7 Best Restaurants in Centro Histórico, Mexico City

Housed in a magnificent 17th-century building, Al Andaluz makes some of the best Lebanese food in the capital and is a landmark for the Lebanese immigrant community that has been present here since the late 19th century. Its proximity to La Merced means that the numerous menu options—from classic spreads like hummus and baba ghanoush to delicate plates of raw kibbeh nayeh—are made with the freshest ingredients. If you don't want to choose, order the mesa libanesa, a mixed platter with everything from hummus and kebbeh to lamb shawarmas.

Housed on the mezzanine floor of the magnificent Casino Español, this restaurant is as classic as it gets: white tablecloths, coffered ceilings, formal service, and food straight out of the Iberian Peninsula, with a particular focus on dishes from the northern regions of Galicia, Asturias, and País Basco. The Casino was founded in 1863 as a club for Spanish immigrants to independent Mexico and relocated to its current, opulent home in 1905.

Specializing in coffee and desserts, El Callejón Café should be your stop for a quick bite on the north side of Centro Histórico. Grab a pizza in the afternoon and enjoy the scenery.

An institution known for its classic Mexican cooking, today El Cardenal has locations all over the city, but the branch to try is on Calle Palma, in a three-story building in the florid style of the late 19th century. Inside, the atmosphere (think beige walls and white tablecloths) and food are old school; the best time to come is breakfast, when trays of pan dulces make for a pleasant prelude to eggs or chilaquiles. Another location in the neighborhood can be found at Marconi 2.

When Los Girasoles ("the sunflowers") opened more than 30 years ago in Centro, it became the first in a wave of modern Mexican restaurants to take on a neighborhood dominated by century-old classics. Now it remains a good place to sip a cold beer and enjoy pre-Hispanic delicacies like escamoles (ant eggs), gusanos de maguey (agave worms), and chapulines (fried grasshoppers). Set in a restored colonial home, its front patio has the best view around of one of the city's most grandiose plazas, its edges lined by extravagant belle epoque giants.

Just a handful of blocks from the entrance to La Merced, Roldán 37 may well be Centro's most surprising restaurant. Set over two floors in a 200-year-old house, the restaurant, run by chef Rómulo Mendoza, is an elegant oasis of high ceilings, French doors, and lovingly prepared family recipes, some drawn from Mendoza's grandmother's handwritten cookbook, which he keeps out of sight but on the premises. If you find yourself overwhelmed by the pace and crowds on this side of Centro, Roldán 37 is the place to stop for a bite and a breather.

The restaurant attached to the culinary school at the Claustro Sor Juana is one of Centro's best-kept secrets and one of its few options for fine dining. The cooking here leans toward the traditional with well-executed moles and classic antojitos like corundas and gorditas, but the space, tucked inside the school's quiet campus, is old-world elegant and the service is impeccable.