Casa de Azulejos (House of Tiles) / Sanborns Cafe, Mexico City

The former family home of the Counts of the Valle de Orizaba – colloquially known as The House of Tiles (Casa de los Azulejos) – is a real eye-catcher.

This Baroque-style edifice is distinguished for its lavish facade, with windows, balconies, and doors framed in carved stone, and French porcelain crowns on top. Still, the most notable feature of the exterior is, undoubtedly, the blue and white tiles from the town of Puebla covering the building on three sides.

Begun in the 16th century as the merger of two stand-alone mansions, the palace was completed in 1737.

There are two conflicting explanations of how the building got its current appearance. The more reliable version states that the owner – the Fifth Countess of the Valle de Orizaba – who previously lived in Puebla, returned to the capital after her husband's death and decided to clad the house in Puebla tiles to show off the family's immense wealth. The other version is more colorful and tells of a son whose frivolous lifestyle caused his father to lament that unless he changed his ways, he would "never build his house of tiles" (i.e. would never be good for anything). As an act of defiance, the young man tiled the building after he inherited it.

The palace remained private property and changed hands several times until the late 19th century. During the Mexican Revolution in the 1910s, the Zapatista Army occupied the building for a short period. In 1917, the two brothers, Frank and Walter Sanborns, bought the place in order to expand their soda fountain/drugstore business.

After extensive renovation, the house was converted into a stylish restaurant where the affluent locals came to enjoy a meal or linger over coffee in luxurious surroundings. A haunt of Bohemian folk and revolutionaries, the venue symbolized the cosmopolitan atmosphere of the first half of the 20th century. In 1931, the building was declared a national monument.

Presently, the House of Tiles is the flagship of the Sanborns restaurant chain.

Tip:
Food is reasonable and affordable, but the true star of the show is the building itself, with the grandest toilet entrance you've ever seen! The upstairs balcony is an ideal spot to take in the atmosphere and grandeur of the house as you eat.