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.
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.
Cafe de Tacuba in Mexico City is the Mollinedo family's 1912 Centro Historico room on Tacuba, the colonial-palace dining hall that defines traditional Mexican capital cooking.
Signature: Enchiladas de mole, Tamales, Chicken in mole poblano
Order: The enchiladas de mole; the tamales served with hot chocolate.
Tip: Open daily 08:00 to 23:00. The Sunday strolling student trio singing Aztec songs starts around 13:00; mariachi runs evenings.
Azul Historico in Mexico City is chef Ricardo Munoz Zurita's traditional Mexican kitchen inside the courtyard of the Downtown Mexico hotel on Isabel la Catolica, with Mexican regional moles as the spine.
Signature: Mole negro, Cochinita pibil, Chiles en nogada
Order: The mole negro from Oaxaca; the cochinita pibil tacos.
Tip: Sit in the open courtyard under the Indian laurel; ask for the table closest to the fountain. Brunch lasts till 17:00 weekends.
El Cardenal Centro in Mexico City is the Briz family's 1969 Centro Historico breakfast room on Palma, the Sunday-morning 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 in season.
Tip: Sunday brunch fills by 09:30; arrive at opening at 08:00 to avoid the wait. Three other branches across the city.
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.
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.
Pasteleria Ideal in Mexico City is the 1927 Centro Historico bakery on Uruguay Street, the two-floor cake hall where conchas, oreja and the kilometre-long January rosca de reyes have anchored Mexico City celebrations for nearly a century.
Worth the queue: Rosca de reyes (Three Kings cake)
Dulceria de Celaya in Mexico City is the 1874 Centro Historico candy shop on 5 de Mayo, the colonial confectionery that still sells camote, dulce de leche cajeta and candied fruit from the same wooden counters.
Worth the queue: Camote candy
Balcon del Zocalo in Mexico City is the Centro Historico rooftop wine bar at the Zocalo Central hotel, a Mexican-wine-focused list looking onto the Catedral Metropolitana.
Signature pour: Casa Madero white from Coahuila
Wine focus: Mexican wines and mezcales
Food: Modern Mexican tasting plates
Bosforo in Mexico City is the Centro Historico mezcaleria on Luis Moya, a velvet-curtain candle-lit room with 50-plus Oaxacan artisanal mezcales and the city's most knowledgeable bar staff.
Signature drink: Tobala mezcal flight
Food: Snacks
Salon Tenampa in Mexico City is the 1925 Plaza Garibaldi cantina that gave the plaza its mariachi identity, with three rooms of live music every night and a Jalisco-style antojitos kitchen.
Signature drink: Tequila and pulque
Food: Antojitos and Jalisco dishes
La Opera Bar in Mexico City is the 1895 Centro Historico cantina on 5 de Mayo, the ornate dark-wood-and-velvet room where Pancho Villa shot a bullet hole in the ceiling that still marks the spot.
Signature drink: Tequila reposado
Food: Cantina antojitos
Las Duelistas in Mexico City is the 1902 Centro pulqueria on Aranda Street, a colorful muralled room that pours 45 flavors of fermented agave pulque, with seven flavors served on Friday and Saturday.
Signature drink: Curado de pina pulque
Food: Pulqueria antojitos
El Huequito in Mexico City is the 1959 Centro Historico al pastor stand on Ayuntamiento, one of the earliest taqueria operations to plate the trompo-cut pork that defines the city's signature taco.
Try: Tacos al pastor
Order: Three tacos al pastor with the house red salsa; a pina (pineapple) agua fresca on the side.
Tip: The original Ayuntamiento alley counter is barely a window in the wall; sit-down branches now run across the city but the original counter is the relic.
Los Cocuyos in Mexico City is the 24-hour Centro Historico taqueria on Bolivar since 1980, the Bib Gourmand counter known for melting suadero, longaniza, tripa and the after-cantina crowd.
Try: Suadero and tripa tacos
Order: Three suadero tacos with both salsas; a campechano (mixed suadero and longaniza).
Tip: Open 24 hours; a second annex three doors down has tables and is the quieter option after midnight.
Churreria El Moro in Mexico City is the 1935 Centro Historico churros counter on Eje Central, the 24-hour churro and chocolate window that still pipes hot churros out the same fryer past midnight.
Try: Churros con chocolate
Order: A half-dozen churros with chocolate espanol (the thickest of the four chocolates on offer).
Tip: The Centro flagship runs 24 hours. The newer Roma branches close at midnight; visit the original for the relic counter.
Tortas El Cuadrilatero in Mexico City is the Centro torta counter on Luis Moya owned by Super Astro the luchador, walls covered in masks and the menu built around the kilogram Gladiador torta challenge.
Try: Lucha-libre tortas
Order: The Gladiador kilogram torta if you can; otherwise the regular Pierna with chipotle and queso Oaxaca.
Tip: Closed Sundays; the Gladiador is free if you finish in 15 minutes. Cash only and arrive hungry.
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, escamoles, chapulines, ostrich eggs, mozzarella and imported cheese.
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 spread across seven buildings.
Eat Mexico's La Merced Market Tour walks Mexico City's largest retail market with eight tasting stops including tamales, esquites, tacos al pastor and exotic fruits, ending with chocolate caliente.
Club Tengo Hambre's After Dark walk crawls Centro Historico from dusk through eight taquerias and street counters, ending with cajeta-stuffed churros at El Moro.
Club Tengo Hambre's Street Food Essentials runs the daytime canon from tamales and esquites to tacos al pastor across the Centro Historico, with seven counter stops over four hours.
Eat Mexico's Chilango Tacos 101 tour walks the canon Mexico City taco styles across Centro Historico, pairing al pastor, suadero, longaniza and barbacoa stops with the salsa-and-tortilla education on each plate.
Sabores Mexico's Historic Center tour walks the colonial core from Plaza Garibaldi through Plaza Santo Domingo with stops at Cafe de Tacuba, El Cardenal and the Mercado de San Juan.
Dia de Muertos Grand Parade in Mexico City runs November 1 down Paseo de la Reforma to the Zocalo, with the city's full week of pan de muerto, tamales, atole and altar offerings around the route.
El Huequito in Mexico City is the 1959 Centro Historico al pastor counter on Ayuntamiento, where three tacos with house salsa runs under 100 pesos for the city's defining street food canon.
Try: Three tacos al pastor
Los Cocuyos in Mexico City is the 24-hour Centro taqueria on Bolivar where three tacos de suadero with cilantro and onion run under 80 pesos, served at any hour day or night.
Try: Three suadero tacos
Tortas El Cuadrilatero in Mexico City is the Centro lucha-libre torta counter on Luis Moya, where a regular pierna torta with chipotle and queso Oaxaca runs about 110 pesos, served standing.
Try: Pierna torta with queso Oaxaca
Churreria El Moro in Mexico City is the 1935 24-hour Centro Historico churros counter where four hot churros with chocolate espanol run about 95 pesos, day or night.
Try: Four churros with chocolate
El Cardenal Centro in Mexico City is the Briz family's 1969 traditional Mexican breakfast institution on Palma, the Sunday-morning room that built its name on hot chocolate frothed tableside with raw-milk nata.
Order: Hot chocolate frothed tableside with pan de nata.
Los Cocuyos in Mexico City is the 24-hour Centro Historico taqueria on Bolivar since 1980, the around-the-clock counter that runs suadero, longaniza, tripa and a campechano any hour.
Try: Suadero and tripa tacos
Churreria El Moro in Mexico City is the 1935 Centro Historico churros counter on Eje Central, the 24-hour churro and chocolate window that runs hot churros out the same fryer past midnight.
Try: Churros with chocolate espanol
Salon Tenampa in Mexico City is the 1925 Plaza Garibaldi mariachi cantina that runs daily till 03:00, the antojitos and tequila room with live mariachi every night of the week.
Try: Cantina antojitos with mariachi
El Huequito in Mexico City is the 1959 Centro al pastor counter that runs through dinner until 22:00 in the original Ayuntamiento alley, the late-evening Centro Historico stop before Bosforo mezcaleria.
Try: Tacos al pastor