant's building
The restaurant's exterior, 2024
Map
Restaurant information
Established2011
Owner(s)Eduardo García and Gabriela López
Head chefEduardo García
Pastry chefGuadalupe Palmira Sánchez Pérez (2021)[1]
Food type
Street addressAvenida Álvaro Obregón 65 Bis, Roma, Cuauhtémoc
CityMexico City
Postal/ZIP Code06700
CountryMexico
Coordinates19°25′8″N 99°09′29″W / 19.41889°N 99.15806°W / 19.41889; -99.15806
ReservationsYes
Websitemaximobistrot.com.mx/en/

Máximo Bistrot, also known as Máximo, is a Mexico City restaurant founded in 2011 by the chef Eduardo García and the restaurateur Gabriela López. Known for its daily menu and tasting menu, the restaurant offers dishes inspired by French cuisine techniques and made with seasonal Mexican ingredients. It emphasizes a farm-to-table concept, sourcing local ingredients, earning the restaurant praise for its dining approach.

The restaurant was originally located in Tonalá Street, in Colonia Roma. In 2020, Máximo Bistrot was moved to a larger space on Avenida Álvaro Obregón, expanding its kitchen facilities and rebranding as Máximo. Despite the delay caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the restaurant grew to employ 120 people. In 2021, The World's 50 Best Restaurants gave the restaurant an award for its reinvention.

In 2013, Máximo Bistrot became the focus of national controversy when Andrea Benítez, daughter of Mexico's consumer protection chief (PROFECO), attempted to bypass the reservation system and later prompted a temporary closure by PROFECO inspectors. The incident sparked public backlash over abuse of power, leading to the chief's dismissal and the sanctioning of several officials.

Description

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Kanpachi with cliantro, grapes, radish and avocado in dashi

Máximo Bistrot offers both a daily menu and a tasting menu.[2][3] The cuisine draws inspiration from French cuisine, reinterpreted through the use of Mexican ingredients. In 2012, the restaurant had dishes such as tuna, Atlantic wreckfish, and clam callus sourced from Puerto Ángel, Oaxaca.[2] Vegetables were cultivated in the chinampas of Xochimilco, in southern Mexico City. Writing for Condé Nast Traveler, Scarlett Lindeman noted that the menu reflected a farm-to-table concept. Her visit included dishes like crisp-skinned trout with clams, peas, and wild spinach, as well as spreadable chicken liver served with cherries.[4] A reporter from El Financiero highlighted additional options such as lamb birria, octopus ceviche, lamb loin with smoked eggplant purée, and rosemary juice. The same journalist described the tasting menu offerings, which included banana bread with caviar, a lamb birria sincronizada, escamoles with Comté cheese, grilled northern red snapper, Wagyu beef, criollo plum sorbet, and a passion fruit and mango tartlet.[3]

Reservations are required to dine at the restaurant.[4]

History

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Eduardo García was born in Mexico around 1977. As a child, his family immigrated illegaly to California, where he began working in restaurants as a dishwasher. During this time, he became involved in selling drugs to other restaurant staff. In the 1990s, a cousin asked him for assistance in committing a robbery at a liquor store. García surrendered to the police and was sentenced to four years in prison for aggravated assault. Following his conviction, immigration authorities became aware of his undocumented status, and he was deported to Mexico in 2000.

Two weeks later, García returned to the United States without authorization after learning that his father had been diagnosed with cancer. During this second stay, his father died, and his son, Maximo, was born. García found work at a restaurant in Georgia after falsifying information on his résumé and Social Security documentation. He was promoted and eventually became a chef. In 2007, he was deported again and informed that any future unauthorized reentry would result in federal charges. Since then, the mother of his son has not allowed García to have contact with him.[5][6]

 
Exterior of Em (pictured in 2024), which operates in the building previously occupied by Máximo Bistrot.[7]

After his deportation, García settled in Los Cabos Municipality, Baja California Sur, before relocating to Mexico City. There, he worked as head chef at Pujol from 2007 to 2010, where he met Gabriela López, who would later become his wife. In 2011, García secured a loan from an uncle and opened Máximo Bistrot.[5][6] García and López opened the restaurant in November of that year with a team of four employees, located on Tonalá Street in Colonia Roma, in the Cuauhtémoc borough.[5][8]

In a 2012 review for Letras Libres, Alonso Ruvalcaba compiled several contemporary critiques that described the food at Máximo Bistrot as being prepared with high-quality, seasonal, and straightforward Mexican ingredients. He noted that the menu changed daily and likened the restaurant's approach to that of a fonda, a type of modest and affordable eatery. According to the reviewers cited, the décor was characterized as simple and somewhat unkempt. It featured a tri-colored cement mosaic floor, furniture inspired by the works of architect Luis Barragán, and a tree of life sculpture in which candles replaced traditional biblical figures.[8] The furniture—including tables, chairs, and benches—was crafted from mesquite wood sourced from Dolores Hidalgo, Guanajuato.[2]

In July 2020, Máximo Bistrot relocated within the same neighborhood to a larger space on Avenida Álvaro Obregón. The new location was chosen in part because its kitchen alone matched the size of the former restaurant. It offered upgraded facilities, including grills, a smoker, stoves, ovens, a cold room, and industrial extractors—all of which had been absent from the original location. The move was initially scheduled for March 2020 but was delayed due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in Mexico. Around this time, the restaurant also underwent a rebranding, shortening its name to Máximo. By that year, it employed approximately 120 people.[9][10] The premises were formerly an automobile repair shop and then a pool hall.[11]

"Lady PROFECO" incident

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On 27 April 2013, Andrea Benítez, daughter of Humberto Benítez Treviño, then head of Mexico’s Office of the Federal Prosecutor for the Consumer (PROFECO), arrived at Máximo Bistrot without a reservation. After being informed by López that she would have to wait due to a list of existing reservations, Benítez became upset and reportedly threatened to shut down the restaurant—an action within PROFECO's authority. López declined to give her special treatment and upheld the restaurant's reservation policy.

Later that day, PROFECO inspectors visited the restaurant and ordered its closure, citing an unclear reservation system and the absence of alcohol quantities listed on the menu. A video of the incident circulated widely online and was perceived as an abuse of power, prompting public outcry and calls for the resignation of Benítez Treviño. Andrea was dubbed "#LadyPROFECO" on social media.[12][13][14]

On 3 May, PROFECO removed the suspension seals, stating that the closure had not been formally enforced by authorities and that the restaurant had remained closed by decision of its owners.[15] A few weeks later, president Enrique Peña Nieto ordered the dismissal of Benítez Treviño, which was carried out by Secretary of the Interior Miguel Ángel Osorio Chong. Six additional public servants were sanctioned for their involvement in the incident.[16] Six other public servants were sanctioned for their involvement.[17]

Reception

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Scarlett Lindeman described the food as "refined and upscale", while noting that it maintained a bistro-style approach.[4] A Time Out reviewer gave Máximo Bistrot a five-star rating, praising its farm-to-table concept and calling the food "sophisticated without being pretentious".[18] Mariana Camacho of The Infatuation recommended the tasting menu for first-time visitors,[19] while Guillaume Guevara, also from The Infatuation, suggested pairing it with wine.[20] According to Lucille Renwick from Frommer's, García combines culinary skill with the belief that exceptional food should remain accessible.[21] Michael Parker Stainback wrote for Afar that the dishes combine French culinary methods with native Mexican ingredients and the country's hospitable approach to sharing meals.[22]

In 2021, Máximo Bistrot received the Estrella Damm Chefs' Choice Award for Best Reinvention from The World's 50 Best Restaurants.[1]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Máximo Bistrot". Restaurant. Retrieved 12 April 2025.
  2. ^ a b c Toledo, Jorge (11 May 2012). "Máximo Bistrot: otra joya de la gastronomía en la Roma" [Máximo Bistrot: another gem of gastronomy in La Roma]. El Economista (in Spanish). Retrieved 1 March 2025.
  3. ^ a b "¿Cómo es Máximo Bistrot, el restaurante del que se quejó Kate del Castillo?" [What is Máximo Bistrot, the restaurant Kate del Castillo criticized, really like?]. El Economista (in Spanish). 20 April 2022. Retrieved 12 March 2025.
  4. ^ a b c Lindeman, Scarlett. "Máximo Bistrot". Condé Nast Traveler. Retrieved 12 March 2025.
  5. ^ a b c Trebay, Guy (25 February 2017). "Eduardo García's Path: Migrant Worker, Convict, Deportee Star Chef". The New York Times. Retrieved 30 October 2024.
  6. ^ a b Guerrero, Héctor (31 August 2024). "El chef Eduardo García: 'Los mexicanos tenemos esa pinche mentalidad de que trabajamos para el de arriba'" [The Chef Eduardo García: 'Mexicans have that fucking mentality that we work for those above us.']. El País (in Spanish). Mexico City. Retrieved 30 October 2024.
  7. ^ "Em". Restaurant. Archived from the original on 21 May 2024. Retrieved 3 June 2024.
  8. ^ a b Ruvalcaba, Alonso (3 November 2012). "Máximo Bistrot: reseña de reseñas" [Máximo Bistrot: A Review of Reviews]. Letras Libres (in Spanish). Retrieved 30 October 2024.
  9. ^ López Sorzano, Liliana (30 November 2020). "El nuevo Máximo" [The New Máximo]. Travesías (in Spanish). Retrieved 2 January 2025.
  10. ^ Aguilar Ricalde, Pedro (20 December 2024). "La nueva vida de Máximo Bistrot" [The New Life of Máximo Bistrot]. Life and Style (in Spanish). Grupo Expansión. Retrieved 2 January 2025.
  11. ^ "Máximo". Michelin Guide. Retrieved 12 April 2025.
  12. ^ Cave, Damien (29 April 2013). "Bad Reviews for Patron at Restaurant in Mexico". The New York Times. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
  13. ^ Calderón, Verónica (5 May 2013). "El caso de Lady Profeco aviva la polémica sobre el tráfico de influencias en México" [The 'Lady PROFECO' Case Sparks Debate on Influence Peddling in Mexico]. El País (in Spanish). Retrieved 21 November 2024.
  14. ^ "Retira Profeco sellos del Bistrot, 'que nunca estuvo clausurado'" [Profeco Removes Seals from Bistrot, 'which was never shut down']. Quadratin. Mexico City. 2 May 2013. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
  15. ^ "Reabre el Máximo Bristot; Profeco rechaza clausura" [Máximo Bristot Reopens; Profeco Rejects Closure]. Aristegui Noticias (in Spanish). 3 May 2013. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
  16. ^ "México: destituyen al papá de "Lady Profeco"" [Mexico: Father of "Lady Profeco" dismissed]. BBC News (in Spanish). 15 May 2013. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
  17. ^ Avilés, Karina (26 July 2013). "Por el caso de 'Lady Profeco' se sancionó a siete funcionarios" [Seven Officials Were Sanctioned in the 'Lady Profeco' Case]. La Jornada (in Spanish). Retrieved 21 November 2024.
  18. ^ "Máximo Bistrot Local". Time Out. 17 April 2018. Retrieved 12 April 2025.
  19. ^ Camacho, Mariana (10 March 2025). "Máximo Bistrot". The Infatuation. Retrieved 12 April 2025.
  20. ^ Guevara, Guillaume (14 March 2025). "The Best Restaurants In Mexico City". Retrieved 12 April 2025.
  21. ^ Renwick, Lucille. "Maximo Bistrot Local". Frommer's. Retrieved 12 April 2025.
  22. ^ Stainback, Michael Parker (27 September 2017). "Máximo Bistrot". Afar. Retrieved 12 April 2025.
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Category:2011 establishments in Mexico Category:Colonia Roma Category:French restaurants Category:Mexican restaurants in Mexico Category:Restaurants established in 2011 Category:Restaurants in Mexico City

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