Nico's, Traditional Mexican restaurant in Azcapotzalco, Mexico
Nicos is a Mexican restaurant in the Azcapotzalco neighborhood in the north of Mexico City, set in a simple, low-ceilinged dining room with ceiling fans. The menu focuses on traditional Mexican cooking, using recipes tied to regional and family traditions.
The restaurant was founded in 1957 by María Elena Lugo Zermeño, who built its reputation around traditional home-style Mexican cooking. In 2006, her son Gerardo Vázquez Lugo took over the kitchen and worked to develop the recipes further without losing their original character.
The menu draws on recipes rooted in Mexican home cooking, the kind passed down through families rather than learned in culinary schools. Eating here feels closer to a family meal than a restaurant experience, which is exactly what draws many guests back.
The restaurant is open Monday through Saturday and serves breakfast and lunch, with the midday meal being the main focus of the day. A reservation is a good idea, as tables fill up quickly around lunchtime.
Despite being in a residential neighborhood far from the tourist center of the city, the restaurant draws visitors from around the world. The lack of obvious signage or grand entrance means first-time guests often have to look twice to find the door.
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