From the family kitchen in Motul to the old, mustard-yellow Casona on Calle 60, where you can find it today, the fascinating culinary history of Siqueff is one for the records.
It begins in the 1930s, when Don Jorge Siqueff Febles and Doña Margarita Alonzo Villanueva got married and began serving food at their own dining room. Their family recipes would be the base of their bakery and coffee shop, “La Sin Rival” (The Peerless), which happened to house the only telephone booth in Motul.
That’s how far back some of their most popular recipes go, such as Don Jorge’s Huevos Motuleños, and how long old tales from the bakery have been told, such as one surrounding a so-called “brush bread,” popular among locals.
Speaking of Huevos Motuleños, “my grandfather liked to cut them in one-centimeter squares,” granddaughter María José Siqueff says, talking about the cubed ham, onion, and tomato that make up the Huevo Motuleño sauce. “He perfected [the sauce] and the presentation as well.” The Huevos Motuleños Don Jorge used to make, the ones you can try at Siqueff, comprise a fried tortilla with homemade refried beans, a couple of fried eggs, a second tortilla, and the original sauce with green peas and fried plantains. “Since then, we’ve made this dish with the same care and love they did when they served it,” true to the original recipe, as María José puts it.
In 1959, Siqueff would finally come to Mérida, opening a restaurant on Calle 59, Barrio de Santiago, downtown. Back then they discovered they had over 60 recipes; some Lebanese, some Yucatecan. These recipes evolved, some others were added along the way.
Some other options you’ll find on their extensive menu offering “Lebanese and Regional Food, steak, and seafood,” you’ll find Siqueff family classics, such as the Huevos Árabes, and innovations, including Huevos con Enyadra. For lunch, fried kibbeh and homemade Arabic snacks are must to get your meal started. If you have a hard time choosing, their Confetty Árabe (a combo dish) will pamper you with superstar appetizers: kibbeh, kebab, kofta, cabbage and grape leaf rolls, ftayer, salad (Arabic or Tabuleh), and their amazing falafel. Favorite mains include the Siqueff Beef Filet, and the French-style fried chicken, with a home recipe that makes it truly special.
End your meal with a bang: try their pecan pie, a recipe that Don Jorge Siqueff Alonzo brought back after years of working as a baker abroad. You’ll also find traditional Lebanese desserts, and a custard that hails from Motul, “made by grandma Margarita.”
There is so much of the Siqueff family in this cuisine project that has transcended three generations, and which is currently found on Calle 60 x 35. You’ll find family mementos hanging on the walls, taking us back to that first home that greeted patrons in Motul, and the original Mérida location on Calle 59. Siqueff is a home kitchen, and you can feel it in its cozy spaces; it’s perfect for a family Sunday, or a break during the week. You can also visit them in their restaurant Siqueff Norte (in Plaza Luxury).
Calle 60 #350 x 35 y 37
Tel. 999 925 5027 (Centro)
Todos los días: 8 am - 6 pm
First published in Yucatán Today print and digital magazine no. 418, in October 2022.
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