This is the first Hello Kitty Café in Mexico

Going through the doors of the first Hello Kitty Café in Mexico is like entering the creamy filling of a kawaii cupcake: everything is pink, full of pastel flowers, with elements of that white kitten everywhere: her bow is drawn on the walls, she It appears in the pancakes, cakes, desserts, drinks, jewelry, bags and clothing of the fans who visit it.

Hello Kitty Café México is the first in Latin America , it is located inside Plaza Carso , in the Polanco neighborhood of Mexico City and officially opens its doors at the beginning of January 2022, although on December 22 they cut the bar to give a first look at long-awaited place.

It is a project by Carolina Castellanos and Mauricio García , who already have experience with kawaii food (a Japanese adjective that can be translated as cute or cute ), because a few years ago they founded Kochi Kochi Land , a popular place in the CDMX Center. where they sell various desserts of this type.

Kawaii food, where to eat these cute dishes?

Among the favorites in Kochi Kochi Land is precisely a Hello Kitty crepe that is part of a collaboration that began two years ago with the Sanrio company .

Now with this new space, the craze for Sanrio 's cat character that became a worldwide phenomenon extends to the entire menu: drinks, various desserts, salads and savory bakery, as well as jewelry and accessories.

"We knew the potential and also all the desire that all Hello Kitty fans in Mexico have for a place like this, it was time for it to exist," says Mauricio García in an interview.

Hello Kitty: a unique concept for Mexico

The initial collaboration with Sanrio worked so well that they sought out the creators of Kochi Kochi Land to make the first Hello Kitty Café in Latin America , which already had various spaces in countries such as the United States; however, the Mexican version is different.

“More than adapting, everything was made from scratch, we made a whole style guide thinking about this coffee for Mexico . It doesn't look like any other concept in the world”, explains Carolina Castellanos in an interview.

Mauricio agrees: “a new concept that had to do with what we think Hello Kitty can be and how it can be projected to desserts, drinks, mocktails (non-alcoholic cocktails), from that we created our menu and the space based on what we dreamed of”.

According to Mauricio, they sought to reflect the character in something sophisticated and contemporary . The place is also strategic: "We wanted an emblematic space , with this view of the Soumaya museum, connected to aquariums, theaters, art museums."

This distinction is very clear to fans of this Japanese character, such as the collector known as "Hello Kitty Sunny", one of the first to discover this café in Mexico, who shares the precious objects she has collected since 2015 on her Instagram account. .

She already knew the Hello Kitty cafes in the United States and considers that the Mexican one is more “ sophisticated ” compared to the one over there, with a more “youthful” theme; In addition, in this new site she sees a creative and varied menu that is not limited to cakes and cookies.

kawaii desserts

Mauricio states that kawaii food has a wide audience in Mexico: "Mexicans, we already know, are for desserts, in addition to that, if you add kawaii elements , it is an experience that we are all looking for and we try to fulfill that desire that all people have to fill a little bit of happiness in their lives”.

The menu of this cafe has 15 sweet options , including cakes, pancakes, mousse, donuts, waffles and cookies, preparations with red velvet, matcha, chocolate in all its forms.

Mauricio details that each of these recipes was worked on for a long time with a chef and a kitchen team so that they were not only showy and pretty , but also " culinary references ", that their flavor was as good as their presentation.

You can find, for example, Hello Kitty Cheesecake (cream cheese and mascarpone cake with a biscuit base and fresh red berries with raspberry coulis), Hello Kitty Strawberry Cream Cake (vanilla sponge cake soaked in neutral syrup filled with strawberry, whipped cream and flowers white cherry).

Or, Hello Kitty Cup Cake (vanilla cake with raspberry pieces, filled with raspberry compote, white chocolate buttercream).

Carolina Castellanos says that her favorite is Hello Kitty Choco Surpirse (dark chocolate mousse and hazelnut cream with a chocolate sponge base, sprinkled with cocoa). It is served in a glass with the kitten's golden bow made of chocolate.

salty options

There is a salad bar with yogurt and parsley, balsamic and strawberry, garlic and Parmesan, honey mustard, basil and parsley or homemade Caesar dressings.

In addition, they serve sandwiches, baguettes and paninis with ingredients such as salmon, goat cheese, Manchego, Serrano ham, dehydrated tomato, mashed avocado and others.

For Mauricio, his favorite is the savory menu, especially Hello Kitty Maguro Toast (smoked tuna with mashed avocado, cucumber slices, walnuts, parsley sprouts, toasted sesame oil, lime juice and purple onion in loaf bread) .

Signature drinks and mocktails

In its menu you will find various coffees, frappés, options for tea, fresh drinks (lemonades, Italian sodas, juices, soft drinks, cold tea); however, among the distinctive are the mocktails.

The mocktails are made with the same care and details as a cocktail, but without alcohol.

There are, for example, Hello Kitty Tropical Kiwi Margarita (strawberry and natural kiwi concentrate with mineral soda), Hello Kitty Pinapple mojito (pear and fresh pineapple concentrate with mint) or Hello Kitty Cherry on the rocks (Ginger ale with maraschino cherry ).

These drinks are for the whole family , says Carolina, "from the children who can come to the bar to ask for a mocktail, it generates all the illusion, they make a very careful drink that they can try without any problem."

'You can never have many friends'

“You can never have too many friends” reads on one of the walls behind a bar. This emblematic phrase of the Japanese kitten synthesizes an entire community that has formed around the character, since it was created in the 70s.

The first people to enter the cafe hug Hello Kitty's botarga , wear her silhouette in jackets, headbands, blouses, bags and jewelry, in addition, many of them already know each other, as they have met at other themed events.

They comment on the elegant concept, the “ very kawaii ” themed desserts, how much they had waited for such a place in Mexico, the souvenirs and the peculiar jewelry.

“We are very excited that there is finally a Hello Kitty cafe in Mexico ,” says Ximena, a fan of the character since the 1980s, who collects clothes, sneakers, accessories, glasses, cups, everything.

"At this table we are all super fans", says a young woman known as "Kittyplu Mayra" in one of the cabinets, "I like it since I was four years old, it has been part of my life, when my parents wanted to give me a little gift, a sweetheart, we always went to the Sanrio store, they gave me a pencil, a pen, Kitty was in my life, she surrounds me, she makes me feel special”.

Beside her, "Hello Kitty Pink MX" comments that this character was a shared taste with one of her aunts, who passed away recently, "it is something that became very special to me because it is the memory I have with her".

Meanwhile, "Ariigraam" says that she reminds him of good times from her childhood: "Hello Kitty makes me super feminine, tender, cute, she represents women from childhood to a thousand years, I feel very identified ”; and “Estrellita_brillantee” adds: “Kitty is synonymous with love, I can't think of anything ugly if she is Kitty”.

For Carolina Castellanos it has been a surprise of the great furor and expectation that this place has caused: “we already knew that Hello Kitty is a world concept , an icon of Japanese and kawaii culture, but we have had an amazing reception, people who write to us that He is looking for flights from other parts of the world, also from Mexico, to meet him because they are such fans that no matter where he is, they go.”

How can I attend Hello Kitty Café?

Hello Kitty Café officially opens in the first weeks of January 2022 , it will be receiving all the people who subscribed to its mailing list on its website; As of December 25, a new reservation system begins.

After this first period of Early Access , they will receive the entire general public.

Where is? It is located in Plaza Carso, in front of Cinépolis: Calle Lago Zúrich 245 Local B-02-A, Amp. Grenada, Mexico City.