Maison Kayser

There I was walking down Paseo de Reforma at about 9 a.m. in the morning looking for somewhere I could possibly sit and work, enjoy a cup of coffee, and a plate full of eggs. I started at Insurgentes and started walking south on Reforma. Naturally, there are a few hotels along this route that have restaurants with breakfast. But those hotel breakfasts are mostly the same. Buffet style with little sausages, greasy bacon that’s under-cooked on one end and burnt on the other, and a big tin hotel pan full of scrambled eggs. I was looking for something perhaps with a little more soul.

I walked, and I walked, and I walked. I walked past the big statue of El Angel de la Independencia, then another a few blocks to the big fountain at la Fuente de La Diana Cazadora. I thought soon I might have to eat a statue for breakfast. There were plenty of those. I kept crossing the street thinking I might miss some small café nestled down into the basement below an Office Max, choosing the side of the street that looked like it might likely house such a place. No luck.

The Hotel St. Regis was in sight. I knew this place had a great Sunday brunch so I assumed I could achieve my objective there. But, again, even if could have found a good breakfast a la carte, I’d still not have achieved the objective of avoiding a hotel restaurant.

But after walking for in excess of 30 minutes I was becoming desperate. And then and there I saw it. Like a mirage in the dessert. There is was. Maison Kayser. A look inside revealed something way more than I had bargained for. Here on Reforma, within steps of many of the city’s biggest hotels lies a French Bakery, churning out bread and pastry. As an added bonus there was a beautifully designed restaurant, with a varied menu, including eggs prepared in a variety of ways. Something like ten different ways to be exact.

Want an omelet? They can do that. Eggs Benedict? Croque Monsieur? Croque Madame? Yep. They have them all. WIFI? Yep. And it worked flawlessly. At this time of the morning the place is busy. Almost every table full of businessmen and women planning how to make that next million.

I opted for the Croque Madame and received one of the best renditions of the dish I’ve found in Latin America. I wasn’t much excited about that little iceberg lettuce salad on the side. I would of thought a French boulanger could have come up with something a little more imaginative, perhaps with some melon and berries. But beggars can’t be choosers. And I didn’t need fruit or lettuce anyway. I had my eggs and ham.

My only complaint is that getting the attention of the waiter was a bit difficult on this busy morning. But, after all, we’re in Latin America.

Turns out that Eric Kayser has a chain of these little boulangeries scattered about town. And there are another few hundred scattered about the world. You can use ComaBeba’s handy location map to find the ones in Mexico City. If we ever expand to Hong Kong we'll put that map up for you to.

When evaluating a place for breakfast or lunch we hold it to a slightly different standard on creativity. In this case, I offered high marks for creativity for having so many classic European breakfast items on the menu. But not to insult the locale residents Monsieur Kayser added chilaquiles with an egg on top to the menu.

Just in case you're looking for a club sandwich for lunch, or perhaps the French classics, Coq au Vin or Beef Bourguignon for dinner, they have those too. But that's another review that's coming soon.

On this particular morning. I just wanted one restaurant serving eggs within walking distance of my hotel on Reforma. And this is the one I found.