Although Guadalajara’s Boulangerie Central has been open long enough to receive the city’s highest rating on Trip Advisor for its breakfasts, for some reason I had never been there until this week.
Situated on a leafy, fairly quiet, boulevard well west of the city’s true centro, the restaurant, located in a grand older home that has been well redecorated, beckons you inside with a colorful logo, a bakery and neveria selling many varieties of homemade ice cream, a menu for inspection and an elegant host.
You pass through a dark indoor dining area and open kitchen, and are greeted with friendly bienvenidas from waitstaff and cooks before arriving in a medium-sized interior patio with a gravel floor and a dozen or so tables with wide, sturdy chairs and umbrellas. Staff is diligent about informing you of anti-Covid precautions, which apparently include a reliance on patio seating, even if the patio is a touch stuffy, although it boasts trees and vines. (Upstairs there are several ample, dark-hued dining areas that seem forgotten at present.)
Boulangerie Central’s menu is more than ample, with about three pages of breakfast offerings (served until 1:30 p.m.), including three French-toastish options, three Croque-this-and-that options, 10 egg dishes including omelettes and huevos Benedictinos (with poached egg and English muffin)—after which it is on to the dinner menu, which I barely glanced at. Straddling the two is a section of sandwiches, loosely defined, which include several bagel concoctions.
I selected the Omelet Pastrana, which is not on the menu but is nevertheless offered daily, the waitperson told me (although I was a little doubtful, since I was also assured that the “Greek” yogurt was not sweetened, and it was).
The omelette was excellent, filled with pastrami and gouda, topped with grilled onions, cherry tomatoes and small tomates, which I at first thought were green olives, all perched in very nice, creamy red bell pepper sauce. At the waitress’s good advice, I easily picked out the few, deadly hot green chile slices and had a very fine, only slightly picante breakfast—which let me see whyBoulangerie Central, headed by chef Cesar, has the reputation it does.
And he is offering franchises – at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..">This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Boulangerie Central, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. (but sign at restaurant says 8 a.m.-11 p.m. Monday to Saturday, 8 a.m.-2 p.m. Sunday); vegan and gluten-free options available. No pets. Avenida Morelos 1984, between Amado Nervo and Aurelio Gallardo, Guadalajara 44600, tel. 334-444-5737.