Vato
Mexican restaurant · Park Slope ·
Chihuahuan burritos, pastries, coffee, Basque-Mexican dinner
Chihuahuan burritos, pastries, coffee, Basque-Mexican dinner
"Built around the hype of a butter-enriched sourdough flour tortilla, this Park Slope daytime tortilleria and bakery turns into a casual, Basque- and Northern Mexican-leaning neighborhood restaurant and wine bar at night. In a wood-and-concrete space that seats about 30, with a five-seat bar for daytime ordering, an open kitchen, and a back patio for 25, walls display Paco Alonso’s street photography of Ciudad Juárez and El Paso, reinforcing the name’s vibe—Chicano slang for “homie.” Daytime is counter-service: packs of 10 sourdough flour tortillas and Chihuahua-style burritos filled with hickory- and mesquite-smoked burnt ends with soft-scrambled eggs and cheddar, pollo en mole, braised pork shoulder with salsa verde and potatoes, or a chile relleno stuffed with asadero and beans, plus barbacoa tortas. Pastry chef Erick Rocha offers filled conchas (yuzu and corn husk curds), hazelnut‑praline‑chocolate chip cookies, brioche with cajetas, marranitos, and also pecan tarts and cinnamon buns; drinks include Oaxacan coffee made with single-origin Sobre Masa beans, matcha, and aguas frescas like horchata and Jamaica. Evenings shift to table service for “Basque techniques with Northern Mexican flavors,” yielding dishes like thin short ribs, grilled shrimp, avocado and yuzu with fried beef tripe and tostadas, beer-battered smelt with fried egg mayonnaise, cider-steamed cockles, tortilla de bacalao with cod, potatoes, cod machaca and pil pil, mollete de txangurro with donostiarra-style crab and butter beans, and chistorra talo in a warm corn-flour tortilla. The wine program from Mariano Garay leans natural from Mexico and Spain (cavas, albariños, garnacha) alongside rieslings and Champagnes, with ciders, vermouth, and amari from Spain and Mexico, drinks featuring fino sherry and vin jaune, and nonalcoholic options like oat horchata. Initial hours run 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday through Monday, with dinner planned for mid-December (5 to 10 p.m.), and it’s walk-ins only—“We want to be a neighborhood spot” where you can grab coffee, pick up tortillas, linger for dinner, or snag a quick bite." - Nadia Chaudhury
"More casual than Corima, Vato in Park Slope is an all-day bakery, tortillería, and restaurant from Fidel Caballero and Sofia Ostos where I can get Chihuahuan-style burritos (like chile relleno with refried beans or chicken in mole negro), pastries such as yuzu cream conchas, single-origin coffee, and their signature flour tortillas by the dozen during the day, then sit down for a Basque-and-Mexican dinner featuring charcoal-grilled jumbo prawns with pickled peppers and salted limequat aioli, Spanish-style cod and potato omelet with pil-pil sauce, pork milanesa with rajas con queso and sweet corn, all paired with natural wines in a wood-and-concrete space with an open kitchen and a backyard patio." - ByKate Kassin
"The team behind Mexican fine-dining restaurant Corima goes casual with a daytime counter-service cafe slinging Chihuahuan-style burritos, Mexican-ish pastries (conchas, cookies), coffee, and those flour tortillas; at night, it shifts into a neighborhood spot with Basque-inspired dishes and natural wines." - Melissa McCart
"Our favorite thing about Corima, the Northern Mexico-inspired spot in Chinatown, is the $125 tasting that rivals any of the city's fine dining options. The flour tortillas are a close second. At their casual Park Slope offshoot, Vato, you'll be able to get those tortillas in burrito form. Other daytime offerings will include pastries and coffee, and later in the day they'll serve a Basque and Mexican-influenced menu paired with natural wine." - bryan kim, willa moore, will hartman, molly fitzpatrick
"Our favorite thing about Corima, the Northern Mexico-inspired spot in Chinatown, is the $125 tasting that rivals any of the city's fine dining options. The flour tortillas are a close second. At their casual Park Slope offshoot, Vato, you'll be able to get those tortillas in burrito form. Other daytime offerings will include pastries and coffee, and later in the day they'll serve a Basque and Mexican-influenced menu paired with natural wine. We haven’t been here yet, but want you to know this spot exists." - Bryan Kim