A Fresh Wave of Chefs is Breathing New Life into an Immigrant Cuisine in Mexico City

Raised in Mexico City, 33-year-old Andrea Sayeg dreamed of launching her own taco shop, where she would showcase suadero, lengua, maciza, and other traditional meats found in local taquerias. However, the restaurant she opened in 2021, Alay Alay, looks quite different: her signature taco features crispy fried chicken drizzled with muhammara, a sauce made from red peppers, almonds, cashews, pine nuts, and pomegranate syrup. This dish beautifully symbolizes her unique blend of culinary traditions—both her Lebanese roots and her Mexico City upbringing.

Sayeg discovered a harmonious relationship between the two cuisines. "Mexican food uses a lot of cumin, and so does Middle Eastern cooking. We incorporate oregano here, while in the Middle East, it’s za’atar.” Both cuisines not only share similar ingredients but also a commitment to intricate, layered flavors. Just as a Mexican mole might require 21 ingredients, she remarks, "the Middle Eastern dishes follow the same principle, featuring a multitude of components in one recipe."

Alay Alay represents a new wave of Middle Eastern eateries in Mexico City that are revisiting the culinary heritage of the many Lebanese and Syrians who immigrated to Mexico between the late 19th and mid-20th centuries, including Sayeg’s great-grandmother. These immigrants arrived for various reasons—economic opportunities, religious liberty, and to escape conflict. Their most notable culinary contribution is tacos al pastor, a descendant of shawarma and a beloved staple of Mexico City cuisine.

At locations like El Vilsito, an auto repair shop that transforms into a taco stand after dark, taqueros skillfully slice spiced pork from the trompo (a vertical spit), wielding long knives with precision akin to a surgeon. The succulent meat is then nestled into a warm corn tortilla, topped with a deft sprinkle of roasted pineapple.

In the Del Valle neighborhood, Sayeg’s illustrated face beams from Alay Alay’s storefront. The pink logo signifies her departure from the conventionality often associated with Middle Eastern cuisine in the city and highlights the rarity of a woman working the trompo. Sayeg blends family recipes passed down from her grandmother with her extensive experience as executive chef at Mexico City’s upscale Israeli restaurant Merkavá. "We serve traditional dishes with modern techniques and unique ingredients," she explains. Some adjustments are practical: Aleppo chili is hard to source in Mexico, so she substitutes chile de árbol and ancho. Others enhance functionality: her house-made pita, made with yogurt and clarified butter, achieves maximum fluffiness for easy taco-style wrapping. And some changes are simply fun, like the option to add a costra, or cheese crust, a popular feature in many trendy taco spots.

This playful spirit also reflects in the T-shirts at chef Mijael Seidel’s Pàt Patz: “Great Fk*ng Kebabs.” Having grown up with a father who owned a vegan taco shop in Mexico City during the 1970s, Seidel was familiar with the food industry and challenging conventions. It was only after relocating to New York City in 1999 for a brief graphic design career that he made the connection between the two cuisines. The savory, sour, and rich flavors from a halal cart outside a subway station in Queens reminded him of his culinary roots in Colima, Mexico, more so than any taco truck he encountered in New York. “Middle Eastern flavors and spices were significant in my childhood,” notes Seidel, 42. “I didn’t find them in Middle Eastern cuisine, but we enjoyed lentils, cumin, yogurt, and I was always on the lookout for those tastes.” He describes the cart’s offerings as reminiscent of his Mexican upbringing.

Upon his return to Mexico in 2009, Seidel longed for the hearty meals and attempted to purchase the recipes from a food cart. When the price proved too steep, he crafted his own falafel-and-rice platter, selling it from an old hot dog cart in Colima. Adding a kebab led to customers proclaiming it the best in the city—an opinion reinforced when Colima’s limited Middle Eastern community echoed the praise. Encouraged, he transitioned to a catering kitchen in Mexico City in 2020 and earned recognition as one of Food & Wine en Español’s “Best New Chefs” that same year. By June 2022, Pàt Patz established itself in a permanent location in the vibrant Juárez neighborhood.

At Pàt Patz, the offerings of hummus, kebabs, and falafel may initially appear to be standard Middle Eastern fare, but the vivid flavors soon surprise diners. His smoked brisket pita sandwiches defy expectations with horseradish sauce, pickles, tahini, and salsa macha. “The vegetables hold equal importance to the pita as the meat,” Seidel notes, acknowledging that this realization catches many Mexican diners off guard, even as he tailors his salads to local tastes—with an emphasis on chilies and lime. “I hail from Colima, the lime capital of the world,” he explains. “We douse everything in lime, as its acidity enhances the flavors.” When customers question the pickles or the abundance of vegetables, he lets the familiar, bold flavors speak for themselves. “Those who taste it find no argument,” Seidel smiles.

Navigating two culinary traditions can often leave this new generation of chefs balancing their culinary desires with customer expectations. Seidel points out that immigrants maintained their heritage by sticking closely to traditional cooking methods. Thus, while Middle Eastern cuisine has evolved elsewhere, it remained largely unchanged in Mexico City for many years. As this begins to shift, Sayeg has encountered similar authenticity inquiries from customers, including her own father. However, after trying Alay Alay’s tacos, he provided a telling take on the emerging fusion style and its impact on Mexico City’s dining landscape: “It’s not what my mom made, but it’s delicious.”

Discover the flavors of the Middle East in Mexico City.

Alay Alay

Address: Matías Romero 98, Colonia del Valle

Chef Andrea Sayeg innovates classic Middle Eastern recipes, presenting them in airy pita bread rather than tortillas. Don’t miss the Lebanese-inspired pork quesadillas or the seasonal lamb kebab taco.

Pàt Patz

Address: Oslo 7, Colonia Juárez

Mijael Seidel’s eatery takes cues from a beloved Palestinian food cart in New York City, yet the dishes—like the brisket kebab with macha sauce—are infused with the vibrant flavors of his native Colima, Mexico.

El Vilsito

Address: Avenida Universidad 248, Narvarte Poniente

At night, this auto shop transforms into a prime destination for the city’s iconic fusion dish, tacos al pastor, a variation of shawarma brought to Mexico by Middle Eastern immigrants.

Al-Andalus

Address: Mesones 171, Centro Histórico, Av. Insurgentes Sur 2475, Torre Aleph Piso 1, San Ángel

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Housed in a stunning 17th-century colonial building in the historic center, this esteemed establishment has long offered Lebanese classics like kibbe and kebabs. However, even the traditionalists recognize the charm of evolution: In 2022, Al-Andalus launched a second location in the trendy San Ángel neighborhood, featuring an expanded menu that includes innovative dishes like hummus eggs Benedict and baklava with burrata.