Exposed bricks, 200 year-old reclaimed wood beamed ceilings, imported Mexican terra-cotta tiles and ceramics, and personal black and white photography adorning the walls are just the beginning at Móle. Open since March, Móle, a Mexican eatery on the Upper East Side, serves sophisticated and refined Mexican cuisine expertly prepared by chef and restaurateur, Guadalupe Elizalde. Using her family’s original recipes Lupe creates a culinary experience not found in your run-of-the-mill taco-based establishment. Along with her husband, Nick Cervera, the couple designed a space and menu that encapsulates regional and classic Mexican cuisine while maintaining a close sense of family and tradition.

Although Móle itself is new, Guadalupe and Nick are no strangers to the Yorkville neighborhood. They owned another restaurant, Taco Taco, across the street from the Móle space for twenty-one years. After outgrowing the Taco Taco space, the print shop across the street shut its doors after 58 years in business prompting their decision to move into the much larger space. With the freedom to design without the hindrance of space, which has been the case with Móle’s other three locations (the West Village, the Lower East Side, and Williamsburg), Nick had the opportunity to build an eatery with an atmosphere as warm and colorful as the food Guadalupe prepares.

Born in Mexico City and taught to cook through her mother’s instructions, Guadalupe has dedicated her culinary career to bringing diners the most authentic, cultivated versions of Mexican home cooking. Guadalupe’s mother has her own special role within her daughter and son-in-law’s cache of restaurants, besides being responsible for passing down family recipes. Guadalupe’s mother, who still resides in Mexico City, creates all of the móle sauces used at Móle in her backyard before it is shipped to New York. To make Móle a complete family affair, Guadalupe’s sister, Miriam, is Móle’s pastry chef.

Joonbug recently stopped by the newest Móle and had the opportunity to try a variety of their signature dishes as well as their guacamole, handmade in a lava rock mortar, while sipping on a premium, freshly squeezed lime margarita with a rim of sea salt and chili. Móle also has a wide selection of South and North American wines as well as over 100 varieties of tequilas and mezcals.

We highly suggest the following dishes:

Ceviche de Robalo: Cobia fish, cilantro, lime, and chilies. 

Sopa de Elote: corn and fire roasted poblano soup

Mixiote de Cordero: lamb shank steamed in parchment with guajillo salsa

Enchilada de Móle Poblano: grilled pork chops marinated in fresh lime and ancho chile.

For dessert a must-have is Miriam’s Tres Leches Cake and her Flan.

A perfect after dinner tequila to pair with dessert is the Riazul Anejo, a blanco tequila that has been aged for two years in an oak cognac barrel. To achieve its smooth, cognac-like taste the tequila is aged in barrels that contained cognac for at least eight years. By doing so the wood remains saturated with remnants of cognac bringing forth a much smoother taste than unaged tequilas.