Sinónimo

Matcha runs the drinks board

Matcha does more work here than at most Guadalajara counters. Matcha México and coco matcha are the two names to know, and they sit alongside a cold brew tonic, a fresaba soda and the kombumimosa, which is the point at which the drinks list stops behaving like a café list and starts behaving like a bar’s.

Coffee is still the spine of it. The cold brew tonic is the clearest coffee order, long and bitter enough to hold its own against a plate of food, and it is the one to reach for when the matcha drinks feel too sweet for the hour. Between the two of them you can order the same counter twice and get two entirely different visits.

A relaxed daytime room

Sinónimo is a daytime room rather than an evening one, and the mood is relaxed and carefully designed without being precious about it. Dogs are welcome, which changes the character of the tables around you and keeps the whole thing informal. Nothing in the room asks you to hurry, which is how a quick coffee turns into a second one.

Food follows the same daytime logic. Chilaquiles are the anchor, with pan dulce, a fruit bowl, guacamole toast and mascarpone toast covering the lighter end of a brunch order. Nothing on it is trying to be dinner, and the kitchen is better for the restraint. It is a room that rewards a second visit more than a first: the drinks board is wide enough that you could come three mornings running without repeating an order, and the food is straightforward enough that you would happily repeat one anyway.

Order the coco matcha, then the chilaquiles

Coco matcha is the first order, or matcha México if you want the other of the two named matcha drinks. Then the chilaquiles, which are the most direct savoury signature on the menu and the plate the kitchen is most identified with.

If you are building a longer table, the fresaba soda and the kombumimosa are the two drinks worth ordering for everyone to try, and the pan dulce or the fruit bowl closes it out without turning brunch into lunch. Guacamole toast and mascarpone toast are the middle ground, and they are the orders that make the table look considered rather than assembled.