Biko: Mexico City

Chefs Mikel Alonso (French by birth but Basque-Mexican by heart) and Bruno Oteiza (from Spain’s San Sebastián) fuse native Basque flavours with Mexico’s ingredients; mix in fellow Spaniard Gerard Bellver’s culinary techniques honed at El Bulli with Ferran Adriàn and Biko is a restaurant on another planet. An explosion of two world’s colliding.

Nestled above Mexico City’s Presidente Masaryk Avenue in upmarket Polanco, Biko deals in two menus – Lo de hoy (Today) and Lo de antes (Before) – in addition to a carefully paired seven-step tasting option. Indulging contemporary interpretations and traditional Basque fare is the name of the game, and the trio allows its collective creativity to run riot.

Showcasing the best of both Mexico and Spain by combining flavours and textures, Biko presents a dazzling repertoire, while also focusing on fun. Foie gras candy floss and geometrical milk origami break down culinary barriers, for example, while the humble cauliflower is given a new lease of life as a truffled soup topped with radish pickles and olive spheres.

While the adjacent Casa Biko private dining and event space is convivial, the main dining room errs on the minimalist side. As such, the kitchen’s bright and beautiful dishes command the attention they deserve as stars of this galactic culinary show.