Meet the Buzzy New Mexican-American Cocktail Bar Our Editors Can't Stop Hanging Out At
If you haven’t had a green mango martini, now’s the time.
Some of the warmest and most emotionally resonant hospitality in the country right now is being shared nightly at the Mexican American cocktail bar Superbueno in New York City. Go when the sun sets over the northeast corner of First Avenue and East 1st Street in Manhattan — it makes the room glow. Order one of the exceptional drinks, like a puckery green mango martini, and snack on tacos made with heirloom blue corn tortillas and grilled skewers of juicy pork shoulder, pineapple, and charred spring onion.
Or go later, when the bar glows deep red. When the energy builds, the bartenders push the pendants so they sway like pendulums over the bar to the rhythms of salsa, reggaeton, and cumbia from all over Mexico, Central America, and South America. Feeling good? Order the shot-and-a-beer trio of a Mexican lager lashed with hot sauce, a shot of raicilla, and a sidecar of warm birria broth, plus the psychedelic platter of chamoy-drenched watermelon, and soak in the scene: hospitality folks gathering on their night off, first dates, a tamale vendor chatting up a doctor, liquor company reps, and food lovers. On the sidewalk, many were strangers; inside, they shimmy in an impromptu conga line.
Related: Our Best Martini Recipes
The conductor of this nightly symphony of pleasure is Ignacio “Nacho” Jimenez, whose business card reads “Maestro de Ceremonias.” He grew up in Mexico and has tended bar in New York City for more than two decades, and his bar blends both cultures into his own personal vision. “It’s the story of immigrants, how we honor traditions in New York,” he says.
In this era when good service sometimes feels like it’s in short supply, Jimenez’s culture of hospitality hits every high note. The drinks showcase the diversity of Mexican spirits beyond great tequila and mezcal, like raicilla and that fruit-forward mango distillate in the martini. The food, dreamed up by chef Cyed Adraincem, is reason enough to go. But what makes Superbueno special is all of the above, plus the warmth of the service and the feelings the music and lighting evoke. Jimenez, who works as a DJ on the side, delegates the bartending so he can curate the Spanish-only playlists, control the LED lights, and work the room to dial up the energy. Making everyone in his bar feel connected and completely at ease brings him joy.
“That is the ultimate goal: [to create] a place where a community forms and a place where people can be themselves,” Jimenez says.
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