Chinese Food Palace Mr Chow Lands in Mexico City This Fall

High-end Chinese restaurant empire Mr Chow hopes Mexico has a taste for pricey roast duck: Its eighth outpost opens in Mexico City’s swanky Masaryk Avenue this fall in a converted historic home.

Specializing in food from Beijing, the first Mr Chow opened in London back in 1968. Since then, it’s expanded with six more locations including Beverly Hills and Miami; most recently, it hit Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. Opened in late 2015, that opulent space includes an insane sculpture suspended from the ceiling that weighs two tons and offers diners a four-minute “show” every hour.

Mr Chow Mexico City also promises plenty of entertainment for patrons, including Champagne and dessert trolleys, tableside preparations of roast duck and fillet of sole, and something called the “Mr Chow noodle show.”

Mr Chow

While the restaurant’s food has widely been panned by critics and diners alike, it nevertheless remains a hot spot for celebrities; Conan O’Brien and Britney Spears have both recently dined at the Vegas location. (The restaurant was also embroiled in a high-dollar legal battle in Miami a few years back, when owner Michael Chow sued competing restaurateur Phillippe Chow for allegedly stealing his menu and trying to confuse patrons about which restaurant was which.)

While Mexico City is home to plenty of American chains (including yes, P.F. Chang’s), it's only recently that fine-dining chefs and higher-end concepts have set their sights on expanding into Mexico City: Spanish-American super-chef José Andrés opened a restaurant, J by Jose Andrés, at the W Mexico City hotel last year, while Latin American celebrity chef Gastón Acurio expanded his acclaimed Lima, Peru restaurant Astrid y Gastón to DF in 2014.

Of course, with one of the world’s best street food scenes cozying up to plenty of hipster-approved hangouts and ambitious high-end restaurants, Mexico City hardly needs these out-of-town additions to qualify as a travel-worthy dining destination that’s ridiculously hot right now.

• 16 Things You Need to Know About Mr Chow [Eater Vegas]
• The Eater Guide to Mexico City [E]