Restaurante Arroyo is the world's largest single Mexican restaurant, located in the

Tlalpan Tlalpan ( nci, Tlālpan, , place on the earth, ) is a borough (''demarcación territorial'') in Mexico City. It is the largest borough, with over eighty percent under conservation as forest and other ecologically sensitive area. The rest, almost ...

area of

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...

. The restaurant, which employs more than 1,000 people during its peak season, has seating for 2,200 patrons in nine dining rooms, and parking for 600 cars. It also features stages for musical performances, an array of wandering

mariachi Mariachi (, , ) is a genre of regional Mexican music that dates back to at least the 18th century, evolving over time in the countryside of various regions of western Mexico. The usual mariachi group today consists of as many as eight violins, t ...

and

jarocho Jarocho () in Mexican Spanish is a colloquial demonym for residents of the State of Veracruz, Mexico, as well as an appellative term for anything related to said state. Etymology One explanation of the origin of the term jarocho is that it ...

bands, an infirmary, an area for hosting

piñata A piñata (, ) is a container, often made of papier-mâché, pottery, or cloth, that is decorated, filled with candy, and then broken as part of a celebration. Piñatas are commonly associated with Mexico. The idea of breaking a container filled ...

parties, a

cockfighting A cockfight is a blood sport, held in a ring called a cockpit. The history of raising fowl for fighting goes back 6,000 years. The first documented use of the ''word'' gamecock, denoting use of the cock as to a "game", a sport, pastime or ente ...

pit, a

mechanical bull A mechanical bull, also known as a bucking machine, is a device that replicates the sensation of riding a bucking animal, such as a rodeo bull or horse popularized by Sherwood Cryer. It is usually powered by a variable-speed electric motor. Pad ...

, and its own

bullring A bullring is an arena where bullfighting is performed. Bullrings are often associated with the Iberian Peninsula, but they can also be found through Iberian America and in a few Spanish and Portuguese ex-colonies in Africa. Bullrings are o ...

History and noted menu items

Restaurante Arroyo was founded by Jose Arroyo and Maria Aguirre de Arroyo in 1940; their son and grandson still run it. Although its menu has expanded along with its size, its principal claim to gastronomic fame was and is its dishes featuring

lamb Lamb or The Lamb may refer to: * A young sheep * Lamb and mutton, the meat of sheep Arts and media Film, television, and theatre * ''The Lamb'' (1915 film), a silent film starring Douglas Fairbanks Sr. in his screen debut * ''The Lamb'' (1918 ...

and

mutton Lamb, hogget, and mutton, generically sheep meat, are the meat of domestic sheep, ''Ovis aries''. A sheep in its first year is a lamb and its meat is also lamb. The meat from sheep in their second year is hogget. Older sheep meat is mutton. Gen ...

, such as ''

barbacoa Barbacoa () is a form of cooking meat that originated in the Caribbean with the Taíno people, who called it by the Arawak word ''barbaca'', from which the term "barbacoa" derives, and ultimately, the word ' barbecue". In contemporary Mexico, i ...

de borrego'' (slow-roasted barbecue mutton) and '' consome de borrego'', soup made from the drippings of the roasting lamb and sheep. The restaurant has been featured on

Rick Bayless Rick Bayless (born November 23, 1953) is an American chef and restaurateur who specializes in traditional Mexican cuisine with modern interpretations. He is widely known for his PBS series '' Mexico: One Plate at a Time''. Among his various acc ...

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...

cooking show, '' Mexico: One Plate at a Time''. In ''My Last Supper: 50 Great Chefs and Their Final Meals: Portraits, Interviews, and Recipes'', Bayless identified it as the restaurant in which he would choose to have his last meal. In terms of size and number of diversions for diners, it is similar to the more famous Denver restaurant

Casa Bonita Casa Bonita (Spanish for "pretty house") is a Mexican restaurant in Lakewood, Colorado, at the JCRS (Jewish Consumptives' Relief Society) Shopping Center, now known as the Lamar Station Plaza. It was originally part of a chain of Mexican-themed e ...

. On January 30, 2010, it hosted two world championship boxing fights: In one, former world champion

Jorge Arce Jorge Armando Arce Armenta (; born July 27, 1979), best known as Jorge Arce, is a Mexican former professional boxer who competed from 1996 to 2014. He is a multiple-time world champion, and the second boxer from Mexico to win world titles in ...

defeated noted contender Angky Angkota of Indonesia in a seven-round technical decision for the vacant

World Boxing Organization The World Boxing Organization (WBO) is an organization which sanctions professional boxing bouts. It is recognized by the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) as one of the four major world championship groups, alongside the World Boxing ...

's world bantamweight title; in the other,

Jackie Nava Jacqueline Nava Mouett (born April 11, 1980) is a Mexican professional boxer. She is a former world champion in two weight classes, having held the WBA female bantamweight title in 2005; the WBC female super bantamweight title twice between 2 ...

defended the interim

World Boxing Council The World Boxing Council (WBC) is an international professional boxing organization. It is among the four major organizations which sanction professional boxing bouts, alongside the World Boxing Association (WBA), International Boxing Federation ...

's female world Super Bantamweight title with a ten-round unanimous decision victory over

Chantal Martínez Chantal Liseth Martínez Rodriguez (born 28 December 1990) is a Panamanian former professional boxer who competed from 2006 to 2017. She held the WBA female super-bantamweight title from 2011 to 2012 and challenged once for the WBC female super ...

inside the restaurant area.

References

External links

Restaurante Arroyo Official Site
Restaurants established in 1940 Mexican restaurants Restaurants in Mexico City Tourist attractions in Mexico City 1940 establishments in Mexico Tlalpan {{mexico-restaurant-stub