The Courier-Journal (Louisville)
Con Huevos is a must-try Mexican breakfast spot
Con Huevos — that’s with eggs, in Spanish — has been one of my favorite brunch spots since a friend introduced me to the restaurant in 2018.
My go-to order of cafe con leche, breakfast tacos, and tres leches pancakes rarely varies. But after chatting with owners Jesús Martínez and Izmene Peredo, I might have to switch it up temporarily to try some of the new dishes coming out next month.
Here’s everything I found out from the husband-and-wife team that currently operates five locations of the breakfast and lunch spot — and has additional stores in the works.
Con Huevos celebrated its ninth anniversary; is looking to expand
The Mexican restaurant’s first location opened nine years ago, in March 2015. The Frankfort Avenue store was tiny with only five tables and a small bar.
“We were able to seat just 21 patrons,” Martínez told the Courier Journal, adding that they operated that way for about four years. Eventually, he and Peredo were able to open the Holiday Manor spot and expand the Frankfort Avenue store.
Con Huevos Craves in the Omni Louisville Hotel — which features a smaller menu — opened next, followed by the Hurstborne location in 2022. The Norton Commons store is the newest but is not going to be the last.
“We know that we still have room for one or two more locations (within the city),” Martínez said, and we are already looking into a couple of options. … We’re (also) going to start looking outside (of Louisville) — crossing the river, and potentially going to Lexington.”
Con Huevos launches new menu in February
In addition to working on an expansion, Martínez and Peredo recently released a new menu, bringing more variety and fun drinks to its offerings.
“We added (a lot) more healthy options,” Peredo said. “We have a lot of salads, and we added a very tasty power bowl (that has) a lot of protein (and) is low-carb.”
Other recent releases include avocado toast, classic French toast, and churro waffles. There’s also a typical southern dish served with a Con Huevos award-winning twist.
“Several years ago, we happened to be double-award winners of The Gravy Cup,” Martínez said, “and we never took advantage of that. Now, we (offer) biscuits and chipotle gravy, (and) it’s becoming one of our popular dishes.”
Guests can wash it all down with a drink or two from the revamped cocktail menu, which boasts new mimosas, margaritas, an Aperol spritz, and an espresso martini. There’s also a huevos rancheros bloody Mary.
“It’s a bloody Mary that uses (an ingredient from) our most popular dish — huevos rancheros salsa — as the bloody Mary mix,” Martínez explained.
Tres leches pancakes at Con Huevos among the best in the U.S.
Though I’ll be dropping by to try the bourbon dulce de leche French toast, it’s safe to say that the tres leches pancakes will always be a part of my standard order. After all, they’re some of the best in the U.S.
“Our pancakes are within the top 10 (in the country),” Martínez said.
This ranking comes from the 2018 Travel + Leisure piece, “These Are the 25 Best Places to Eat Pancakes in America.” Based on Yelp data that ranks restaurants with a large concentration of reviews mentioning “pancakes,” the article lists Con Huevos eighth. It is the only Kentucky eatery that made the cut.
Despite the pancakes’ popularity, it isn’t the most-ordered item on the menu.
“The most popular dish has always been Huevos Rancheros — by far,” Peredo said. The signature favorite features corn tortillas, two sunny-side-up eggs, refried black beans, avocado, queso fresco, avocado mousse, and salsa ranchera.
Limited-time offerings and catering options are coming to Con Huevos
“We are going to have specials for [the Kentucky] Derby,” Peredo said, adding that details will be released on its social media channels.
One limited-time offering is bourbon dulce de leche French toast, made with brioche bread, a special egg batter, and homemade dulce de leche infused with bourbon.
There are even a couple of drink specials, including a bourbon espresso martini, made with organic coffee espresso, bourbon, and Licor 43, a Spanish liquor. For those who want beverage options, the Triple Crown Flight de Mimosas includes the Mimosa Tradicional, the Guadalajara Morning, and a Lily mimosa.
Martínez and Peredo are also launching a new catering program to help streamline the current process. Guests have been calling stores directly with catering requests, but online ordering and set packages will make it easier to fulfill more orders.
“We officially have a menu for catering, and it’s going to be on our website,” Peredo said, “and people can order in advance.”
Try this secret ordering hack at Con Huevos
Peredo and Martínez point out that several of the savory dishes at Con Huevos automatically come with salsa verde or salsa roja, or indicate a choice of either/or. However, they suggest following Martínez’s lead and asking for both green and red salsas.
“He always asks for that,” Peredo exclaimed. “It’s not mentioned on the menu, but if you ask for both salsas, you are going to have the best … flavors.”
She added that the salsas — like everything else served at Con Huevos — are made from scratch, every day.
“We don’t even have a freezer here,” she said.
Martínez explained that every dish is prepared fresh and made to order at each location.
“We (aren’t) cooking everything in one place and (distributing it).”
He added that making everything from scratch is part of the Con Huevos philosophy; it’s how they started nine years ago, and it’s how they intend to continue operating, even as the business expands.
“That is what makes us different,” Peredo exclaimed.
Know a restaurant that would make a great feature? Email writer Lennie Omalza at aloha@lennieomalza.com or Lifestyle Editor Kathryn Gregory at kgregory@gannett.com.