Urbano Gastro Bar
Meet Urbano Gastro Bar. One of Tijuana's newest additions, having its doors open for only a week or so. The interiors of the space are sharp, inviting, and extremely close to ideas that I have developed on my own..in my head of course. The moment I grabbed a seat in the booth, I could not stop talking about everything from the colors of the walls, tiles, and of course the beautiful wood on the tables. The afternoon carried out with sipping some of their signature cocktails crafted by in-house mixologist Paty Estrada, and enjoying a few plates off of their menu by Chef Mario Peralta. Let me just say, I don't think that I have stopped mentioning nor thinking about this place since we left.
I started out with a glass of their house red, and Antonio took sips of their refreshing, and smoky Mezcali cocktail.
This salad came to me at the perfect time. I could not stop thinking about roasted beets for the entire week. It has been one of those things that I wanted to make, but never got down to doing so. Their Ensalada de betabel is just wonderful. I love the addition of pistachios, and you can never get enough peppery bite from the fresh arugula. I could easily make this salad part of my daily life.
These little beauties are their tostaditas de atun. The crust on that tuna was glorious. Add that to caramelized onions, arugula, both avocado and Habanero mouses, all on top of a mini tostada. I mean, I had to hold myself back from ordering another plate. Each bite had just the right amount of each ingredient, and variety of textures.
The Elder Flower spritz was more than ideal on the hot summer day. St. Germain is one of my all time favorites, and then when combined with the bubbles from the Cava that dance on your tongue, it's so delightful.
The color on the Especiero cocktail is just gorgeous. This gin based drink has watermelon, lemon, and fresh herbs which is also a quintessential refresher for the summer time.
Chef Mario Peralta brought this little gem out to the table, explaining that it is his take on the beloved Tijuana street food staple: the carne asada taco. It is not yet on the menu, but after we seemingly finished off every last bite, there were no questions as to whether it should be on there or not. Our vote: Yes, please! I really enjoyed every element, even down to the tangy pickled onions. Biting into the thick hand pressed tortilla, you get a bit of melty cheese, smoky meat, peppery arugula, and pickled onion, and a nice amount of heat. I could eat this time and time again.
We are looking forward to seeing you again very soon Urbano Gastro Bar. Until then, I will be thinking about you often.
Urbano Gastro Bar Av. Sonora 3240, Fraccionamiento Chapultepec Tijuana B.C 22120