5 Best Restaurants in Side Trips from Mexico City, Mexico

High ceilings, dangling wood beams, and distinctive light features hint at the marriage of traditional and contemporary approaches to Mexican cuisine at this stylish restaurant across from Museo Amparo. Creative takes on mole are a specialty, including sweetbreads with escamoles (ant larvae) and a white mole sauce, and 36-hour-braised short rib with an ancho chile adobo sauce, but you'll also find dried-beef tartare with jalapeño oil and blue-corn masa filled with black beans, pork shank, and cotija cheese. Save room for the inventive desserts. 

Set in a beautiful, open-air space with enchanting terraces, gardens, and views of Cholula's famous pyramid and church, which is just a block away, this is one of the town's most romantic destinations for any meal of the day---it's open from early in the morning until late (except for Sunday, when it closes at 6). The menu focuses mostly on modern interpretations of Mexican favorites like chiles en nogada (which can be prepared vegetarian on request) and chicken enchiladas bathed in a rich mole poblano, but some pastas and international dishes are served, too.

This unusual restaurant and organic farm in the lush Atongo Valley to the east of town produces artfully plated salads, such as fresh-made burrata with roasted beets, as well as heartier dishes like an earthy huitlacoche risotto with Parmesan, all made using ingredients grown on-site. Dining is in an open-air garden structure with an arched ceiling as well as at tables amid the flowers and plants, and the views of the surrounding mountains are breathtaking. The cocktails and desserts are also inspired by what's grown here—consider the chocolate brownie with pistachio, house-made chocolate sauce, and rosemary ice cream. A DJ spins music many evenings.

This stylish restaurant set on the rooftop terrace of the enchanting Hotel Boutique Pueblo Lindo offers not only some of the best views in town, but also delicious, beautifully presented modern Mexican dishes. Start the day with huevos rancheros, fresh seasonal fruit, and one of the decadent house-baked pastries; later in the day, try the grilled fish of the day with pureed potatoes and a mango salsa, or enchiladas with chicken and hibiscus flowers. Everything is prepared with care and using fresh, often seasonal ingredients. 

It should come as no surprise that one of the most celebrated and refined restaurants in the City of the Eternal Spring overlooks a lushly landscaped garden---the beautiful dining room is decorated with candlelit tables, arched ceilings, and well-curated artwork. The elegantly plated modern Mexican cuisine relies heavily on seasonal, locally sourced ingredients and might include a cream of avocado soup with cilantro and serrano chiles, filet mignon with a rich chipotle sauce and new potatoes, and grilled shrimp stuffed with crabmeat and served in a lemon-butter sauce.