Copal

Miguel Martin Gomez's smoke-and-craft reboot of Colima, one block from CUE.

Copal used to be Colima, and Colima was, in its own owners' words, too much of a taco restaurant. So chef-owner Miguel Martin Gomez and his three partners closed the doors in late 2025 and reopened weeks later with a menu built around the resin the restaurant is named for, the incense Aztec priests burned as offering. The result reads more fine dining than taqueria: Wagyu croquetas, bluefin tuna tostadas, a 250-gram Holstein ribeye finished with chimichurri and warm tortillas, BBQ octopus, huitlacoche instead of a safer vegetable. Forty-three mezcals and tequilas back it up, alongside Mexican whisky and corn liqueur cocktails. Two chef menus give you the kitchen's edit for €42 or €55 a head. It is barely a year into this version of itself, replacing a restaurant Het Parool liked well enough, so treat it as promising and recently reinvented rather than a fixture with a decade of receipts. Book ahead; the room is small and the evening-only hours mean no walk-in safety net.

Open Wednesday-Saturday 17:00-22:00 and Sunday 17:00-21:30, closed Monday-Tuesday; no lunch service despite what the website copy claims.

Photo: Copal, photo Studio Tentusscher