El Habanerito is a hole-in-the-wall restaurant that offers some of the best Yucatecan food in town. It is run by the affable young Joselin Dzul (whose Mayan last name means “gentleman”). Although she grew up in the capital, her grandmother was Yucatecan and her recipes have been passed on to Joselin who felt that it was time to show the world how her grandmother’scochinita was really supposed to be done.

She opened her tiny locale in 2013, later expanding to the one next door. The menu includes such classic Yucatecan dishes as relleno negro, papadzules, sopa de lima and empanadas de chaya. She explains that while due to the urban setting she has no ‘pib’ or traditional clay oven, the marinated meat is cooked in the oven wrapped in banana leaves to give it more depth of flavor. Six traditional fiery salsas are offered.

El Habanerito
Frontera 177 (at Chihuahua), Colonia Roma
Tel. 55 2742 3699 Open Monday - Friday 9 a.m. - 7 p.m., Saturday 10 - 7:30, Sunday, 11-6
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