11 Best Restaurants in Roma, Mexico City

This old-time cantina a block from the eastern edge of Roma opened in 1950 and continues to attract crowds of both locals and tourists-in-the-know. There's nothing fancy about the brightly lit dining room, but the authentic Spanish food is up there with the best in the city and includes slow-cooked octopus, chorizo with cabrales cheese, Spanish omelets with asparagus, and chamorro (a fall-off-the-bone pork shank braised in a heady achiote sauce).

Come before 1 pm or make an online reservation to avoid the long wait at this airy seafood haven, a power-lunch spot for the creative and celebrity sets since it opened in 1998 (there's often less of a wait for the casual outside tables). While the people-watching is prime, your attention will be on the food: start with the famed tuna tartare tostadas, then try some fish cooked al pastor or a bowl of clam chowder, minced soft-shell crab or octopus tacos, or the huge butterflied pescado Contramar with red chile. Be sure to save room for dessert, too (the banana pie is memorable). And there are few better places to enjoy the Mexican tradition of sobremesa, lingering over drinks and conversation after a meal.

Partly founded by Quinonil's celebrity chef Jorge Vallejo, Fonda Fina serves modernly interpreted Mexican classics, such as raw tuna tostadas with citrus oil and a gaujillo-chile vinaigrette or a casserole of beef cheeks braised in a green mole sauce with smoked cauliflower. One popular way to choose your meal here is to mix and match your protein (rib-eye, octopus, and pork among them) with any of several vegetable garnishes and about 10 salsa options—the servers are happy to recommend tasty pairings. The creative cocktails are excellent, too.

Fans of Thai food who are frustrated by the lack of options in the capital can flock to this stellar restaurant set inside a dramatic, spacious 19th-century mansion. The artfully prepared dishes here can hold their own with any you'll find in North America—it's best to share a few dishes, such as duck in a red curry of pineapple, eggplant, and lychee; a southern-style pad Thai with soft-shell crab, tamarind sauce, and coconut milk; and the dessert of fried bananas with house-made chrysanthemum ice cream.

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.

Savor deftly crafted modern Japanese fare—yakitori skewers, oden and ramen bowls, tempura, udon noodle, raw shellfish, and sushi and sashimi—in this inviting, contemporary space with a variety of seating options, including private tatami rooms. The menu stand-outs are many, including a serrano-wagyu beef roll and shrimp mapo tofu. There's an impressive selection of cocktails, wines, and artisan beers to match the food.

The creative cuisine served in this chic restaurant with sidewalk tables overlooking pretty Plaza Río de Janeiro is inspired by the time the chef-owners spent in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. Typical fare from the regularly changing menu includes wild boar sausage with pickled blackberries or clams steamed with white wine, panceta, spring peas, and parsley. The sister restaurant next door, Cafe Trucha, serves lighter fare throughout the day. 

You'll find one of Roma's prettiest dining rooms—with high brick walls and lush greenery set around a two-story interior courtyard with plenty of natural sunlight—in this moderately upscale and somewhat unassuming restaurant that turns out excellent globally influenced bistro fare. Consider the Vietnamese shrimp dumplings in a fragrant soy-shiitake sauce or tuna tartare tostadas to start, before choosing among the soft-shell-crab tacos, grilled Pacific snapper, or rabbit carnitas among the mains. There's a very nice cocktail and wine list, too.

In this intimate pizza place, you'll find a generous selection of excellent thin-crust pizzas and handmade pastas, plus a good variety of cocktails and wines. The pizzas come with red or white bases, with the truffle oil, gorgonzola, and wild-mushroom pie being a favorite among the latter, and the pie with Brie, mozzarella, pepperoni, and cherry tomatoes standing out among the "rosso" pies. You'll find a few other locations around town.

This uberhip osteria with a cool arched dining room overlooking Plaza Río de Janeiro is justly famous for the fresh handmade pastas of internationally renowned chef Marco Carboni—think gnocchi with a 12-hour ragu of beek cheek, lamb, sausage, and pork leg, or tagliolini tossed with lobster, lemon, tarragon butter, and fish roe. Portions are a bit small, so consider ordering a side or two of the marvelous Creole tomatoes with burrata, pesto, and preserved lemon. The owners also operate intimate Bottega Sartoria across the street, which is a good place to enjoy a glass of wine or a light bite, as well as the snazzy little coffeehouse Buna, which adjoins the main restaurant.