23 Best Restaurants in Benito Juárez, Mexico City

This charming, European-style charcuterie is one of few in the city. With a couple of outdoor seats and a bar where you can watch all the action, sandwiches are served on fluffy or crunchy baguettes and feature smoked cheeses and sausages. The friendly service is immediate and knowledgeable. Enjoy your sandwich with a Mexican craft beer or glass of wine.

Lebanese cuisine has a long history in Mexico thanks to an immigration wave in the early 20th century, and this spot is one of the city's best. The small, casual sidewalk restaurant in the lovely, leafy neighborhood of Narvarte Poniente has just a few items on the menu, but they’re done very well.

Everyone from postclubbing revelers to early morning workers to ardent foodies (the late Anthony Bourdain was a big fan) wait in line for a chance to feast on the hearty guisados served in this legendary breakfast joint. Come with a big appetite, and try a few specialties, such as refritos huevos (eggs whipped with refried beans), chilaquiles with salsa verde, and eggs stewed with longaniza sausage. Many of the best dishes sell out well before Fonda Margarita closes at 11:30 am, and there's usually a line by 8, so try to get here early.

Quick and reliably good, Las Tlayudas is a small sidewalk eatery specializing in Oaxacan cuisine. Come here for the tlayudas, of course—massive tortillas covered with beans, cheese, and meat. And don't miss a glass of mezcal or botana Oaxaqueña to wash down some chapulines (grasshoppers).

One of the best vegan eateries in the city, Mictlán prepares traditional Mexican meals without meat or cheese, and without depending too heavily on non-Mexican food products such as tofu or seitan. Everything sold here is Mexican in origin, with a special focus on ancestral cuisine and sauces.

As its name would suggest (it translates to "black soul"), you'll find lots of brooding music and black attire here. With two locations in Benito Juárez, the Narvarte Poniente spot was the first and is still the coziest, with just a small coffee counter and a few benches outside to sit along Avenida Universidad. Surrounded by hardware stores, it’s an interesting spot to take in the sights and sounds of the neighborhood. 

Revolving slowly on the 45th floor of the World Trade Center, Bellini maintains a formal, reserved character. While it's definitely known less for its food than the views (romantically twinkling city lights at night and a pair of volcanoes on a clear day), it's still worth the dining experience, especially for its beloved osso buco and French onion soup. Despite the name, most dishes here aren't Italian but rather Mexican and international, with lobster as the specialty. Colonia Nápoles is a lovely residential neighborhood south of La Condesa and La Roma, and across Insurgentes Avenue from Del Valle Centro.

Sitting on a quiet corner on a residential street, Branca Parilla is stunning both inside and out. It's snazzy enough to dress up a bit, but casual enough not to worry about it if you’re not. The bar is stacked and the waiters are knowledgeable.

With its quirky setting inside a large industrial building that also houses an auto repair shop, this Colonia Narvarte Poniente hot spot was featured on Netflix's Tacos Chronicles and is a serious contender in the city's crowded battle for al pastor primacy. Overflowing with happy eaters into the wee hours of the night, as late as 5 am on Friday and Saturday, Vilsito serves pastor tacos with or without cheese along with a good variety of the usual suspects (tacos choriqueso, tortas Cubanas). 

The glowing reputation of this long-standing Polish restaurant shone even brighter after people got word that the establishment had served Pope John Paul II on several of his visits to Mexico City; the generous Degustación del Papa (Pope's Menu) includes small portions of various entrées served to the pope. Its best days might be behind it, but it's an interesting slice of the city's diverse culinary history, and still a source for terrific duck dishes.

While you wouldn’t want to push gringo cuisine on anyone visiting Mexico, Pinche Gringo BBQ has created a little barbecue sanctuary for itself, with live music and football on the television screens. Serving Texas-style brisket at Texas prices, it has a small but loyal following of patrons who enjoy food it's hard to find elsewhere in CDMX.

Facing Parque Hundido with a view of nothing but trees (okay, and some parked cars and an EcoBici stand), Village Café is a great place to unwind and take in a bit of tranquillity in one of the busier parts of the city. Massive windows open to the sidewalk, where diners take their time on sandwiches, coffees, and pastries. An antique magazine stand occupies the center of the café, providing ample reading material. The dark, green tub chairs are inviting, as is the shaded atmosphere.