ECLECTIC EPICURE
The Presidente InterContinental Hotel in Polanco opened its latest eatery on Monday, June 20, a modern, on-the-run bistro in a contemporary, no-frills casual metropolitan setting, appropriately named Café Urbano.
Specializing in comfort food and easy-appeal dishes, Café Urbano can be found on the hotel’s first floor, where Zhen Shanghai was previously located.
The menu offers a range of dishes from paninis to pasta, along with a well-stocked salad bar and light main dishes such as grilled salmon fillets and brazed chicken breasts.
And the tasty dessert offerings — which are served in jam jars and topped with homemade cookies – are enough to lure anyone off their Weight Watchers diet.
In addition to à la carte lunches and dinners, Urbano, which replaces the hotel’s weary breakfast and casual dining Frutas y Flores restaurant, also offers a lavish buffet breakfast and Sunday brunch with a live trio to entertain.
The Polanco Presidente InterContinental’s Café Urbano will serve as a prototype for additional Urbano bistros in the hotel chain’s Guadalajara and Cancun properties.
“We are very happy to incorporate this new concept in dining into our gastronomic portfolio,” said Presidente InterContinental Polanco general director Guillermo Valencia during the opening ceremony of the new café.
“We are sure that it will be an excellent option for people who want a casual meal and simple but delicious cookery in an inviting, non-fuzzy and comfortable atmosphere.”
Valencia went on to say that the InterContinental brand has always been distinguished for its extraordinary culinary quality and diversity, adding that the new Café Urbano would not be the exception.
The restaurant’s breakfast buffet, which will be served daily from 6 a.m. to 11 a.m., will include a variety of fresh exotic fruits, hand-squeezed juices and a wide assortment of homemade breads, as well as made-to-order omelets and Mexican antojitos.
The lunch and dinner menu have a selection of grab-and-go dishes made from organic ingredients and gluten-free pastas.
There are also a few more robust options for those with a hardy appetite, such as bourbon-braised beef that is slow cooked for six hours so that it virtually falls apart when cut with a spoon and a low-cal breaded chicken breast with fresh grilled veggies.
“We designed the menu to suit nearly every palate, using simple products that allowed us to create home-style dishes that are flavorful, fresh and of exceptionally high quality,” said Presidente InterContinental Polanco executive chef Stéphane Thomas.
“There are plenty of options to choose from, and whether they are looking for a light meal from the salad bar or a full-course dinner, we are certain that our guests will be delighted by the cuisine and want to return again for another meal.”
The décor of Café Urbano is rustic and understated, resembling a New York loft.
The architecture of the restaurant was the brainchild of Rafael Sama of Sama Arquitectos, who developed a contemporary concept combining elements of an industrial warehouse with warm earthy colors juxtaposed against unpolished metal and wood surfaces.
Overhead industrial tubing and extractor pipes interplay teasingly against bare ceiling lights to create a laidback atmosphere.
Café Urbano can seat up to 157, and also has a bar, a private dining area and an outside terraza for smokers.
The Presidente Group has two hotel brands, the high-end Presidente InterContinental and the more affordable Holiday Inn chain.
The Presidente InterContinental chain has properties in Mexico City, Cancun, Cozumel, Mérida, Monterrey, Puebla and Guadalajara.
The Holiday Inn chain has properties in Puebla, Los Cabos and Ixtapa.
The corporation also operates a variety of restaurant chains including Au Pied de Cochon, Alfredo di Roma, Palm, Chapulín, Balmoral, Caña Brava and El Caribeño.
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