Macondo, Rayuela’s new Latin-Spanish restaurant, is already buzzing after just a week in business — last night there was a fifteen-to-twenty minute wait around 9 p.m. Among the many bells and whistles Creme Design has installed in the once-drab Loside space are banquettes with arms that go up and down like car seats, and chalkboard walls in the bathroom for erasable graffiti. The seating lends itself to groups or couples who don’t mind communal tables (this will be a go-to for girls’ nights out), but the best seats in the house, you might agree, are the four sidewalk bar stools seen here. Bizarrely, your back is to Houston Street, but the people-watching inside of the restaurant compensates, and you’ve got a prime view of Junior Merino’s bartenders making haute blender drinks such as the one made with avocado, honey, agave nectar, and mescal. Check out the cocktail list and, of course, chef-partner Máximo Tejada’s upscale-street-food menu (sadly, no sandwiches just yet). This is the kind of place where a Pisco sour seems like a boring thing to order.
Cocktails, $7.50 (Virgin cocktails, $4.50)
Maracuya + Vodka: Passion Fruit, Sobieski, Canton Ginger Liquor, Lime Juice, Jalapeno
Tamarindo + Tequila: Tamarind, Sauza Hornitos reposado, Pineapple Juice, D’aristi Xtabentun, Ginger Liquor, Pasilla Salt
Arroz + Shochu: Shochu, Pineapple Juice, Delicia Orchata Concentrate, Lime Juice, Club Soda
Zanahoria + Gin: G’vine Gin, Carrot Juice, Lime Juice, Pineapple Juice, Agave Nectar, Cointreau
Banana + Cachaca: Leblon, Banana Schnapps, Coconut Water, Lychee Syrup, Lime Juice, Pineapple Juice
Acai + Ron: Pomegranate Syrup, Acai Juice, mint, Bacardi Razz Rum, Sprite
Durazno + Pisco: Pisco Acholado, Matilde Crème de Peche, Monin Lychee Syrup, Cava
Guava + Whisky: Sazerac Rye, Becherovka, Guava, lemon, agave nectar, mint
Frozen:
Guanabana-Coco + Rum: Zaya Rum, Kahlua, Sour Sop, Coco, Lime
Aguacate + Mezcal: Honey, avocado, agave nectar, Midori, Cointreau, Lime Juice, Scorpion Mezcal
Rosas + Manzanilla: Roses, Manzanilla Sherry, aloe Juice, Bacardi Razz
Macondo, 157 E. Houston St., nr. Allen St.; 212-473-9900
