La Mezca
Cocktails built on Mexican spirits and street tacos worth lingering over, in a room the Infatuation says could have been airlifted from Roma Norte.1
Why go
Nicolai McCrary's framing is that Mueller would be the last place you would guess at for a genuinely immersive mezcaleria, and that is where this one is, in a small room next to Veracruz Fonda. Midweek it runs relaxed: cocktails built around Mexican spirits, street tacos worth lingering over, and palo santo drifting through. At weekends it changes, with DJs and dancing, and it is one of the few places in the neighbourhood still open past midnight.1
Order this / avoid
- Order: something agave-based off the cocktail list, and the street tacos alongside it.1
- Avoid: going midweek for the crowd. The DJs and the dancing are a weekend thing.1
What locals & experts say
- The Infatuation Austin, Nicolai McCrary, 21 October 2025:
Reminiscent of CDMX bars like Tlecan, La Mezca seems airlifted straight from Roma Norte.
It appears on the outlet's Austin Bar Hit List.1 - The Infatuation gives it no score, because it rates only places where you can eat a full meal.
Good to know
- Hygiene: Austin Public Health scores the kitchen 93, inspected 20 March 2026. Austin Public Health files it as
Veracruz Juice bar - La Mezca
, the parent operator's name alongside the bar's, which is why looking up the bar alone can come back empty. Austin scores on a 100-point demerit scale where higher is better and 70 is the failing line, so this is not a finding, and it is the only reading on the kitchen.2 - Same block, different businesses: six more kitchens hold permits at 1905 Aldrich St, including Veracruz All Natural, B.D. Riley's and Lick, and their scores say nothing about this bar.
- Getting there: Suite 125-B, next door to Veracruz Fonda & Bar in Mueller.1
Verdict
could-visit — A small mezcaleria in Mueller from the Veracruz All Natural family, next door to their Fonda, that the Infatuation's Nicolai McCrary says feels airlifted out of Roma Norte. Midweek it is cocktails built on Mexican spirits, street tacos and palo santo; at weekends it turns into DJs and dancing and is one of the few things in Mueller still open past midnight. It sits mid-ladder because the outlet does not rate bars by policy, no individual drink is named anywhere readable, and the register holds a single inspection.