Zocalo Cocina Mexicana

1414 Commonwealth Ave.
Brighton, MA 02135

Phone: 617-277-5700

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Fax: 617-277-5710
Email: contacto@zocalobrighton.com

Website: zocalobrighton.com

Few Boston chefs prepare authentic Mexican food the way Ricardo Ramos does. So we were thrilled to learn he was opening a Brighton outpost of his eight-year-old Arlington institution that offers the same complex flavors you find at the original.

Zócalo’s red and orange walls, decorative clay tiles, and hand-painted ceramics make the restaurant feel as warm as the food. The queso fundido, or cheese fondue, arrives in a clay bowl with chunks of sausage peeking out from beneath a browned top. Spread onto warm corn tortillas, it’s a do-it-yourself quesadilla. The spice of the garnachas, or small corn tortillas covered in poblano peppers and smothered in melted cheese, is best quenched with the signature pear sangria.

Some entrées hit (Ramos makes a mean enchilada) while others miss (chilies rellenos, or stuffed chilies, are only sparsely stuffed with pulled-pork filling). But overall the cuisine, cocktails, and space feel as if they’d arrived direct from south of the border.