Panzón (23 Greenpoint Ave), a new Mexico City-inspired bar, is officially open in Greenpoint after having a soft opening this past weekend. The new spot next to El Pingüino (25 Greenpoint Ave) will focus on mezcal, cocktails, local beer, and small plates.
“We really want to focus on the ‘BK meets CDMX’ vibe,” co-owner Nicole Onisick told Greenpointers. For those who don’t know, CDMX refers to La Ciudad de México or Mexico City.
Panzón aims to be “an approachable Greenpoint bar that highlights natural wine and local breweries but also has a stacked mezcal program,” Onisick continued. Panzón has over 40 agave bottles and will be offering rotating mezcal flights that focus on a different producer each month.
Panzón’s cocktail menu was curated by Geremy Alexander, who calls himself a “drink designer.” Alexander was also behind the cocktail program at local spot, Eavesdrop (674 Manhattan Ave). Onisick said that Alexander has been at Panzón every night since it opened, “making sure the drinks are well executed and going out perfectly.”
“His claim to fame on our menu that has nearly sold out every night is the El Panzón, which is an avocado margarita,” Onisick said of Alexander.
In addition to the popular El Panzón, the cocktail menu consists of several other drinks made with mezcal. If you’re looking for something different, there’s also the Barking Chihuahua, similar to a daiquiri, made with rum, lime, and beer syrup.
The remainder of the beverage menu includes a small selection of sparkling, white, rosé, and red wines, plus beer from local breweries like Three’s Brewing, Talea, and Other Half.
Chef Alfredo Ilanos, also known as Fredy, is in charge of the kitchen and food menu at Panzón. Chef Ilanos, also a co-owner of Panzón alongside Onisick, Michael Borgmann, and David Taft, was born and raised in Mexico City, and has been cooking in New York for the past ten years.
Chef Ilanos’ food menu is not final, but will focus on “drinking food” and is “made to share” according to the team at Panzón.
Greenpointers saw a preliminary menu that focuses heavily on snacks and appetizers, but also offers three larger entrees. The snack section includes items like esquites corn ribs and smoked poblano guacamole, while the appetizer section consists of things like sticky wings and a chorizo gordita. The entree section includes larger plates like smoked chicken tacos and a torta de chilaquiles, which is similar to a breaded chicken sandwich.
“We have a backyard that we are getting prepped for spring and are hoping to open the yard and brunch on Saturday and Sunday in about a month or so,” Onisick said.
For now, Panzón is open 5 p.m. – 11 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday and 5 p.m. – midnight Friday and Saturday. Resy reservations will be available soon.
I looked at the menu, it is amazing now in Greenpoint how the drinks are so expensive they are approaching the price of the cheapest entrees.
Charge outrageous prices for coffee type drinks and alcoholic beverages and the will come just like in the field of dreams.