New Upscale Mexican in Evanston — Zentli and Fonda

Two Mexican restaurants have opened in Evanston — one recently new, the other brand new. Zentli — “Mexican Street Food” opened several weeks ago, from the people behind Skokie’s pan-Latin Libertad. Fonda is from the George Trois Group, known for Winnetka’s Aboyer and George Trois. Management at Fonda was particularly generous with a tour of the facilities, including the improved kitchen, and the Cantina, soon to open in the former Cellar space around the corner.

Neither restaurant was quite as affordable as some of the many restaurant along Clark St. in Rogers Park. At Zentli, we had one cocktail each. At Fonda, we had one drink each plus a bottle of wine (among the less expensive on their list). Including the 20% tip, the bill at Fonda was slightly more than twice the bill at Zentli (approximately $200 at Fonda vs. $100 at Zentli for two people). However, none of the individual items on either menu seemed to be priced exorbitantly. Maybe it was just a function of ordering, especially the cocktails.


The interior at Zentli is the more elaborate of the two. Reservations can be made for “corn,” (now called “low top”) “mural,” or “high top.” Shown : corn/low top and bar.






We had guacamole and chips at each place, plus one homemade a day later. Fonda (top) had freshly-fried, delicate chips — a major plus over the others. I’m not sure about Zentli’s chips (second). The homemade guac had packaged chips. All were good, with Zentli’s slightly on the chunkier side (which was good).


Pescado Pibil from Fonda — the fish used was new to the menu last Thursday night, their second night open. Adobe-glazed Black Sea Bass wrapped in banana leaves.


Opening the Pescado Pibil, the tomatillo salsa with pickled red onion spilled out. It all went well with the beans and avocado. A nicely balanced, flavorful dish.


Carne Asada was a great example of a skirt steak-forward dish at Fonda, with spring onions (is it spring yet?), Queso Oaxaca Stuffed Caribe Pepper, Red Rice, and a Salsa Martajada.


I wasn’t given permission to try Zentli's Enchiladas Plazeras, which were tough to see under the lettuce. The menu describes it as 3 corn tortillas, salsa guajillo, potatoes, carrots, lettuce, crema & queso fresco con cebolla filled with cheese + onion. I was told it was very good.


The Pambazo at Zentli is essentially a sandwich. A salsa guajillo-soaked bolillo grilled crispy, with chorizo, picadillo and potatoes, escabeche, queso fresco, shredded lettuce & crema. Tasty, but almost impossible to eat as a sandwich. Knife and fork worked a little better, but it was still awfully messy.


The tacos (Al Pastor, left, Tinga de Pollo, right) were both made with blue corn tortillas, which actually looked a bit grayish. Although the menu lists the Tinga de Pollo as coming with sour cream, the green sauce, possibly sour cream-based, was a bit on the spicy side for such a sensitive gentleman as myself.


A Mexican Rosé Methode Champenoise, at $60, was the thing that pushed the bill at Fonda over the top, although it was comparable to the prices of many of their other bottles of wine.

Even though both restaurants are within a comfortable walking distance from our home, I’m not sure we’ll be going back soon. As a comparison to a more old-school Mexican restaurant, we’re looking forward to the Evanston Lunch Group™ visit to Rocky’s Taco March 14.

Zentli
1813 Dempster,
Evanston, IL 60201

Fonda
1735 Benson Avenue

Evanston, IL 60201

We ate at Zentli tonight. We thought it was very very good, and moderately priced as well.

As Tom notes above, when making a reservation on Resy, you must indicate your preference of seating area, as follows:

Mural (low tops alongside the mural)

Low (low tops in the large room on the left)

High (high tops in front of the bar, and I assume this includes seating at the bar on high-top stools)

We started with chips and guacamole. The chips were quite good, and the guacamole was excellent, slightly spicy, and in an unusually generous portion size (close to a pint, I'd guess).

Flautas Palmar - crispy taquitos stuffed with chicken tinga, tomatillo broth, shredded cabbage, queso fresco & crema. These were wonderful, especially the fairly spicy tomatillo broth. Our favorite dish.

Molotes - 3 fresh masa purses with tinga de zetas, stewed with onions, tomatoes + chiles, queso fresco & crema

Suadero taco with chorizo-confited beef brisket

Halibut taco (daily special)

Tres Leches - traditional "3 milks" sponge cake. This was excellent.

Service was friendly and efficient. We liked eating here and expect to keep it in our regular rotation.

On Friday night we ate at Fonda, and like Zentli (and Mas Salud, another new upscale Mexican restaurant in Evanston), it too was very very good. I didn't take a lot of photos, sorry, but I can tell you everything we had.

When we were seated, we were served complimentary chips and salsa, which were quite good. The green salsa was very hot (spicy).


The appetizers were just okay, not as terrific as subsequent courses. The consistency of the guacamole was problematic; it fell apart, and would not stay on chips when dipped. We also had the ceviche and the sope de tinga, both of which were just okay.

The entrees were excellent - and I remembered to take photos!

Chile Relleno con Pipian de Hoja Santa (Poblano Pepper stuffed with beef hash, apple, pear, almond, peach. Mexican pepper leaf green mole):

The trout pibil was a special of the day:

We got one of each of the four desserts, and all were excellent: Flan (Vanilla bean custard, caramel, seasonal fruit), Nieve De Chocolate (Mexican chocolate abuelita ice cream, fried pastry), Pastel de Tres Leches (classic Mexican three-milk mixture, ultra soft sponge cake), and Deconstructed Gansito Cheesecake (ricotta cheese, gansito bites with strawberry jam, cinnamon cookie crumble).

Service was okay; they seemed slightly understaffed (like every other restaurant these days), but not horribly so.

This is a great addition to Evanston's restaurant scene. We enjoyed our dinner, and look forward to returning.