Surface Magazine’s Post

“A Mexican restaurant should be high-energy. When you think of Mexico, you think about partying,” says Enrique Olvera, founder of Cosme. A household name for the culinary crowd, Olvera is best known for redefining Mexican cuisine at Pujol, a longtime resident of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list. At his New York City restaurant Cosme, contemporary Mexican fare takes on new cultural influences. Fluke aquachile is topped with thinly sliced radishes and cucumber and dusted with grated wasabi; sweet potato tamal is flavored with guajillo chilis and Japanese togarashi. Rohan ducks are cured for three days, seared to golden brown, and braised with Mexican Coke and ancho chili pepper to create Cosme’s signature carnitas. The cornhusk meringue, an Instagram darling, combines savory corn mousse and burnt vanilla ice cream topped with sea salt and pulverized corn husk. The menu is bolstered by an agave-forward beverage program from Jorsand Diaz that hews traditional with palomas and margaritas, though some cocktails play with global ingredients like yuzu and Calpico. The space, designed by Mexico City–based architect @Alonso de Garay, embodies the same philosophy as the food: simple, elegant, and clean. Soft beams of light directed at each table illuminate the dimly lit dining room, where the wine list are curated to ensure the labels complement the dishes. Despite the carefully crafted experience, this meticulous culinary temple isn’t afraid to let its hair down. In the latest installment of our Designing Delicious series, produced in partnership with Surface Magazine, we visit Cosme in New York City. Get access to Cosme and more hard-to-book restaurants by downloading the Dorsia app and applying for membership.