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Mexico City has been a culinary capital ever since the time of Moctezuma. Chronicles tell of the extravagant banquets prepared for the Aztec emperor with more than 300 different dishes served. Today's Mexico City is a gastronomic melting pot, with some 15,000 restaurants. You'll find everything from taco stands on the streets to simple, family-style eateries and elite restaurants. The number and range of international restaurants is growing and diversifying, particularly in middle- and upper-class neighborhoods like Polanco, San Angel, La Condesa, La Roma, Lomas de Chapultepec, and Del Valle. Argentine, Spanish, and Italian are the most dominant international cuisines; however, you'll also find a fair share of Japanese, Korean, Arabic, and French restaurants. Mexico City restaurants generally open 7–11 am for breakfast (el desayuno) and 1–6 for lunch (la comida)—although it's rare for Mexicans to eat lunch before 2, and you're likely to feel lonely if you arrive at a popular restaurant before then. Lunch is an institution in this country, often lasting two or more hours, and until nightfall on Sunday. Consequently, the evening meal (la cena) may often be really light, consisting of sweet bread and coffee, traditional tamales, and atole (a hot beverage made from corn and masa and sometimes chocolate) at home, or tacos and appetizers in a restaurant.
If having dinner, most locals start out at 9 pm; restaurants serving dinner stay open at least until 11 pm during the week, and later on weekends. Many restaurants are only open for lunch, especially on Sunday. At deluxe restaurants dress is generally formal (jacket at least), and reservations are recommended; see reviews for details. If you're short on time, you can always head to American-style coffee shops or recognizable fast-food chains all over the city that serve the tired but reliable fare of burgers, fried chicken, and pizza. If it's local flavor you're after, go with tacos or the Mexico City fast-food staple, the torta (a giant sandwich stacked with the ingredients of your choice for about $3). Eating on the street is part of the daily experience for those on the go, and surprising as it may seem, many people argue that it's some of the best food in the city. Still, stick to crowded stands to avoid a stomach illness.
Also cheap and less of a bacterial hazard are the popular fondas (small restaurants). At lunchtime fondas are always packed, as they serve a reasonably priced four-course meal, known as the comida corrida, which typically includes soup of the day, rice or pasta, an entrée, and dessert. There are few vegetarian restaurants, but you'll have no trouble finding nonmeat dishes wherever you grab a bite. Vegetarians and vegans, however, will have a more difficult time, as many dishes are often prepared using lard.
Colonia Polanco, the upscale neighborhood on the edge of the Bosque de Chapultepec, has some of the best and most expensive dining (and lodging) in the city. Zona Rosa restaurants often fill up with tourists, so don't expect to be sitting with the locals here. The Condesa and Roma neighborhoods buzz with a younger crowd all week.
Inside the Hotel Presidente InterContinental, you'll find elevated traditional Mexican ingredients like huitlacoche, a type of fungus that grows on corn, and chapulines, or grasshoppers. If you visit for breakfast, order the blue corn chilaquiles for a nourishing start to the day.
Chilaquiles are by far the top draw at this friendly brunch spot a block from Avenida Amsterdam; it also offers up a nice selection of other all-day dishes, from fruit-yogurt bowls and avocado toast with eggs and goat cheese to molletes topped with butter, beans, Oaxacan and manchego cheeses, and pico de gallo. The chilaquiles are build-your-own: you choose your sauce (chipotle, habanero, and more), protein (eggs, chicken breast, cecina steak, vegan chorizo), and other ingredients (anything from asparagus to panela cheese)---with enough toppings, this can be a dish to last you the entire day.
For a refreshing caffeine pick-me-up in the southern reaches of Condesa, pop into this cute and cozy third-wave espresso bar that serves delicious breakfasts and sandwiches, too. Students and freelancers work away on their laptops in the triangular white-brick interior space, while you're more likely to spy friends gabbing at the sidewalk tables. There are a couple of additional locations around town.
Depending on when you visit, this hip hangout can serve as a cheerful breakfast nook for chia pudding and egg sandwiches, an afternoon coffee or teahouse with light salads and a delicious smoked-eggplant-harissa dip, or an evening lounge with craft cocktails and well-curated (though pricey) wines. Whatever the time of day, there's almost always a crowd that tends toward the fashionable, artsy side. The vibe is a bit self-important, but it's a reliably nice space with good food and drink options.
A local chain, this location of City Café is the perfect place to grab breakfast, lunch, or a quick snack in Bosque de Chapultepec. It's located in Section 2 close to Lago Mayor and offers a menu filled with healthy choices.
In a creaky old house that practically backs up to Museo Frida Kahlo, this unpretentious restaurant with friendly servers and reasonable prices serves well-crafted, authentic Yucatecan cuisine, including classics like rich and flavorful papadzules (tortillas stuffed with hard-boiled eggs and smothered in a pumpkin seed-tomato sauce) and tender cochinita pibil. Be sure to start with a cup of sopa de lima (a soup of shredded chicken, tortillas, and lime), and perhaps an order of panuchos (fried tortillas stuffed with beans and topped with different meats and sauces). Note that this is the restaurant's second location, having opened here in 2021; the original, in Del Valle, has been going strong since 1982.
A stylish bi-level bistro and mezcal bar with a prime views across Jardín Centenario, Corazón de Maguey is a pleasing setting for artfully presented regional Mexican fare and creative cocktails. You could easily put together a meal of several starters—the guacamole with chapulines and a sampler of five moles with tortillas among them—or opt for one of the substantial main dishes, such as Acapulco-style seared octopus with fried plantains, jicama, and pineapple, or tender Oaxacan tlayudas with arrachera (a grilled, thin steak) marinated in a guajillo chile sauce.
A cheerful bakery-café near San Miguel Chapultepec's art galleries, Deli Lou serves crusty-baguette sandwiches with distinctive toppings (turkey with olives, goat cheese, Camembert, jamón serrano, and the like), plus freshly baked cakes, brownies, and cookies. There's also a small selection of jams, wines, artisanal juices and teas, and other gourmet goodies, plus a variety of espresso drinks.
This gourmet market, artisan bakery, and sidewalk café with a prime location on Álvaro Obregón is a top destination for any meal, but especially breakfast and brunch, when you might try French toast with whipped cream and fresh fruit or Greek-style baked eggs with jocoque, olives, tomato sauce, and grilled pita. The rest of the day, the eclectic but slightly Mediterranean-leaning menu features tortas and toasts (like the one with smoked trout, pickled beets, and capers) as well as lasagna, lamb moussaka, and other heartier dishes. The market also carries fresh baked breads, wines, cheeses, jams, salsas, olive oil, and other goodies. There are a couple of additional locations in Roma Norte, including a Colima branch that's mostly a take-out market.
You'll find this cozy but warmly lit coffeehouse immediately on your left as you enter trendy Mercado del Carmen—it's separate from the main food hall and thus a bit more intimate and peaceful. The menu features an extensive list of espresso and tea drinks, breakfast and lunch fare (from chilaquiles to sandwiches), and pies, cakes, and other sweets.
This dapper all-day café with white-brick walls, colorful peltre dishware, and fresh flowers on every table is in a semi-residential section of Coyoacán, well-removed from the crowds and an easy stroll from Museo Frida Kahlo. The owner uses organic coffees and, as much as possible, locally sourced ingredients in the European-influenced Mexican fare, which includes superb chilaquiles (order them with both the green and red sauces), panfried potatoes with paprika and chipotle aioli, and ham-gruyere croissant sandwiches. If you're having trouble finding a seat, there's a smaller location (it's actually the original) around the corner.
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.
This intimate but elegant (for the neighborhood) diner has small tables in a quiet space with a reclaimed feel and appropriately minimalist decor. With juicy burgers, salmon carpaccio, and crunchy thin-crust pizza, the menu caters to a wide audience. The space gets busier with an artistic crowd throughout the day, some staying a while to sip wine and coffee. With a variety of tapas-style snacks, mouthwatering burgers, and their own craft beer brand, it makes for a relaxed afternoon or evening stop.
Although a Uruguayan owns this fashionable eatery on Coyoacán's lively Jardín Centenario, the menu will be familiar to fans of Argentine cuisine: the superb provoleta (grilled provolone cheese with oregano), for example, and the stellar steaks. Uruguay's Italian heritage appears on the menu as well, with good pizzas and gnocchi with a creamy gorgonzola sauce. Breakfast is served on weekends.
A neighborhood favorite since 1962, this spacious taqueria with a striking black awning and red-and-white color scheme offers up hefty platters of delicious tacos and other classics. Try the costras crujientes, in which the meat is wrapped in fried cheese before being wrapped in a tortilla, or any of the alambres al carbón with bacon, onions, chile poblano, and any number of fillings.
General consensus says that this miniscule taco stand on the border between the Plaza San Juan and Chinatown serves the best al pastor in Centro, and has been doing so since 1959. There are now three branches around the neighborhood, and several more scattered around town, but the original remains the best by far.
Open since 1955, Café Bagdad occupies a long narrow room in an 18th-century house on the Plaza de la Aguilita, one of several plazas in Centro's rundown and hectic but charming eastern side. Coffee beans are toasted and ground on-site and simple but hearty comida corrida (all-inclusive meals that include soup of the day, rice, beans, tortillas, and fruit juice) comes at an affordable MP80.
The flavorful Lebanese cuisine—including baked eggs, raw kibbeh, falafel, grilled kofta, dolmas, and cucumber salad—at this charming restaurant with amiable servers is perfect for filling up before or after a stroll or run in nearby Viveros park. If you're not sure what to order, the best approach is the extensive sampler platter, or dine here on the weekend, when there's a huge buffet offering. Many items are available to go, including jocoque, baba ghanoush, dolmas, and all of the sweets.
Emilio is a popular all-day eatery in Polanquito, combining Italian, Mexican, and Spanish influences. The sidewalk seating is matched with a casual menu of imaginative shared plates and cocktails (try the tacos de pato confitado) while a classic European menu is served on the pleasant terrace upstairs.
From morning through early evening, this casual, contemporary café that opens to a quiet, tree-lined street near Parque España welcomes a mix of regulars and tourists with bountiful plates of Mexican and international breakfast dishes, soups, salads, and sandwiches. The menu tends toward healthy and fresh, with mango-granola bowls, toasted ham-and-gruyere brioche sandwiches, green juices, and fine teas and lattes.
World-famous Pujol mastermind Enrique Olvera is the talent behind Eno, a smart-casual bakery and café on a lively Roma Norte street corner (there's another location in Polanco). The airy brick-ceilinged spot with a handful of sidewalk tables is great for a light meal, dessert, coffee, or atole (a warm Mesoamerican corn drink) from early morning until late at night, with breakfast especially popular. Try the cochinita pibíl or hongos (mushrooms) rancheros in the morning, or a turkey–cheese torte later in the day.
This charming colonial-era café is open to the street, with regulars, families, and digital nomads regularly making appearances. It’s bustling, maybe a bit too bustling for some folks to focus on work, but the price-to-quality ratio is impressive, as is its selection of Mexican-style hot chocolate, which range from spicy to sweet to bitter. Whether you're looking for molletes, chilaquiles, or pan dulce, this place has it all, served quick and delicious.
Part bakery, part restaurant, you won't be disappointed whether you stop here for a quicker bite or a full sit-down for dinner. The star of the show is the roulette, a round, flaky pastry reminiscent of a croissant and served plain or with savory or sweet toppings and fillings.
Although there's a small indoor dining room, the big draw here is the expansive patio with a retractable glass roof, tall ivy-covered walls, and tables of varying sizes. It's a great place to relax or work on your laptop for a few hours, and there are enough tasty pressed-sandwich (try the Croque Madame), salad, and soup options to make a meal of it. Later in the day, the drinks of choice shift from espresso-related to beer, wine, and cocktails.
Established in 1976 by owners whose grandparents emigrated from Lebanon to Mexico in 1930, this casual spot with red tiles and hammered-tin light fixtures serves some of the most authentic and flavorful Middle Eastern food in the city. A rewarding way to approach a feast here is to share a variety of smaller and larger plates—kibbeh, jocoque, baba ghanoush, fattoush, shawarma, and alambre-style grilled shrimp among them.
