Mision 19

Mision 19 sits on the second floor of a glass office tower in Zona Urbana Rio, the modern business quarter of Tijuana, and is the restaurant most closely identified with Baja Med, the cooking style that fuses Mexican technique with Mediterranean and Asian influences and the produce of Baja California. It is the flagship of Javier Plascencia, the chef who did more than anyone to persuade international diners that Tijuana was a serious food city during the years when violence had emptied its streets, and who also runs Finca Altozano, Animalon and the revived Caesar's. The dining room is deliberately restrained: pale wood, a glass wall over the Zona Rio skyline, an open kitchen and a terrace used in the warmer months. Cooking is precise rather than showy. The menu changes with the seasons but recurring plates include octopus dressed with olive oil pressed in the Valle de Guadalupe, short rib braised with local chillies, sea bass from the Pacific, and an octopus or tuna tostada that draws on Ensenada street food. Tasting menus of several courses run alongside an a la carte list, and the kitchen sources aggressively from within the state: fish landed at Ensenada, vegetables from valley farms, cheese from Ojos Negros. The wine programme is the strongest argument for eating here, with deep vertical coverage of Valle de Guadalupe producers including Monte Xanic, Casa de Piedra, Vena Cava and Bruma, plus a serious mezcal and cocktail list. Service is formal by Tijuana standards without being stiff, the noise level is conversational, and dress is smart-casual, with most evening diners in jackets or equivalent. Prices are at the top of the local range, with tasting menus and a la carte dinners generally between 1,200 and 2,500 pesos per person before wine. Reservations are essential for dinner and should be made several days ahead, particularly for Friday and Saturday; Sunday service ends in the early evening.