Méson de Bari built its stellar culinary reputation on a matriarch’s recipes handed down through generations; some of her descendants now manage the business.

The restaurant is among only a handful in the colonial sector to offer local cuisine in an elegant setting, and the food is exceptionally good. Although much is made of the cangrejo guisado, a house specialty crab stew, having to pick out bits of crab shell from the rest of the stew quickly becomes tedious.  A far more comfortable choice is chivo ripiao, strips of shredded goat meat in a creole tomato and pepper sauce.

Stick to the second-floor dining area if a meal is your primary concern; in the evenings the restaurant’s first floor hosts a popular happy hour for a more mature crowd. Of course, if you’d like to have fun with a crowd that remembers life before eMail stick to the first floor!


(Photos: Stephan Mallet)