Munich Restaurants - Milagros (Mexican)

Within the foreigner community in Munich, people are always discussing new things to see and do.  "Have you eaten at [restaurant X]" is one of the most popular topics.  Therefore we decided to blog some Munich restaurants for both locals and visitors alike.

In this case, the first one is the easiest, because we can say it up front:  Milagros is the best Mexican restaurant in Germany.  Together Frau A and I have sampled places in Hamburg, Berlin, Düsseldorf, Bonn, and Munich, and there's no contest.  (Granted, Germany doesn't do Mexican very well as a rule, but Milagros would make it in Manhattan.)

Milagros opened its doors 10 months ago -- October 2010.  It sits in the city center, not far from the Viktualien Markt and Oktoberfest Museum.  Great location.  The owner, Scott Myers, is a Mexican-American who married a German woman and moved back with her.  It's certainly no Taco Bell -- his mentor David Sterling is head of the Los Dos cooking school in Mérida (Yucatán)!

We ordered the "Fiesta Mexicana" platter for two, which includes steak arrachera (marinated & grilled), cochinita pibil (slow roasted pork in homemade tortilla), barbacoa de pollo (marinated/grilled chicken), and carnitas (braised pork in homemade tortilla) with condiments of guacamole, refried beans, and salsa.  It's a great way to try different items, and they taste as good as they look:

To drink we had a top-shelf margarita (no salt when the tequila is this good) that uses fresh juice (no mix):

Above, you'll notice on the chair the familiar Yucatan striped pattern textile -- the decor is pure Mexican.  Below, notice the hanging lamps on the right, textile patterns in the upper left (on the ceiling), and the Virgin Mary in the bottom left.  (With Mary, it fits perfectly in Bavaria.)

It is important to clarify that the food and decor are not "tex-mex".  Most Germans (and Europeans in general) would not differentiate, but it's important here because the dishes are so authentically Mexican.

To finish, we shared a chocolate flan -- not sticky sweet at all, but a rich cocoa instead, with some fresh fruit:

Milagros claims that key or special ingredients are sourced from Mexico (e.g., chiles, Mexican oregano), but where possible local (Bavarian) produce is used.  Also, they use the traditional cooking methods:  tortillas pressed by hand, wood oven and grills using mesquite from America, and real banana leaves for slow-roasting the pork.  It's serious food, and should be a perfect match for the organic, quality-focused Munich diner.

And people are noticing.  The "Restaurant Kritik" wrote a very positive article (with interviews of the owner and mentor), reviews on Tripadvisor are good (it's already in the top 100), and Google reviews are excellent too.  Since it opened we're probably been 4-5 times already, it's that good.  (And Frau A lived in Dallas, so is a tough critic.)

Locals should try the best Mexican we've had on the continent so far, and visitors can take a break from a steady diet of Bavarian food with fantastic authentic Mexican.  Higly recommended.

Comments

[cliff1976]

We loved it too -- big thanks to Servus München (http://munichbavaria.blogspot.com) for originally turning us on to it. My favorite non-food aspect: the men's room was glorious.

[Frau A]

I'm looking forward to trying the burger at Zum Goldenen Kalb that Servus München recommends. I walk by it often but had no idea it was another spot to try in the best burger in Munich contest.

We stopped by Milagros last night for a bite and I checked out the ladies' room for the first time. Not sure how it compares to the men's, but the colorful tiles and ceramic bowl basins were what I would expect. The audio Spanish language lessons for German tourists that were playing in there were fantastically funny! Was the men's similar?