Mixteca, the agave bar and restaurant that Jeff Bell and Victor Lopez debuted in New York City last year, opened its Philadelphia location in East Kensington — and it’s arrived with more room, more food, and a few nods to local drinking tradition built right into the menu.
James Beard winners brings Mixteca to Philly
Bell and Lopez aren’t newcomers to the cocktail world. The two first worked together at PDT, the legendary New York bar whose team won the inaugural James Beard Award for Outstanding Bar Program in 2012.
Bell went on to earn the title of Diageo World Class U.S. Bartender of the Year in 2013 and American Bartender of the Year from Tales of the Cocktail in 2017. Bartender Magazine named Lopez one of its 26 Bartenders Shaping the Future for 2026. Their hospitality group, Apres Cru, is behind both locations.
The name Mixteca references the La Mixteca region spanning Oaxaca, Guerrero, and Puebla — where Lopez is from — while folding in a wink at mixology. The concept grew out of Coachella pop-ups the two produced for nearly a decade, where the desert setting pushed them toward agave spirits and a more open, unhurried bar experience. Philadelphia entered the picture early: Bell and Lopez first visited together in 2011 for a gin symposium, kept coming back, and developed a genuine affection for the city’s bar and restaurant scene. When the high-ceilinged East Kensington space with a large patio became available, it matched what they’d been imagining for a Philadelphia Mixteca.
What’s on the menu
The food program leans on technique and sourcing: limes squeezed fresh for every cocktail, corn tortillas handmade to order, salsas and sauces prepared in-house. Starters include Hamachi Ceviche with passionfruit and serrano chile, and Tuna Tostada with smoked jalapeño crema. Tacos run from steak with chipotle roja to Maitake mushroom with tamarind-pasilla glaze and salsa macha. Large-format options — including a family-style Pork Belly Al Pastor and Whole Branzino Asado — round out a menu that also covers a children’s section, desserts, late-night bites, and happy hour.
Cocktails are the heartbeat of the operation. A dedicated margarita page builds eight variations on a classic blanco tequila, lime, and Cointreau base, each made with a housemade consommé — strawberry, coconut, blackberry, watermelon, yuzu, guava, passionfruit, and a blue spirulina pineapple version. The popular Spicy Margarita from the New York location (cucumber, pineapple, wasabi, hot honey) makes the trip south. The broader cocktail list pairs familiar classics with agave counterparts: a Paper Plane sits beside the Aeromex (blanco tequila, lemon, Aperol, Nonino); the Penicillin is matched with a mezcal riff on lemon, ginger, and honey; the Espresso Martini finds its pair in the Carajillo with cold-brewed reposado tequila coffee and Licor 43.
Philadelphia-exclusive cocktails draw directly from local history, with original takes on the Clover Club and the Fish House Punch. The full beverage program also features La Bandera — a three-part tequila ritual inspired by the colors of the Mexican flag — alongside Micheladas, beer, wine, and a substantial zero-proof selection.
Mixteca Philadelphia is located in East Kensington. More information is available on the Mixteca Philadelphia website.
