4 Best Restaurants in Roma, Mexico City

Occupying the intimate, refined space that was the original location of renowned Máximo Bistrot, this romantic farm-to-table restaurant is the brainchild of celebrated chef Lucho Martínez, an alum of both Máximo and Quintonil. Em's exciting menu varies according to the chef's inspiration and the season's bounty, but you might start with steak tartare with black truffles and a pain perdue brioche before graduating to braised short ribs with a rich peanut-based mole sauce or a fragrant, earthy porcini mushroom risotto.

You can opt for either of the two distinct experiences in this stylish Calle Colima restaurant: dining in the early 20th-century town house that overlooks the busy street below or sitting in the much more casual and social covered outdoor section with a green living wall. The menu changes seasonally but might feature crab tostadas with grapefruit, ginger, and arugula or fillet of beef with pureed potatoes and a soy-caramel emulsion. The cocktails here are first-rate, too.

The mid-century-modern design of this fashionable, trendy, and yet somehow still unpretentious restaurant feels distinct from its grandiose Porfirian neighbors, and so does the seasonally inspired small-plate-focused cuisine, which is heavy on fresh vegetables, hand-made pastas, and seafood. A foie gras terrine is served with a zesty apple-shiso-rhubarb-port sauce, while tender, slow-roasted lamb is served with crushed falafel, braised eggplant, labneh, fried pistachios, and a green zhug sauce. For the price, this is some of the most complexly flavored, beautifully presented food in the city. If there's a wait, enjoy a cocktail in the little downstairs bar.

The walls are decked with cartoon figures and bursts of color at this lively space that differs from its more sophisticated and spendier night-time sister restaurant, Máximo Bistrot. Come in the morning to feast on smoked-salmon bagels with poached eggs, acai bowls with seasonal fruit, and croque monsieur sandwiches, while afternoons are the time for gourmet pizzas, pastas, ceviche, roasted chicken, and other satisfying fare. There's an extensive menu of craft beers, too.