A complex Puebla-rooted sauce of 20-plus ingredients including chiles anchos, mulatos, pasilla and chipotle, almonds, peanuts, sesame, raisins, cinnamon, cloves, anise, plantain and Mexican chocolate. Served over turkey or chicken.
Where to eat it: 4 restaurants across 1 city.
Mole poblano was created in the 17th century by the nuns of the Convento de Santa Rosa in Puebla, when Sor Andrea de la Asuncion is said to have invented the dish to honour the visiting Archbishop. The Puebla original recipe runs about 30 ingredients and takes a day to make. The dish migrated to Mexico City through the colonial era and is now the canonical Sunday lunch across the capital. Azul Historico, Nicos and Cafe de Tacuba run some of the city's most respected versions.
Common allergens: Tree nuts, Sesame
Tip from the editors. Make the mole the day before; it improves overnight. A traditional Mexican mole paste base from a Mexican deli is a respectable shortcut if the chile sourcing is hard.
This is the TableJourney editorial recipe, modelled on the canonical bistro / counter version. The first place to try the dish in its city of origin is below.
Azul Historico in Mexico City is chef Ricardo Munoz Zurita's Centro Historico courtyard kitchen at the Downtown Mexico hotel, the regional Mexican mole specialist with seats under the Indian laurel.
Signature: Mole negro, Cochinita pibil, Chiles en nogada
Order: Mole negro from Oaxaca; cochinita pibil tacos; an agua fresca de la temporada.
Tip: The open courtyard table closest to the fountain is the seat; brunch lasts till 17:00 weekends. Walk-ins land most weekdays.
Nicos in Mexico City is chef Gerardo Vazquez Lugo's family-run Azcapotzalco kitchen on Cuitlahuac, the slow-cook Mexican room ranked on the Latin America 50 Best list since 2014.
Order: The mole almendrado; the sopa seca de natas casserole.
Tip: Closed Sunday dinner and Monday; lunch is when the slow-cooked moles peak.
Cafe de Tacuba in Mexico City is the Mollinedo family's 1912 Centro Historico room on Tacuba, the 17th-century palace dining hall that runs every traditional Mexican breakfast format the capital invented.
Signature: Enchiladas de mole, Tamales, Chocolate caliente
Order: Enchiladas de mole verde; tamales served with frothy chocolate caliente.
Tip: Daily 08:00 to 23:00; the strolling student trio on Sunday afternoons is the move for the room's full character.
El Cardenal in Mexico City is the Briz family's 1969 Centro Historico room on Palma, the traditional Mexican breakfast institution where hot chocolate is frothed tableside with raw-milk nata.
Signature: Hot chocolate, Pan de nata, Chiles en nogada
Order: The hot chocolate with pan de nata; chiles en nogada when in season July to September.
Tip: Open 08:00 to 18:00; the Centro location seats four floors and still queues by 09:30 on Sunday morning.
More cities are in research. Want mole poblano covered somewhere specific? Tell us where you want to eat.