6 Best Bars in Alameda Central, Mexico City

One of a handful of cantinas competing for the title of oldest in Mexico (it was founded over a century ago), Tío Pepe is about as atmospheric as it gets. A Tiffany-style stained glass window, a heavy wooden bar running the length of the room, swinging wooden doors, and unflattering fluorescent lights add up to make this the paradigmatic Mexico City cantina.

One of the relatively few terrace bars in the city, La Azotea ("The Rooftop") occupies a small space in the restored art deco building known as Barrio Alameda. Technically a restaurant serving sandwiches and grilled meat, La Azotea is a beautiful place for an afternoon beer (they have a good list of craft brews) with gorgeous views over the trees of the Alameda and the spire of the Torre Latino. It closes early at 10:30 pm.

One of the best, and certainly the most famous, of the city's remaining pulquerías, La Duelistas is most first-timers' bar of choice for sampling fermented agave sap. Always busy, Las Duelistas is a psychedelic trip of a place. Try a sampler of the day's curados (pulques flavored with pureed fruits and vegetables). Just keep in mind that it's cash-only.

An emblematic pulquería of the colonia Doctores, Hija de los Apaches is a perfect place for a prefight drink before wandering a block over to Arena México. Serving up mugs of fermented agave, flavored in house with pureed fruits and vegetables, Hija de los Apaches turns into a salsa club most evenings of the week. There's no doubt it's a lively, down-to-earth, singularly Mexico City kind of place.

This expansive rooftop bar at the edge of the Plaza de República combines elements of modernist chic, tiki bar greenery, and Mexican crafts in a way that, against all odds, works beautifully. Combine that with extraordinary views of the Monument of the Revolution and this makes for a great place to spend an afternoon or evening over beers (or something stronger).