La Justina

La Justina occupies a converted arcade just off Avenida Revolucion in Tijuana's Zona Centro, part of the wave of kitchens that reoccupied the old downtown passages after the city's tourist trade collapsed and then rebuilt itself around food and beer. The room is exposed brick and steel with high ceilings, communal and small tables pushed close together, a long bar and a soundtrack that rises through the evening; it is one of the loudest good restaurants in Baja California and makes no apology for it. The cooking is contemporary Mexican in a sharing format, built on Baja ingredients and designed to be eaten across a table with beer. The octopus tostada is the plate most often ordered, the octopus charred and set on a crisp tortilla with avocado and a chilli dressing; pork belly tacos and roasted bone marrow with tortillas are the other two dishes that define the menu. Around them sit aguachiles, tuna tostadas, grilled vegetables, burgers and a rotating list of specials chalked up by the kitchen. The drinks list is the other draw: Tijuana and Mexicali craft breweries are represented in depth, with taps from Border Psycho, Insurgente and Cerveceria Tijuana alongside mezcal, Valle de Guadalupe wine by the glass and a short cocktail list. Prices are moderate, with most sharing plates between 150 and 320 pesos, which makes it one of the better-value serious kitchens in the centre. The restaurant does not take reservations, and after 8PM on Friday and Saturday there is usually a wait of thirty minutes or more, spent at the bar or in the arcade outside. Service runs late into the night at weekends, and the crowd is young, local and mixed with visitors who have crossed the border for the evening. Dress is casual throughout.