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Condesa, Roma, Centro Histórico, Coyoacán, and Polanco stand out as Mexico City's hippest neighborhoods. If you're looking to do some barhopping and want to foot it, you can do so in La Condesa. The Zona Rosa has lost ground to Condesa, Roma, and Polanco in the past few years, but it's still packed on Friday and Saturday nights, and everything is within walking distance. Niza, Florencia, Londres, and Hamburgo streets are teeming with bars and discos.
Night is the key word. People generally take in dinner and a show at 9 or 10 pm, head to bars or nightclubs at midnight, then find a spot for a nightcap or tacos somewhere around 3 am. (Cantinas are the exception; people start hitting them in the late afternoon and most close by 11 pm.)
You should have no trouble getting around on your own Always take official hotel taxis, sitio (stationed) taxis, or use the safe taxi apps Yaxi or Uber; it can be expensive to barhop this way, but your safety is worth the cost.
The glow of flickering candles welcomes visitors to this swish Parisian-style bar that presents live jazz and blues bands several days a week, along with a menu of designer pizzas, Mediterranean tapas, wine, and cocktails. It's a popular spot on weekends, and reservations are recommended if you want a table. Around the corner, sister restaurant Franca Bistro serves a more extensive food menu and has a similarly classy but laid-back air about it.
At this welcoming, lively Cuban joint set in a grand but faded mansion that wouldn't look the least out of place in Havana, every surface is splashed with graffiti. Inspired by the original Havana establishment where Hemingway once lapped up mojitos, La Bodeguita also serves inexpensive Cuban food and sells Cuban cigars. Much of the time, live salsa, timba, and rumba bands provide entertainment.
Set in the vault of an art deco bank in the heart of Centro, the capital's coolest jazz joint hosts local and international acts. The intimate setting and enthusiastic audiences seem to bring out the best in performers. It's open Wednesday through Saturday, and offers a small menu of international dishes.
A classic cantina in the colonia Tabacalera, 5 Caudillos serves up botanas (snacks) that rotate through weekly specials, with options like chamorro (roasted pork shank) and solomillo (pork loin) drawing crowds on Thursday. Musicians play daily after 4 pm.
In the early 2000s, this became one of the first bars to draw hip crowds from other parts of town to Centro. Since then, things have calmed down, but the bar remains a pleasant spot for an afternoon beer and a lively spot for live music, which might range from salsa to hip-hop to cumbia, on weekend nights after 9 pm. For a complete listing of upcoming events, visit their Facebook page.
Juan Hernández opened Salón Tenampa in 1925, and was the first to introduce mariachi, originally a folk music of his home state of Jalisco, to Plaza Garibaldi. Now Plaza Garibaldi is the place to hear (and hire) not only mariachis, but also groups playing regional music styles from around Mexico. Spend the night under Salón Tenampa's historic brick arches sipping on tequila and hiring the mariachis by the song (prepare, if you can, to sing along).
A moody subterranean jazz bar tucked into the basement of an art deco building straight out of Gotham, Zinco is as chic a place to pass a night as Centro has to offer. Keep an eye on their website for up-to-date performances of some of the city's best musicians.
