David77

Hi All,

I'm going to Mexico City for the first time in the beginning of October and was looking for some help.

The food choices seem overwhelming does anyone have recommendations of can't miss restaurants or little out of the way places to eat? What about vendor food? What is safe and what should I stay away from?

Also, what is the best part of the city to stay in? I'm looking at the old district, was wondering if there were any hotel suggestions?

Thanks so much for your help!

Pausanias

Yes David the historic district is the way to go, imho. Suggest you look at the Majestic Hotel on the Zocalo. I like rooms overlooking the square though they can be noisy. It has a decent restaurant with a great view -- not a bad place to get a drink either. On the zocalo (which is itself full of fascinating streetlife) you can easily visit the cathedral, templo mayor and its museum and the National Palace.

Good restaurants nearby are the Cafe de Tacuba and the Hosteria de Santo Domingo.

I find the Zona Rosa to be a horror -- a little like Pottersville in "It's a Wonderful Life" -- however, one of my favorite restaurants is the Fonda del Refugio http://www.fondaelrefugio.com.mx/home.html.

On our last trip, we also had a good meal at Los Alemandros in Polanco. Yucatecan food.

I follow the advice of a friend who has lived in Mexico for years and avoid all street food, no matter how tempting. I have never been sick in Mexico, but I sure have regretted not eating the street food! Perhaps a more adventurous eater can help!

robertino

Hi David -

Agree on Refugio. Excellent.

I wasn't so horrified by the Zona Rosa, but I'm difficult to horrify. Judge for yourself when you go to Refugio for dinner.

I did have a strong negative reaction to Polanco. Go figure.

There are also several good places on Rio Lerma, just north of the US Embassy. The Condesa neighborhood has several good places too, and makes for a nice evening stroll.

There are several threads on this forum about how not to get sick in Mexico. They all recommend avoiding vendor food. One thing to avoid that you may not immediately think of is salad, at least for a few days until your system acclimates.

I know that you haven't asked about things to see and do, but I hope you will go out to Teotihoucan.

Have a great time!

SusanInToronto

David, you might also want to check chowhound - there are a lot of restaurant recommendations there for Mexico City.

gomexico

Staying near the Zocalo isn't what I ususally recomment to people unfamiliar with the city and the high rate of crime (in that neighborhood), but we don't know what you're going to be doing when in the city. Centro Historico is not where most of what there is to see/do in the city is located, either. The suggestion to check the chowhound.com Mexico forum is a good one.