What started in 2019 as a tortilla shop with a casual taquería has become a beautifully designed corn-centric restaurant in Polanco, a natural evolution under chefs Karina Mejía and Israel Montero. The aroma of corn wafts from the semi-open kitchen, where half the space is dedicated to nixtamal tanks and comales that produce fresh tortillas, crisp blue and yellow tostadas, and crusty sopes. An array of dishes utilize corn from Tlaxcala, like velvety escamol (ant larva) sopes, soft-shell crab tacos, and pork belly gorditas. Order the shrimp aguachile to really appreciate the texture of the restaurant’s tostada, a perfect crunchy carrier for all things seafood, and finish with the lukewarm chocolate tamal with cacao nibs.

For a rapid-fire overview of Mexico City’s ever-growing street food scene, join a walking tour of the curb-side gems that make the city a mouth-watering metropolis. One good option is Club Tengo Hambre, which offers a multi-stop parade through the best taquerías and hidden stands downtown.

If you schedule a visit to Mexico City’s Metropolitan Cathedral, book a reservation at Caracol de Mar, just a few steps from the iconic landmark. The restaurant sits on the inner patio of the boutique Círculo Mexicano hotel, creating a quiet oasis in the restored colonial architecture away from the hectic energy of Centro Histórico. As a sister restaurant of Mexico City’s ever-popular Contramar, Caracol de Mar has the quality stamp of acclaimed restaurateur chef Gabriela Cámara. Expect a sustainably sourced and seasonal seafood-focused menu executed by Peruvian chef Álvaro Vázquez, who showcases delicate flavors from his homeland like hoja santa ceviche with leche de tigre and choclo (crunchy Peruvian corn) or grilled octopus with salsa macha and white corn puree. Don’t skip dessert; the citrus meringue is a playful spin on Contramar’s famous strawberry meringue.

Located in a busy section of Polanco, Malix epitomizes the all-day cafe, moving fluidly from the breakfast rush in the morning to wine in the evening. Chef Alonso Madrigal has put together a reliable roster of local farmers and producers from Estado de México, Hidalgo, Puebla, Yucatán, Jalisco, Guanajuato, and Baja California to offer refined dishes that are grounded in traceable, responsibly farmed ingredients. Some of the best dishes include the grilled lettuce with black garlic, the wagyu tartare with kelp oil and onion powder, and the tuna belly with recado negro and bean puree. Everything at Malix is designed to share and pair with the well-edited wine list, including low-intervention, natural, and high-end bottlings.

Perpetually ranked highly on the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list, Pujol has built a remarkable legacy in fine dining. Throughout the years, the restaurant has evolved into a multi-course vegetarian or pescatarian experience while holding true to Enrique Olvera’s values of sustainability, respect for Mexican culinary heritage, and local ingredients. Chef de cuisine Jesus Duron has elevated the experience since taking over in 2020, executing the tasting menu and taco omakase. Reservations are hard to come by, so book at least three months in advance.

Currently ranked No. 9 on the World’s 50 Best Restaurants List, Jorge Vallejo’s renowned restaurant in Polanco is a fixture of fine dining itineraries among visitors to the city. Quintonil serves a fixed, multi-course menu and a la carte options representing the best of Mexican cuisine. Opt for a seat at the bar for the best view of the action during dinner service.

The top three reasons to go to Salazar are location, location, and location. The restaurant sits on a rooftop overlooking one of the most iconic roundabouts of Mexico City, creating the perfect atmosphere to enjoy dinner and cocktails during golden hour. Chef Allan Yañez’s menu combines bistro classics and family-style, country recipes, with dishes like organic roast chicken (sourced from an owner’s farm, which supplies the restaurant) with confit tomatoes, grilled shrimp with leek emulsion, or aged Pat LaFrieda rib-eye with sauerkraut. The portions are large enough to share, and the wine list includes beautiful organic and biodynamic bottlings. With stellar service and hospitality, it’s hard not to spend hours indulging in martinis and dessert after the meal is over.

Mexico City is saturated with casual bistros and wine bars, so it takes some great cooking for one to rise above. Cana, the first solo project from chef Fabiola Escobosa, offers just that, with well-tuned flavors in dishes like foie gras with pear compote, cod croquettes, chive dumplings, creamy rice with squid, and steak frites. But if you’re just looking to indulge in a burger and a house martini, Cana has your back (the burger is only available when sitting at the bar). The restaurant pulls a local crowd, and the staff are knowledgeable and familiar, making Cana a great addition to the neighborhood.

Chef Giuseppe Lacorazza sources seasonal seafood from Mercado de la Viga (Mexico City’s largest seafood market) and uses it to make effortless, homey dishes that mix Mexican influences with some global flair. The avocado tostada with furikake is one of Fugaz’s most popular dishes, and it’s always on the menu, but check out other house specialties like the chilpachole (a corn and seafood soup), gnocchi with mussels, and white bean stew with clams. Lacorazza’s menu reflects his ongoing culinary research, which he shares periodically in his newsletter, Gula. The restaurant sits on a busy avenue in Roma Norte and works best for a casual late lunch or dinner.

Martínez offers good food and good wine in a casual-yet-chic setting, with an open kitchen that invites diners to watch the team in action. Located on Calle Puebla in Roma Norte, the cozy restaurant focuses on French-inspired dishes like vol-au-vent with celeriac and asparagus, steak frites with bearnaise sauce, or grilled leeks with dates and burrata. Overall expect lots of grilled items and creamy flavors on your plate. Give the bar seating a chance; it’s the perfect spot to sip a nice bottle of chardonnay while enjoying some oysters with mignonette. Reservations are strongly suggested, especially on weekends.

Oregonian chef Jacob Harth and restaurateur Enrique Lascuráin run Sarde, which is inspired by the cuisine of Corsica and Sardinia. The restaurant’s menu is primarily focused on seafood, including elegantly plated dishes like totoaba tartare, mackerel with celery vinegar, or tuna carpaccio with schmaltz and pickled chile. Simple preparations highlight the team’s efforts to select sustainable items for their pantry and source seafood fished responsibly. The wine program focuses on underappreciated wine regions, with an exciting selection of bubbles and whites by the glass. The restaurant is small and well-edited in ambiance, and the open kitchen lets out noise from the service rush, so expect to hear plenty of “Yes, chef!” throughout your visit.

Located in a restored Art Deco building overlooking colonia Roma’s most iconic park, Pigeon delights diners with a thoughtful approach to ingredient sourcing and seasonality. Chefs Mercedes Bernal and Rodney Cusic are behind the culinary project, inspired by casual European taverns. Though the menu isn’t vegetarian, options with vegetables are plenty and delicious, like roasted carrots with creamy tofu, rice with eggplant and turmeric, and rice croquettes with mushrooms and mozzarella. If you want something hardier, the roasted chicken with harissa and lemongrass is an excellent option, while the steak tartare with capers is a favorite among locals. It’s worth checking out the cocktail menu, designed by the team behind Pigeon’s sister cocktail bar, Brujas, next door.

Mexico City loves Baja California, and El Tigre Silencioso delivers what Chilangos crave. Chef David Castro Hussong brings his signature cooking to the menu, with homey Baja flavors like a chile relleno taco prepared with pasilla chiles, oxtail with noodles, and tuna with creamy butter, avocado, and a touch of wakame. The portions are small, so order a few starters and mains to share, and expect tons of wines from the best producers in Baja California. The casual menu creates a playful contrast with the restaurant’s European ambiance in a restored turn-of-the-century mansion. The place has been the new favorite in Roma Norte since opening in late 2022, so make a reservation or prepare to wait.

Chef Eduardo “Lalo” García and his wife, Gabriela López, are the ultimate power couple of the Mexico City restaurant scene, having created a solid restaurant group grounded in sustainable and local ingredient sourcing, superb culinary technique, and attentive hospitality. In July 2022, their Maximo Bistrot entered the Latin America’s 50 Best Restaurants list, cementing its place in the arena of fine dining. After more than a decade of culinary experience, García still holds his position on the kitchen pass at Maximo, where the menu reimagines classic dishes to celebrate Mexican flavors and French techniques. Come in the summer to try various foraged mushrooms.

What started as a ghost kitchen during the pandemic is now a weekend-only taco spot in Roma Norte. At Barbacoa Gonzalitos, Northerner chef Israel Mata brings Northeastern-style tacos to Mexico City, creating a menu that hits all the marks for a delicious, spicy, and hearty brunch. That means juicy beef barbacoa stew, chicharron in salsa verde, machaca (Northern-style dry, shredded beef) with scrambled eggs, and pork stew all carefully wrapped in flour tortillas. Pair the tacos with a cold Carta Blanca or michelada, as the Norteños do, and order at least one of your tacos “dorado” to crisp up the flour tortilla. Finally, don’t forget the oh-so-velvety add-on of Northern-style beans.

A cafe by day and bar by night, Café de Nadie has become a favorite in the Roma Norte district since opening in 2020. Visit during happy hour to sip one (or two or three) of the bar’s cocktails while contemplating the wonders of the high-definition sound system, which plays hits from a well-curated vinyl collection. The bar’s signature cocktails use Mexican spirits like sotol, charanda, bacanora, and mezcal, but the martini and Americano are perfectly balanced as well.

Start your evening with an aperitif at Oropel, a small vermouth-focused bar that, since opening in summer 2022, has become one of the go-to drinking spots for the hospitality and service industry in Mexico City. The bar’s wide vermouth selection features close to 30 options, including dry, sweet, red, rosé, and white, alongside a house vermouth spritz. If bitter vermouth is not your cup of aperitif, order from the solid, by-the-glass wine list. The food menu is tapa-style, with items like tinned sardines or squid served with aioli and red peppers. There’s a happy hour rush from 5 to 7 p.m.

If you are looking for a traditional Mexican breakfast, Maíz de Cacao is a good call. The small spot in Roma Norte focuses on culinary traditions of the Huasteca region, including lots of sweet and savory tamales. Try the varieties with corn, beans, or short rib with dry chile sauce, and don’t miss on the delicious black beans, fresh tortillas from the comal, and esquites topped with dry chili and sesame seeds. The traditional hot chocolate, prepared with cacao from Huasteca, is lovely and oh so frothy.

Chinese Mexican cuisine in Baja California dates back to the mid-1800s, when immigrants from China arrived to work in farming and railroad construction. Eventually, Mexican and Chinese food cultures mingled in cafes, dive bars, and restaurants to create a local fusion cuisine. To taste a piece of that culinary history, head to Canton Mexicali. The restaurant is a bit cramped and dimly lit in red and yellow hues, but it feels like the perfect setting for the wide array of dishes like pork wontons; green fried rice mixed with green beans, green fava beans, and chickpeas; dan dan peanut noodles; and chile relleno with garlic and ginger. Don’t forget to order the carne Mexicali and chile shrimp, house specialties. Dishes are meant to be shared family style, ideally with a round or two of house cocktails or wine. Since opening, Canton Mexicali has become the popular kid on the block, so reservations are strongly recommended. The restaurant closes at 1 a.m., making it a strong contender for late-night dinners.

Chef Diana López del Río devoted several years to culinary research focused on the food traditions of small towns in different regions of Mexico. The menu at her Colonia Roma restaurant, Mux, is a collection of recipes she learned while cooking side by side with cocineras in the field. Along with especially friendly and eager hospitality, expect dishes prepared traditionally with masa, lots of moles, fermented drinks, and escabeches.

Comal Oculto is a small but sweet eatery in the San Miguel Chapultepec neighborhood with a menu based on hardy antojitos like flautas, enmoladas, and tlacoyos. The restaurant focuses on breakfast and lunch, so pair your fresh-from-the-comal snacks with hot chocolate or cafe de olla. The flauta ahogada with mole and the bean tlacoyo with avocado leaf are favorites among customers.

One of a number of small, casual, trendy neighborhood restaurants, Pargot caters to Roma Sur. The restaurant sits on a quiet street, with most of the seating outside, and the service is informal yet attentive. Chef Alexis Ayala creates a playful, personal menu based on his Mexican culinary background with Mediterranean influences, emphasizing seasonality and ingredient sourcing. The Ensenada tostadas with smoked leek, the fish kibbe, and the pork tetela with fabada (bean) sauce are tasty options. Come by for a super casual lunch.

At Ostreria 109, chef Raúl Valencia pays homage to the culinary traditions of the Mexican coastline with wood-fired cooking. Staying away from cliche seafaring designs, the restaurant feels urban and modern. The food matches the setting; the elegant raw menu includes options like sea snail with catch-of-the-day ceviche or 15-day aged toro tartar with chintextle adobo. Grilled over a mix of oak and cherry wood, the oysters with sobrassada and the arroz a la tumbada with octopus and shrimp are among the menu’s best dishes. The exciting Mexican, French, and Italian wines are reasonably priced too.

Head to Caiman in la Condesa to try some of the most avant-garde creations from Mexican wine country. The food menu is designed to complement the cocktail and wine experience, with munchy snacks like french fries with mussels and quail egg, or canned items for no-fuss clientele. The classic cocktails are well-executed, but explore the house pet-nat selection, which comes mostly from Baja California. The vibe is chill but the bar still delivers that Condesa it factor.

Niv is a star in the well established wine bar scene in Mexico City. The project brings together two wine insiders — wine importer Tanguy de Bodinat and Eneida Fuentes, the former beverage director of Pujol — who created an intimate yet vibrant space. The wine list features small producers from France, Italy, Germany, and Mexico with effervescent pet nats, fun oranges, and classic labels from Burgundy. The culinary menu, executed by chef Diego Martínez, matches the quality of the wines; the toasted beef carpaccio and wild mackerel sashimi have become favorites, and be sure to finish with the mamey creme brulee. Since opening day, the restaurant has become a neighborhood social spot in Condesa thanks to its candle-lit backroom, where diners can finish the evening with cocktails, infused rums, and late-night snacks while listening to visiting DJs and Niv’s eclectic vinyl collection.

Marne’s pastries are contenders for the best treats in Mexico City. The croissant technique is unrivaled, and the space in San Miguel de Chapultepec feels more like a baker’s workshop than a cafe. Along with pastries, the staff offer excellent hospitality and specialty coffee to go with casual breakfasts of scrambled eggs with brioche, a small selection of sandwiches, and French toast. 

Ciena flourished in the middle of the pandemic with its well-edited menu and sleek yet cozy vibes. Located in Condesa, the place is perfect for a weekend brunch with bloody marys or casual dinner with vermouth on the rocks. Chef Ana Paula “Pavi” Ancheta created a menu with Mediterranean accents, focusing on ingredients sourced from local farms with sustainable practices. Stop by for the aperitif hour, where you’ll find small bites like fried polenta along with heartier bites like roast beef sandwiches, before diving into Condesa’s nightlife scene.

Located in a restored art deco mansion in Condesa, Botánico is the first solo project of chef Alejandra Navarro, an alum of acclaimed Mexican fine dining restaurant Quintonil. The lush courtyard is an elegant setting for a long afternoon of cocktails, wine, and shareable plates. The menu has an international touch, so expect dishes that combine flavors from all over the world with high-quality ingredients. When in doubt, go for the oyster platters, fried squid, and pork Milanese with a salad of field mustard and buttermilk dressing.