There aren’t many Phoenix restaurants serving Mexican delicacies like molletes (open-faced sandwiches), chapulines (fried and seasoned grasshoppers) and top-shelf mezcal.
All these specialties, however, are on the menu at El Charro Hipster Bar & Cafe, a new modern Mexican restaurant and bar at the Desert Sun Plaza in the Grand Avenue Arts District near downtown Phoenix.
GG Peralta runs El Charro Hipster with her parents, Francisco and Azul. The menu was inspired in part by her family’s world travels.
The cafe serves a menu of shareable small plates, including:
Looking for something different? Ask to take a peek at the secret menu, which features Mexican bar snacks like chapulines (seasoned grasshoppers).
The Peraltas, who hail from Mexico City, aim to bring a little of its cosmopolitan cafe culture to the Grand Avenue Arts District. Open since August, El Charro Hipster is just off 15th Avenue and Roosevelt Street.
“One of our taglines is ‘bringing back the art of conversation.’ We make sure to keep the volume just right in here so that people can talk and relax,” Peralta said.
The cafe serves a coffee menu to encourage guests to sit and linger. The family sources coffee beans directly from three southern Mexico farms to ensure fair trade status.
Coffee options include cafe standards like espressos and cappuccino, along with a menu of specialty drinks, such as:
El Charro Hipster also serves a full bar menu with an emphasis on artisanal mezcal and top-shelf tequila.
Signature house cocktails include:
First-time visitors to El Charro Hipster are often curious about its name.
The cafe’s name is a play on words. Charros, the iconic costumed horsemen and women of west-central Mexico, are emblems of Mexican culture.
A hipster charro “represents two worlds coming together,” Peralta said. “We wanted to put a modern twist on tradition.”
The cafe pays tribute to other Mexican icons as well, including artist Frida Kahlo, who is the subject of an eye-catching mural Peralta painted with her father inside the cafe.
El Charro Hipster’s most popular selfie spot, though, is in front of the oversize portrait of legendary Mexican actor-comedian Germán Valdés, better known as “Tin Tan.” The actor was famous for his hip pachuco garb and street slang.
“Tin Tan, we have him here because he is kind of the original hipster,” Peralta laughed.
Where: 1325 Grand Ave., Phoenix.
Hours: 10 a.m.-10 p.m. Tuesdays through Thursdays, 8 a.m.-2 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sundays.
Details: 602-730-3247, elcharrohipster.com.
MORE RESTAURANT NEWS:
PHOTOS: BEST BARS IN DOWNTOWN PHOENIX