213 Best Restaurants in Mexico City, Mexico

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.

This rambling, seemingly always-packed restaurant is one of the city's pioneers in genuinely sophisticated, authentic modern Asian (mostly Japanese) cuisine. The food, which is artfully presented in small plates, bowls, and bamboo steamers, spans Thailand, Japan, and China, with highlights being several varieties of ramen, shimp pad thai, hamachi sashimi, sushi rolls, and Chinese sausage.

A must-visit for fans of traditional Mexican cuisine who think they've tasted it all, this barely adorned, simply elegant restaurant in a pleasant workaday neighborhood—a 20-minute Uber ride from Polanco—is the domain of chef Gerardo Vázquez Lugo (whose parents opened Nicos in 1957), a stickler for ingredients sourced from small producers and dishes that can seem nuevo but are all rooted in history. The sopa seca de natas—several crepes layered with cream, tomato, and poblano chiles—is a 19th-century recipe from a convent in Guadalajara, and the octopus stewed in its ink with pecans, almonds, and pine nuts is a generations-old recipe from Veracruz. 

One of the tiniest yet most beautifully designed restaurants in Roma, this strangely wonderful bistro serves boldly flavored contemporary Mexican cuisine from a short, always-changing menu created by an alum of Pujol and El Bulli. Options might include a tostada topped with smoked leeks, recado negro (a charred Yucatecan chile paste) and avocado mousse, or an infladita (a fried, puffed tortilla) filled with crabmeat and corn and topped with a puree of spring peas and mint. It's a good idea to reserve a few days ahead. 

Named after a wild green herb often found in milpas, a Mesoamerican crop-growing system, Quintonil was opened in 2012 by chef-owner Jorge Vallejo. Today, Vallejo eschews fussiness to let the local ingredients shine: smoked trout from nearby Zitácuaro or a salad of greens and herbs from the floating gardens of Xochimilco. The discreet, refined restaurant is locally focused all the way up to the rooftop garden.

An immediate success since it opened on a quiet side street in Colonia Cuauhtémoc, tiny Rokai is perhaps the most authentic Japanese restaurant in a city where cream cheese, chipotle mayo, and bottled hot sauce adorn many a sushi roll. Japanese chefs Hiroshi Kawahito and Daisuke Maeda use immaculately fresh fish brought in daily from Mexico's various coasts, primarily Baja California and Oaxaca, and turn it into sushi and sashimi, as well as cooked dishes. There's also a ramen restaurant next door, bearing the same name and ownership.

Regarded as one of the best female chefs in the world, Elena Reygadas worked for years at London's Michelin-starred Italian restaurant Locando Locatelli before moving back to her hometown to open Rosetta in a stunning early 1900s belle epoque mansion. Despite the perfect risottos and handmade pastas in varying shapes, what her cuisine primarily takes from Italy is reliance on local and seasonal ingredients (the olive oil is from Baja California, the burrata cheese made in the town of Atlixco)—but much of the food has a creative Mexican heart. Breads both sweet and savory are baked in-house, and sold from Panadería Rosetta bakery, which has two locations nearby.

At Siembra Comedor, the diverse dishes are elevated and delectable, with both the decor and the menu heavily centering around corn. Whether you choose tacos, octopus, or a rib eye, your meal won't disappoint. A few doors down from the restaurant is Siembra Taqueria (Newton 256), a good spot for a quick bite if your time is more limited.

Celebrated chef Edgar Nunez has developed a thoroughly ambitious approach to contemporary cuisine that uses both Mexican and international ingredients—consider seared tuna with jocoque, fennel, smoked grapefruit, and citrus butter, or sea scallops with coconut, purple onions, and rice vinegar. The gently modern space (a 10-minute drive south of San Ángel) merges indoors with outdoors and is one of the sexiest spots in town. The desserts are always fabulous.

Although its name is barely visible on the sun-faded awnings, this neighborhood taquería is busy on most nights. It’s a true local’s spot and its bright lights are visible from the street; you’ll know it from the number of people mostly patiently waiting to place their orders (food is available to go as well).

This simple, tiny taqueria is a favorite standby for tacos guisados, a completely addictive style with stewed and richly seasoned braised meats like higado (beef liver topped with avocado), chicken mole, and a tuna-sardine blend. Hola stands out from the pack for its variety of vegetarian and vegan options, including squash, Swiss chard, nopales, and quelites, a distinctive Mexican herb that's commonly used in soups and stews.

If you watched the addictively tantalizing Netflix food show Taco Chronicles, you may have witnessed the scenes of al pastor deliciousness filmed in this humble but beloved taqueria on Calle Lorenzo Boturini, which is actually lined with great eats, including a few others featured on the program (such as Taquería la Autentica and El Buen Taco). In this no-frills spot that's open until at least 1 am nightly (it doesn't open, however, until around 4 pm), you'll of course want to sample the al pastor tacos, but you'll find dozens of other kinds, plus fantastic birria. This strip of taquerias is about 5 km (3 miles) east of Roma.

There are few more satisfying experiences after a night of dancing and drinking than devouring a plate of tacos at this taqueria with a spacious dining room on Avenida Álvaro Obregón. Fillings include trompo (al pastor), chicharrón with spicy house-made salsa, and beef; a side of the crunchy fried papas orinoco potatoes is a must. Orinoco is open until at least 3:30 am most nights and until 5 am on weekends, and there can sometimes be a long wait for a table. There are a few other locations throughout the city, including the original location on the border between Roma and Condesa.

One of the hottest restaurants in the city, this spot serves gourmet touches on Mexican classics with playful inventiveness and traditional ingredients. The base of all plates here, most of which are vegetarian, is mushrooms; even the drinks and the desserts have a fungi element to them. The cuisine is experimental, yet familiar, as mushrooms have an ancient culinary history in Mexico. 

Adjacent to a gorgeous 1947 Luis Barragán–designed house (Casa Pedegral), this dramatic space with plexiglass floors that reveal a volcanic-rock landscape beneath is a favorite destination of both foodies and architecture aficionados. The kitchen turns out fancy, organic fare from early morning until late at night, like gently scrambled eggs with escamoles (ant larvae) and salsa verde for breakfast, and artisan pizza or roasted octopus with squid ink, caramelized onions, and a pineapple puree at dinner. This is a great spot for lounging, with a bi-level library stocked with art and architecture books and a beautifully curated art and clothing boutique. Tours of Casa Pedegral can be arranged by appointment. If you're a fan of Barragán architecture, take a stroll around the neighborhood, especially along Avendia de los Fuentes, before or after your meal. You'll pass by a number of Barragán-designed or -influenced homes, mostly hidden behind walls, but these concrete-volcanic rock structures are interesting even just to look at.