Panzón
Mexican restaurant · Greenpoint ·
Dine on Mexico City-style snacks & cocktails, enjoy mezcal
Dine on Mexico City-style snacks & cocktails, enjoy mezcal
"A Greenpoint Mexican restaurant that will host a one-day pop-up by an acclaimed Philadelphia Mexican restaurant led by Chef Cristina Martínez; the chef will serve lamb barbacoa tacos starting at noon, with additional drinks and snacks available." - Nadia Chaudhury
"Panzón (“pot bellied”) is the facetious name for a new mezcal bar in Greenpoint serving Mexico City-style drinking snacks. Thus there are chicharrones de harina made from wheat topped with cheese and tajin, a smoky condiment, and machetes, an elongated quesadilla. But there are also tuna tostadas, chorizo gorditas, and some great chicken tinga tacos bulging with chipotle-slathered pulled poultry," - Robert Sietsema
"Opened in March 2023, Panzón is a restaurant and bar influenced by Mexico City located at 23 Greenpoint Avenue; owners Nicole Onisick and David Taft said part of the draw to the block was the promise that other food spots would follow." - Luke Fortney
"I was astonished recently at Panzón, a new bar at 23 Greenpoint Avenue in Brooklyn, which feels like a contemporary Mexico City bar: mainly a drinks-focused spot offering cleverly named cocktails, craft and Mexican beers, and skin-contact wines, but with a bar-food menu that threatens to overshadow the booze. Chef Alfredo “Fredy” Ilanos, born and raised in Mexico City, fills the deep, narrow space (a bar up front framed by a cactus forest, raised bar tables further in, and two- and four-tops with splendid views of the kitchen—these are the best seats) with abundant art, including strings of ceramic bells, folkloric masks, wall-weavings, and a beatific Madonna clutching a molotov cocktail. The food astonished me: a $6 glistening nest of newly fried onion shreds sprinkled with crumbly cricket salt and served with an orange chile-mayo (tart, almost metallic, and irresistible); an $18 avocado margarita rimmed with chile salt and a cucumber contrast (very mild); a crazy $18 pollo milanesa torta that irrationally piles salsa-dressed chilaquiles atop a floppy chicken cutlet with avocado, black beans, crema, Oaxacan cheese, jalapenos, and purple pickled onions (the crunch-and-squish combo is sublime); distinctive guacamole laced with blistered poblanos served with just-fried corn tortillas that taste like a cornfield; the machete quesadilla ($18) with an earthy mushroom-and-cheese filling though its shape misses the Mexico City original; sticky wings in a tamarind barbecue sauce that are aggressively tart and sweet but maddeningly messy; and a trio of tinga tacos ($18) with shredded chicken heat tempered by a cooling avocado salsa." - Robert Sietsema
"Inspired by Mexico City, Panzón is a little spot on the far western edge of Greenpoint serving small plates, interesting cocktails, and a lot of mezcal. The dining room has concrete floors, some homey decor, and a sound system that looks like it belongs in a Bushwick nightclub, and there are only around 10 items on the menu. They include a pair of chorizo gorditas and a simple mushroom quesadilla with a blistered tortilla, as well as a few snacks like "corn ribs" and guacamole. You can book a table in the back of the narrow space, but we suggest you grab a seat at the bar, drink a margarita, and have some small bites while you listen to funk, cumbia, house music, and more. photo credit: Sam Hillman" - Bryan Kim
