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.
Aguas frescas trace to pre-Hispanic Mexico, where Aztecs in Tenochtitlan made cold drinks from cacao, fruit and seeds chilled with volcanic ice carried down from Popocatepetl. The colonial Spanish brought horchata de chufa from Valencia, which was reinvented in Mexico with rice. Jamaica (hibiscus) and tamarindo arrived through the colonial trade networks from West Africa and Asia. By the 19th century the vitrolera was a market fixture across Mexico City; today every market and most taquerias carry at least four aguas, refilled fresh daily, costing 25 to 45 pesos per glass.
6 editor picks for Aguas frescas in Mexico City, ranked by editorial score. All Mexico City signature dishes · Aguas frescas across every city.
Mercado de San Juan ★ 4.6
centro-historico · Ernesto Pugibet 21, Centro Historico, Cuauhtemoc, 06000 Ciudad de Mexico
Mercado de San Juan in Mexico City is the gourmet specialty market on Ernesto Pugibet in Centro Historico, the city's only such market with exotic meats.
Mercado de Coyoacan ★ 4.5
coyoacan · Ignacio Allende S/N, Del Carmen, Coyoacan, 04100 Ciudad de Mexico
Mercado de Coyoacan in Mexico City is the southern neighbourhood market on Ignacio Allende near the Frida Kahlo Museum, a 350-vendor traditional market.
Mercado de la Merced ★ 4.4
centro-historico · Circunvalacion S/N, La Merced, Venustiano Carranza, 06721 Ciudad de Mexico
Mercado de la Merced in Mexico City is the 1957 mega-market east of the Zocalo, the largest retail market in the city with 88,000 sq m and 5,525 vendors.
Mercado de la Merced ★ 4.4
centro-historico · Circunvalacion S/N, La Merced, Venustiano Carranza, 06721 Ciudad de Mexico
Mercado de la Merced in Mexico City is the 1957 mega-market east of the Zocalo, the largest retail market in the city with 88,000 sq m and 5,525 vendors.
Mercado Medellin ★ 4.3
roma-norte · Campeche 101, Roma Sur, Cuauhtemoc, 06760 Ciudad de Mexico
Mercado Medellin in Mexico City is the Roma Sur Latin American import market on Campeche, the pan-Latin grocery hall with Cuban, Colombian and Argentine.
Mercado Roma ★ 4.3
roma-norte · Queretaro 225, Roma Norte, Cuauhtemoc, 06700 Ciudad de Mexico
Mercado Roma in Mexico City is the Roma Norte gourmet food hall on Queretaro, a three-floor market with 50-plus vendors covering Mexican, Italian, Venezuelan.