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.
Must order: The mole almendrado; the sopa seca de natas casserole.
Tip: Closed Sunday dinner and Monday; lunch is when the slow-cooked moles peak.
Address: Av. Cuitlahuac 3102, Clavería, Azcapotzalco, 02080 Ciudad de Mexico, Mexico City
Alcalde in Mexico City is chef Paco Ruano's Polanco room on Masaryk, the Guadalajara-import tasting kitchen that brought modern Jalisco cooking to the capital in 2021.
Order: The seasonal tasting; the chile en nogada when in season July to September.
Tip: Closed Sundays. The bar pours strong Mexican wine and mezcal; the open kitchen seats are the move.
El Tajin in Mexico City is the Centro Veracruzano Mexican kitchen inside the Centro Veracruzano on Miguel Angel de Quevedo in Coyoacan, the room that runs Veracruz cuisine at fine-dining depth.
Order: The arroz a la tumbada; the mole xiqueño.
Tip: Closed Sundays after lunch. The garden patio is the seat; the Veracruz seafood menu changes weekly.
Pujol in Mexico City is Enrique Olvera's two-Michelin-star Polanco tasting room on Tennyson, the kitchen that built modern Mexican fine dining around mole madre poured over mole nuevo.
Order: The Mole Madre Mole Nuevo at the dining-room table; taco omakase at the bar.
Tip: Lunch is the easier service to land than dinner; the bar runs an a la carte taco omakase for walk-ins on quieter nights.
Quintonil in Mexico City is Jorge Vallejo and Alejandra Flores' two-Michelin-star Polanco tasting room on Newton, the kitchen ranked number three on the World's 50 Best Restaurants list in 2025.
Order: The full tasting menu; the charred avocado tartare is the signature.
Tip: Closed Sundays. The dining room books out six weeks out; the open kitchen counter is the move if it opens.
Sud 777 in Mexico City is Edgar Nunez's one-Michelin-star Pedregal kitchen on Boulevard de la Luz, the 12-course vegetable-driven Mexican tasting menu opened in 2008.
Order: The 12-course tasting; the cactus and corn course from the in-house garden.
Tip: Closed Sundays; worth the cab south from Polanco for the courtyard dining and the kitchen garden.
Em in Mexico City is chef Lucho Martinez's one-Michelin-star Roma Norte tasting room on Tonala, a contemporary Mexican kitchen with Japanese fermentation and smoke threaded through the menu.
Order: The full tasting menu; the smoked-fish course is the signature.
Tip: Closed Sundays and Mondays; tasting menu only. The 12-seat counter is the room.
