Tacos al pastor on every corner, two-Michelin-star tasting rooms, mezcal till 2am.
Free cancellation on most tours, with live prices on the partner's site.
Mexico City eats like a 22 million person capital that runs on tacos al pastor (a Lebanese-Mexican invention from the 1930s-1960s), two-Michelin-star Mexican tasting menus, and a mezcal tradition that fills Bosforo and La Clandestina past midnight. The center of gravity runs across four neighbourhoods: Centro Historico carries the colonial cantinas (La Opera since 1895, Cafe de Tacuba since 1912, Salon Tenampa on Plaza Garibaldi since 1925), Roma Norte and Condesa hold the chef-driven middle (Contramar, Maximo Bistrot, Rosetta, Em, Meroma, Lardo), Polanco is the fine-dining spine (Pujol, Quintonil, Sud 777 in nearby Pedregal), and Coyoacan plus San Angel run the slow Saturday morning agenda. The signature taco al pastor cart culture peaks at El Huequito downtown, El Tizoncito and El Califa in Condesa, El Vilsito in Narvarte (mechanic shop by day, taqueria by night), Los Cocuyos on Bolivar (open till early morning), and the trompo of Tacos El Califa de Leon (one Michelin star, 2024).
Guided tour · 4 hours
A mouthwatering walk of contemporary Mexican food. Taste the flavors that the chefs have created at some of Colonia Roma’s best specialty restaurants, sharing their st...
Guided tour · 5 hours
Eat and walk through Downtown Mexico City, tasting the best traditional Mexican food whilst discovering foodie secret gems.
6 hours
Pioneers of Mexico City's original market tour & cooking experience. Professional chefs, authentic recipes, small groups, and the hospitality that makes Casa Jacaranda...
The plates that define eating in Mexico City.
Adobo-marinated pork shaved off a vertical trompo, served on a small corn tortilla with a sliver of pineapple, raw onion, fresh cilantro and a wedge of lime.
Where El Huequito, El Tizoncito, El Vilsito, Tacos El Califa de Leon, El Califa Condesa
Where to eat Tacos al pastor in Mexico City →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.
Where Azul Historico, Nicos, Cafe de Tacuba, El Cardenal
Where to eat Mole poblano in Mexico City →A roasted poblano chile stuffed with picadillo of pork, beef, apple, pear, peach, almonds and raisins, topped with a creamy walnut sauce and pomegranate seeds. The green, white and red colors echo the Mexican flag.
Where El Cardenal, Azul Historico, San Angel Inn, Nicos
Where to eat Chiles en nogada in Mexico City →Steamed corn masa parcels wrapped in corn husk or banana leaf, filled with chicken in mole, pork in red or green salsa, rajas con queso or sweet versions with strawberry. Eaten with atole for breakfast.
Where Tamales Dona Emi, El Cardenal, Cafe de Tacuba, Azul Historico
Where to eat Tamales in Mexico City →A hominy-corn soup with pork or chicken, garnished at the table with shredded lettuce or cabbage, sliced radish, lime, dried oregano, ground chile and crisp tostadas. Comes in white, red and green varieties.
Where Casa de Tono, Cafe de Tacuba, El Cardenal, El Bajio Polanco
Where to eat Pozole in Mexico City →Hand-pressed oval cakes of blue or yellow corn masa stuffed with frijol refrito or requeson, cooked on a comal and topped with nopales, queso fresco, salsa verde and chopped onion. Pre-Hispanic street food.
Where Tlacoyos Dona Jose, Expendio de Maiz Sin Nombre, Molino El Pujol, Mercado de Coyoacan
Where to eat Tlacoyos in Mexico City →Sweet white corn kernels boiled with epazote and salt, served in styrofoam cups with mayonnaise, cotija cheese, chile piquin powder, fresh lime juice and the smoky depth of charred kernel.
Where Esquites Don Fermin, Mercado de Coyoacan, Mercado Roma, Mercado de la Merced
Where to eat Esquites in Mexico City →A crisp fried corn tortilla topped with chipotle mayo, sliced raw yellowfin tuna, sliced avocado, fried leeks and a chipotle reduction. Mexico City's most-copied modern dish, invented at Contramar in 1998.
Where Contramar
Where to eat Tuna tostada in Mexico City →Crisp fried ribbed dough piped from a churrera and dusted with sugar, served with a thick cup of Mexican hot chocolate for dipping. Late-night street food and breakfast dish.
Where Churreria El Moro
Taste itMexican Churros and Chocolate Workshop$113Where to eat Churros con chocolate in Mexico City →Hand-pressed blue-corn tortillas stuffed with huitlacoche (Mexican corn smut), molten Oaxacan cheese, and epazote, then griddled until the masa crisps.
Where El Cardenal, Cafe de Tacuba, Mercado de San Juan, Expendio de Maiz, Mercado Medellin, Mercado Roma
Where to eat Quesadillas de Huitlacoche in Mexico City →Side-by-side tasting of mezcales joven (young), reposado (rested), and añejo (aged) from Oaxacan distillers, served in small clay copitas with worm salt and orange slices.
Where Bosforo Mezcaleria, Tlecan, Los Danzantes Coyoacan, Ozimo Tahona, Pulqueria Las Duelistas, Pujol
Where to eat Mezcal Flight in Mexico City →Slow-braised beef in dried-chili and spice consommé, served in deep bowls with the broth, raw onion, cilantro, and lime, or stuffed into tortillas dipped in the orange fat to make quesabirria tacos.
Where El Hidalguense, Tortas El Cuadrilatero, Mercado Roma, El Bajio, Los Cocuyos, El Califa Condesa
Where to eat Birria de Res in Mexico City →Tortilla chips simmered in red or green salsa until tender on the edges, crisp at the centre. Topped with crema, queso fresco, raw onion and a fried egg or shredded chicken. The Chilango breakfast canon.
Where El Cardenal, Fonda Margarita, Maque Condesa, Cafe de Tacuba, Azul Historico, Nicos
Where to eat Chilaquiles in Mexico City →Pork shoulder, belly, ribs and offal slow-confit in lard with orange peel and bay until tender, then crisped in the same fat. Hand-chopped on a wooden board into tacos.
Where El Bajio, El Bajio Polanco
Where to eat Carnitas in Mexico City →A whole steamed tamal slipped inside a soft bolillo roll, the carb-on-carb breakfast Chilangos eat at dawn from street tamaleros. Heretical outside Mexico City, well-regarded within.
Where Tamales Dona Emi, Mercado de San Juan, Mercado Roma, Mercado Medellin, Mercado de Coyoacan
Where to eat Guajolota (Torta de tamal) in Mexico City →A soft enriched bread roll topped with a sweet shell-pattern crust of sugar and butter paste, baked to crackle. The Mexican breakfast bread, eaten torn into pieces and dunked in hot chocolate or champurrado.
Where Panaderia Rosetta, Pasteleria Ideal, Pasteleria Suiza, La Panera Coyoacan, Pancracia Panaderia Artesanal
Where to eat Concha (Pan dulce) in Mexico City →A 35cm crisp-charred corn tortilla smeared with asiento and black bean paste, layered with Oaxacan stringy cheese, lettuce, avocado, and grilled tasajo or cecina.
Where Mercado Medellin
Where to eat Tlayuda in Mexico City →Glass urns called vitroleras lined up on market counters: pink jamaica, milky cinnamon-rice horchata, tart tamarindo, melon, alfalfa. Sold by the cup at every market.
Where Mercado de San Juan, Mercado de Coyoacan, Mercado Medellin, Mercado de la Merced, Mercado Roma, Mercado de la Merced
Where to eat Aguas frescas in Mexico City →A handful of the places we send friends to when they are in Mexico City.
Pujol in Mexico City is Enrique Olvera's two-Michelin-star Polanco room on Tennyson, the kitchen that put modern Mexican on the world map with its mole madre.
OrderThe Mole Madre Mole Nuevo, served with fresh tortillas.
Quintonil in Mexico City is Jorge Vallejo and Alejandra Flores' two-Michelin-star Polanco kitchen on Newton, ranked number three on the World's 50 Best.
OrderThe tasting menu; the charred avocado tartare is the room's signature.
Contramar in Mexico City is Gabriela Camara's lunch-only Durango Street seafood room in Roma Norte since 1998, the kitchen that made the tuna tostada Mexico.
OrderThe tuna tostada and the pescado a la talla, split red and green down the middle.
Maximo Bistrot in Mexico City is chef Eduardo Lalo Garcia's one-Michelin-star Roma Norte room on Alvaro Obregon, the seasonal Mexican kitchen with a French.
OrderThe seasonal tasting menu; whatever vegetable arrives that morning from the chef's farm.
Rosetta in Mexico City is Elena Reygadas' one-Michelin-star Roma Norte room in a 1920s townhouse on Colima, the kitchen where Italian technique meets Mexican.
OrderThe hoja santa ravioli; the seasonal pasta of the week.
Em in Mexico City is chef Luis Lucho Martinez's one-Michelin-star Roma Norte tasting room on Tonala, the contemporary Mexican kitchen with Japanese.
OrderThe full tasting menu; the wagyu carnitas course is the room's signature.
Mexico City's luxury spine north of Chapultepec Park, with Pujol on Tennyson, Quintonil on Newton, designer flagships on Avenida Masaryk and the city's tallest fine-dining concentration.
Best for: Fine dining, Steakhouse, Cocktails
The walkable heart of contemporary Mexico City, a 1900s Porfirian neighbourhood of art nouveau townhouses with Contramar, Rosetta, Maximo Bistrot, Meroma and the densest cafe network in the city.
Best for: Cafes, Wine bars, Mexican
1920s art deco neighbourhood that wraps Parque Mexico and Parque Espana, with El Tizoncito al pastor on Tamaulipas, La Clandestina mezcaleria, Lardo and the densest dog park kitchens in the city.
Best for: Tacos, Brunch, Mezcal
The colonial core around the Zocalo, with La Opera cantina since 1895, Cafe de Tacuba since 1912, Salon Tenampa on Plaza Garibaldi since 1925, the Mercado de San Juan exotic counter and 24-hour Los Cocuyos.
Best for: Cantinas, Tacos, Markets
Cobblestone southern neighbourhood that holds the Frida Kahlo Museum, the Mercado de Coyoacan tostada counters, Cafe Negro on Centenario and weekend churros at Casino de Coyoacan on the plaza.
Best for: Tostadas, Cafes, Churros
Colonial neighbourhood of cobbled streets and bougainvillea in the south, with the Saturday Bazaar Sabado on Plaza San Jacinto and brunch under the trees at San Angel Inn since 1692.
Best for: Brunch, Mexican, Saturday
Mexico City is the heart of one of the world's three or four most important food cultures, and the modern Mexican fine-dining movement has its global capital here. Pujol (Enrique Olvera, opened 2000) and Quintonil (Jorge Vallejo, opened 2012) have both held positions in the Top 10 of The World's 50 Best Restaurants for over a decade; the city's broader Michelin scene, formally introduced when the Michelin Mexico Guide launched in 2024, now anchors 18 starred restaurants in the capital. But the deeper truth about Mexico City eating is that the great food is at the street stalls, the markets, the comedores, and the corner taquerias, where 25 million people eat every day. The fine-dining rooms cook in dialogue with that everyday food culture, not above it.
The Mexico City food map runs by neighborhood. Polanco is the destination fine-dining corridor (Pujol on Tennyson, Quintonil on Avenida Newton, Alcalde, El Bajio). Roma Norte and Condesa are the modern-restaurant neighborhoods, the equivalent of New York's West Village or London's Hackney: Maximo Bistrot, Rosetta, Em, Contramar, Lardo, Meroma, the wine-bar scene of Loup Bar and Tintorera. Centro Historico holds the heritage cantinas (Cafe de Tacuba since 1912, El Cardenal since 1969) and the deepest taco-and-torta corridor. Coyoacan and San Angel are the colonial-town neighborhoods south of the center with the weekend market food (Mercado de Coyoacan tostadas, churros at El Moro). Juarez is the up-and-coming neighborhood with the indie wine bars and the new wave of casual-destination rooms (Masala y Maiz, Havre 77).
The central Mexico City fact is that the city is a tacos al pastor city above all else. The trompo (the vertical spit of marinated pork) was brought to Mexico City by Lebanese immigrants in the 1930s and became the city's defining food by the 1960s. A taco al pastor at El Vilsito, El Califa de Leon, or El Huequito is what most Mexico City residents eat at midnight on any given night, and is what almost every visitor remembers most strongly from a trip.
Tacos al pastor are Mexico City's signature dish, invented in the 1930s by Lebanese immigrants who adapted their shawarma technique to pork and Mexican chiles. The spit (trompo) is layered with thin slices of pork marinated in achiote, dried chiles, vinegar and onion, with a whole pineapple crowning the top; the taquero slices the meat off the spit, catches it on a small corn tortilla, and finishes with a slice of pineapple, raw white onion, and cilantro. Salsa verde and salsa roja are added at the table. The destination al pastor stalls in Mexico City are El Vilsito (Narvarte, only at night and only after the auto-mechanics shop in front closes), El Huequito (Centro Historico, since 1959, the contender for the original al pastor in Mexico City), El Califa de Leon (Centro Cuauhtemoc, the first taco stand to win a Michelin star in the 2024 Mexico Guide, taco de gaonera being the signature), Los Cocuyos (a 24-hour stall in the Centro), and El Tizoncito in Condesa (since 1966, a major claimant to the invention of al pastor). Order at the counter, eat standing, drink an agua de jamaica, plan to eat 4 to 6 tacos per person.
Modern Mexican cuisine as a global movement was built largely in Mexico City over the past 25 years, with three rooms central. Pujol (chef Enrique Olvera, opened 2000, Polanco) is the most internationally recognized; Olvera's mole madre (a black mole continuously aged and re-fed for over 2,500 days, served in a dot of fresh mole alongside) is the defining dish. Quintonil (chef Jorge Vallejo, opened 2012, Polanco) cooks a 12-to-14-course tasting menu rooted in Mexican biodiversity, with vegetables and herbs from the Xochimilco chinampas. Rosetta (chef Elena Reygadas, opened 2010, Roma Norte) is the Italian-Mexican room run by the World's Best Female Chef 2023; the breakfast and bakery (Panaderia Rosetta around the corner) is the easier morning version. The wider modern Mexican set in CDMX: Maximo Bistrot (Eduardo Garcia, French-Mexican), Em (chef Lucho Martinez, Mexican-Japanese), Sud 777 (Edgar Nunez, vegetable-driven), Contramar (Gabriela Camara, seafood), Nicos (Mexican home cooking at Michelin level), Masala y Maiz (Mexican-Indian-East African). Pujol books 60 to 90 days ahead through its website; the chef's-counter taco-omakase is the signature seat.
Roma Norte (the formal name is Colonia Roma) and Condesa (Colonia Hipodromo Condesa) are the two adjacent neighborhoods that hold most of Mexico City's modern-restaurant scene. Roma Norte runs from Reforma south to Coahuila, with the central food spine along Avenida Alvaro Obregon (the gallery and bar strip) and Calle Orizaba (the residential parallel). Maximo Bistrot, Rosetta, Contramar, Em, Lalo!, the Mercado Roma food hall, the wine bars Tintorera and Loup are all within a 10-block radius. Condesa is the Art Deco neighborhood south of Roma, organized around Parque Mexico and Parque Espana, with the restaurants more residential and the cafe scene more dominant; Lardo, Meroma, Pasilla, the original Panaderia Rosetta. The two neighborhoods are walkable to each other (15 to 20 minutes) and form the city's densest concentration of indie restaurants, wine bars, cafes, and bakeries. Stay in a Roma Norte hotel (Casa Decu, Casa de los Vientos, the Brick Hotel) for the best base. Most of the destination rooms open at 13:30 for comida and 19:30 for cena.
Mexico City's markets are the foundation layer of the city's eating, and each has a different specialty. Mercado de San Juan in the Centro Historico (since 1955 in its current building, with roots in the colonial Plaza San Juan market) is the destination for exotic ingredients (insects, ostrich, alligator, escamoles ant larvae, huitlacoche corn fungus, regional cheeses, imported European pantry); the Casa de los Tacos cart and Don Vergas seafood are the lunchtime stops inside. Mercado de la Merced is the largest food market in the city (and one of the largest in the Americas), the wholesale supplier for most of the central neighborhoods; chaotic, dense, and the source of the day's chiles, herbs, and produce. Mercado Medellin in Roma Sur is the Latin American market, with the deepest Cuban, Colombian, Venezuelan and Caribbean stalls. Mercado de Coyoacan in the southern Coyoacan neighborhood is the weekend tostada destination (Tostadas Coyoacan, the central tostada bar). Central de Abasto on the southeast edge of the city is the wholesale market that feeds the country, the second-largest market in the world by volume. Visit at least Mercado de San Juan and Mercado de Coyoacan on a CDMX trip.
Tacos al pastor
Adobo-marinated pork shaved off a vertical trompo, served on a small corn tortilla with a sliver of pineapple, raw onion, fresh cilantro and a wedge of lime
Mole poblano
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
Chiles en nogada
A roasted poblano chile stuffed with picadillo of pork, beef, apple, pear, peach, almonds and raisins, topped with a creamy walnut sauce and pomegranate seeds
Tamales
Steamed corn masa parcels wrapped in corn husk or banana leaf, filled with chicken in mole, pork in red or green salsa, rajas con queso or sweet versions with strawberry
Pozole
A hominy-corn soup with pork or chicken, garnished at the table with shredded lettuce or cabbage, sliced radish, lime, dried oregano, ground chile and crisp tostadas
Polanco
Mexico City's luxury spine north of Chapultepec Park, with Pujol on Tennyson, Quintonil on Newton, designer flagships on Avenida Masaryk and the city's tallest fine-dining concentration
Condesa
1920s art deco neighbourhood that wraps Parque Mexico and Parque Espana, with El Tizoncito al pastor on Tamaulipas, La Clandestina mezcaleria, Lardo and the densest dog park kitchens in the city
Coyoacan
Cobblestone southern neighbourhood that holds the Frida Kahlo Museum, the Mercado de Coyoacan tostada counters, Cafe Negro on Centenario and weekend churros at Casino de Coyoacan on the plaza
San Angel
Colonial neighbourhood of cobbled streets and bougainvillea in the south, with the Saturday Bazaar Sabado on Plaza San Jacinto and brunch under the trees at San Angel Inn since 1692
A sample of Mexico City hotels from our booking partner, who list 57,907 here. Live prices and availability open on their site.
Mexico City Hostel
With a stay at Mexico City Hostel in Mexico City (Historic Center), you'll be steps from Metropolitan Cathe...
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Kali Ciudadela Mexico City
Centrally located in Mexico City, Kali Ciudadela Mexico City is within a 15-minute walk of Alameda Central ...
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One Ciudad de Mexico La Raza
Located in Mexico City (Cuauhtemoc), One Ciudad de Mexico La Raza is within a 15-minute drive of La Raza Me...
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Hotel Puerto Mexico
With a stay at Hotel Puerto Mexico in Mexico City (Venustiano Carranza), you'll be within a 10-minute drive...
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Kali Centro Mexico City
A stay at Kali Centro Mexico City places you in the heart of Mexico City, within a 10-minute walk of La Ciu...
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Holiday Inn Express Mexico Santa Fe
Located in Mexico City (Santa Fe), Holiday Inn Express Mexico Santa Fe is within a 5-minute drive of Centro...
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Ramada by Wyndham Mexico City Reforma
A stay at Ramada by Wyndham Mexico City Reforma places you in the heart of Mexico City, within a 10-minute ...
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Selina Mexico City Downtown
A stay at Selina Mexico City Downtown places you in the heart of Mexico City, within a 15-minute walk of To...
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One Ciudad de Mexico Patriotismo
Located in Mexico City (Benito Juarez), One Ciudad de Mexico Patriotismo is within a 15-minute walk of Star...
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Krystal Urban Aeropuerto Cd de Mexico
Located in Mexico City, Krystal Urban Aeropuerto Cd de Mexico is within a 10-minute drive of Foro Sol and A...
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Courtyard by Marriott Mexico City Revolucion
A stay at Courtyard by Marriott Mexico City Revolucion places you in the heart of Mexico City, within a 5-m...
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Hotel Benidorm Mexico City
A stay at Hotel Benidorm Mexico City places you in the heart of Mexico City, within a 5-minute drive of Par...
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Also compare: Minor Hotels in Mexico City · LateRooms in Mexico City · Expedia in Mexico City
Stays are listed by our booking partners, not editor picks. We earn a commission if you book, at no cost to you.
Every restaurant, cafe, market and bar we cover in Mexico City, pinned. Click a pin for the page.
Peak food season: October to November carries the calendar: pan de muerto from late October, the Dia de Muertos parade on November 1, the Feria Nacional del Mole at San Pedro Atocpan in October, and chiles en nogada through the patriotic season. The dry season runs November through April with the lowest rain; June through September brings the rainy afternoon storms. Feria del Tamal at the Museo Nacional de Culturas Populares in Coyoacan runs January 29 to February 2 around Candelaria.
Local dining hours: Breakfast 08:00-11:00 (Mexican mornings are slow). Lunch is the big meal, 14:00-16:30; high-end rooms like Pujol and Quintonil run a long lunch service. Dinner runs 20:00-23:00, late by US standards. Taquerias open 11:00 and run past midnight; El Vilsito stays open until 03:00 weeknights and 05:00 on Fri-Sat. Many Sunday closures at fine dining (Pujol, Quintonil, Sud 777 all closed Sundays); cantinas and street counters open Sunday.
Tipping: 10 to 15 percent on the pre-tax bill (la propina) at full-service restaurants is the local baseline; 15 percent for good service. Bills sometimes include a sugerencia (suggested tip) line, never compulsory. Taquerias and street counters: round up or leave 10 to 20 pesos. Tip jars are common at cafes; valet parking gets 20 to 30 pesos. Tipping is in cash where possible; cards add the tip at the terminal.
Mexico City's signature dishes include Tacos al pastor, Mole poblano, Chiles en nogada, Tamales, Pozole. See our signature dishes chapter for where to eat each.
TableJourney editors map Mexico City by district. Polanco, Roma Norte, Condesa, Centro Historico are among the strongest for food, each with its own guide.
Editor picks in Mexico City include Pujol, Quintonil, Sud 777, plus the full fine dining chapter on TableJourney.
TableJourney covers 7 editor-picked food tours in Mexico City, with what each shows you and how much to budget.
TableJourney's Mexico City dietary chapter covers vegan, vegetarian, gluten_free, halal, kosher venues, each editor-picked with what to order and how to ask.
