Elevating Mexican traditions with the 'fonda fina' Bar Luz

Bar Luz offers an intimate and elevated expression of Mexico's traditional eateries with hand-pressed tortillas and dishes inspired by one chef's matriarchs.

Ivy Lerner-Frank

September 16, 2025- Read time: 9 min

Brennan and Lopez Luna built Alma, reinvented it through heritage corn and refined Mexican menus, launched the backyard pop-up Terraza Luz, and ultimately created Bar Luz—an intimate 20-seat fonda fina where tradition, modernity, and seasonal Mexican-Québécois cooking converge. | Photography by Alison Slattery / @twofoodphotographers

“At night, the light really shines,” says Lindsay Brennan as she surveys the interior of Bar Luz in Outremont, the newest project she and her husband, Chef Juan Lopez Luna, have created.

She’s talking about the glow from fixtures on the wall made of steel barrel-burnt clay plates designed by Atelier Fomenta and ceramicist Ema Leroque. But Brennan is really speaking in metaphors. The entire concept of Bar Luz is light—changing light and direction.

“For us and a lot of people, we’re trying to chase optimism and brightness right now—a contrast with the darkness we see,” says Brennan. “It’s something that’s even more pertinent and coherent as we try to navigate what’s happening in the world.”

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