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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.
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.
Although this cozy, discrete café is in Roma Norte, it's at the southern end of the less frenetic neighborhood, making it a nice option for a relaxed coffee break or a light snack. The artisan house-baked goods here are superb, from sourdough pizzas to flaky croissants and other French pastries.
After 70 years in a tiny alley of a shop deep in Centro's fabric district on Calle El Salvador, Lebanese grocer and baker Helu's moved to bigger, shinier digs on Mesones, where they serve tasty shawarma on homemade pan arabe and empanadas libanesas stuffed with spinach, cheese, or meat. There are also Lebanese groceries like labneh and tahini for sale, popular with members of the community coming through the neighborhood for work.
A friendly family with Italian and Mexican roots operates this tiny artisan bakery that's tucked inside a shop near Jardín Centenario and open only Thursday through Saturday, from mid-morning until they sell out (usually by 2 pm or so). You'll find crisp-but-chewy sundried-tomato-Parmesan and cranberry-walnut-fennel baguettes, flaky scones, soft and chewy amaretto and orange pastries, and lusciously gooey chocolate-banana cakes.
This cozy café is perfect for a pick-me-up from the well-curated list of artisan coffees and wines, all of them from highly respected producers found throughout Mexico. Just a couple of blocks from Jardín Centenario and Plaza Hidalgo, Kahwen is a happily chill space far from the crowds.
This unassuming spot beside a gas station near the border of Condesa and Roma has developed a loyal following for its hearty and affordable birrias (meat stews). The signature dish is the birriamen, basically a Mexican-Japanese fusion of flavor packed with tender pork carnitas, onions, cilantro, and spices, but other delicious options include quesabirria tacos oozing with melted cheese, and the restaurant's spin on chilaquiles, birraquiles.
This tiny pizzeria has more space on its sidewalk than its interior, which is mostly a kitchen that prepares thin-crust Argentine style pizzas, empanadas, and salads. The service is attentive and the prices are low. You’ll probably have to wait for a table, as there are very few, but the food and staff will make it worth it.
This cozy, well-established restaurant and wine bar is ideal for conversation and lingering over a light meal from the eclectic menu that shows Mexican, Spanish, and Italian influences. Try the wild mushrooms and goat cheese in pastry with brandy sauce, the steak tartare with curly french fries, and the cajeta crepes for dessert.
Part of the city's warm embrace and advocacy of Mesoamerican culinary traditions, this diminutive café with Mexican folk art on the walls specializes in dishes made with—as the name suggests—corn and chocolate. Tuck into a plate of blue-corn tamales with mildly spicy pork rib meat, eggs grilled with chiles in banana leaf, or cheese gorditas, washing everything down with corn atole or indigenous chocolate drinks (all of which are also available in the form of refreshing paletas, or popsicles).
About 55 vendors offering everything from elevated short-order street food to refined farm-to-tables victuals operate out of this trendy food hall with a popular artisan beer bar, the Biergarten, on the third-floor rooftop space, which is also home to a whiskey bar. The first floor features stalls and a patio seating area, and a smaller mezzanine offers still more options. Some of the most popular choices include paella, sushi, mezcal, boozy paletas, churros, and French crepes.
Strategically positioned a few blocks west of the U.S. embassy and close to the Japanese embassy, this spot is notable for its varied sushi and teppanyaki options. A fine Japanese chef and a cheerful mix of Japanese embassy workers and young Mexicans also make Mikado a real treat.
A darling nook ideal for cat lovers, couches and cushions make for comfortable seating in a small, quiet space. You might have to duck your head to get in, but it serves as an espresso, tea, and coffee shop as well as a gift shop for all things cat-related.
One of the first purely vegan options in the area, this hidden spot serves more South Asian fusion rather than the traditional Indian fare that's advertised. Still, it’s a great option for vegans, with very affordable prices, a lively color scheme featuring brightly painted peach and turquoise walls, and five white tables alongside the kitchen. The restaurant looks out onto Jardín Mascarones Park.
Throughout the day, Condesa's traditional Mexican ice-cream parlor—and its several other locations around the city—packs in kids and hipsters alike with its nieve (sorbet) flavors like maracuyá (passionfruit) and tuna (prickly pear cactus fruit) and its helado (ice cream) flavors, including rompope (eggnog) and macadamia. Popular since it opened in 1946, it's distinctly old-school, with teal vinyl chairs, white tables, and bright fluorescent lights, but the quality is first-rate. Roxy enjoys a friendly competition with another beloved ice-cream chain, Tepoznieves.
All of the delicious homemade ice cream at this popular, eco-conscious dessert spot is served in waffle cones or bowls with edible spoons---no plastics or inorganic materials are used here. There are always about a dozen flavors on hand, including seasonal specials like cempasúchil (marigold) and pineapple-basil as well as regular favorites like lemon pie and marzipan.
You'll know this tiny storefront by the cluster of people waiting patiently on the sidewalk for a full loaf or single serving of panque de nata, pound cake made in a style traditional to the nearby state of Queretaro. Pillowy, buttery, and sweet, a piece makes for a perfect snack while winding your way through the nearby Ciudadela and San Juan markets.
This diminutive, modern café turns out some of the finest Kyoto-sourced matcha green tea in the city as well as exceptional house-roasted coffee drinks, which are served in beautiful hand-thrown ceramic mugs. Have a seat on one of the little benches fashioned out of tree trunks or at one of the sidewalk tables ensconced within a landscaped wooden platform.
You'll recognize this bustling corner stall near the Mercado San Juan by the tangling garlands of chorizo hanging over its flat top. And while the taqueros here serve perfectly good tacos of many varieties, the reason you're here is the fragrant, herbal chorizo verde, or green chorizo, from the nearby city of Toluca, stained emerald with herbs and green chiles.
