Candela Romero - Cuauhtémoc

David is the new head chef at Candela and since his arrival, he has worked on innovating its menu. At Candela, he combines his vast gastronomical experiences around the world where he served at high-end tables in places like Hong Kong, USA, Spain, Panama and now Mexico. The magic of his creations, with Mexican and Spanish cuisines at the center of it all, come together on every bite. ¡You´ll be delighted!

Was looking forward to a great dinner on New Year’s Eve with the family, several of whom were in Mexico City for the first time. We made a reservation and showed up on time. The restaurant was largely empty. We were seated in the back and got drinks and wine relatively quickly. The restaurant brought starters we didn’t order, but the quality was good. We were enjoying ourselves. Then the staff began ignoring us. It felt like they no longer wanted to wait on us. People around us came later, got attentive service, and even got New Year’s Eve champagne, and their checks and left, while we could not get anyone to take our dinner order. We had to flag down wait staff even to get water (and it took 20 minutes to get a glass of water). No one ever asked if we wanted more wine, even though our bottle was empty. We got up to find someone to take our dinner order, which was paella for the table. It came in an acceptable amount of time, and someone brought plates and served us. The paella was okay. The leftover paella sat in a paella dish on a serving tray, with no heat. No one stopped by to ask if we wanted more from the pan. We had to find a staff member who came to the table to serve, and they served us the cold paella. We asked for a manager and one finally came as we prepared to leave. We said the service was terrible. He apologized but offered nothing else. We saw other tables were being served champagne, but none to us. We were invisible. We paid and left feeling like the restaurant did not want our business. The restaurant was about half full, yet we still had to struggle to get attention. Maybe it is not used to holidays? Or serving parties as large as four people? Regardless, I do not recommend Candela Romero in the St Regis Hotel in Mexico City.

Great options, we had a business dinner as we were staying at the St Regis so very convenient. Food is great, but I'd rather go to a nice Mexican restaurant in Mexico, and a great Spanish restaurant in Madrid!

I came to the St Regis on business, and expected a great meal due to the great service of the hotel. However, came with a large group and was very disappointed by the food. For example, we had a fish dish on a bed of salad and it was very plain to taste. They would give you a small portion to share among multiple people which was very awkward. Other dishes like roast chicken and scallops were also mediocre. Only highlight was dessert, which was tasty. Service was very slow. Below expectations for the calibre of hotel/restaurant that I was expecting.

The place is very sophisticated and on Thursdays and Sunday it has live music. The food is a combination of tradition and modernity. A good place to have a good time.