Danny Mena

Danny Mena is one of New York City’s top Mexican chefs, acclaimed by such publications as Vanity Fair, LA Times, New York Times, Rolling Stone – and Mexican media as well – for the traditional Mexican food he serves at his restaurant Hecho en Dumbo.

After forgoing an engineering career for culinary school and stints at restaurants Blue Hill and The Modern, Mena started Hecho En Dumbo as a small 3-days-a-week offering in a friend’s Brooklyn bar in 2007, quickly outgrowing that space and opening a Manhattan location in 2010. In 2018 he opened a restaurant in Bushwick, Brooklyn, called La Loncheria, serving rustic Mexican cuisine using the freshest ingredients, in an effort to continue to explore contemporary Mexican cuisine.

Another Mexican tradition close to Mena’s heart is mezcal, the agave-based Mexican liquor that he calls “the earthiest of Mexican spirits.” He partnered in a mezcal distillery, Mezcales de Leyenda and Peloton de la Muerte, whose mezcals are considered among the very best available in both the US and Mexico and Europe.