El Farolito Polanco
In operation since 1962, you'll find an impressive array of tacos, tortas, agua frescas, and more here. Sit at the counter and watch the chefs whip up meals at an impressive speed.
40 Best Restaurants in Mexico City, Mexico
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Mexico City has been a culinary capital ever since the time of Moctezuma. Chronicles tell of the extravagant banquets prepared for the Aztec emperor with more than 300 different dishes served. Today's Mexico City is a gastronomic melting pot, with some 15,000 restaurants. You'll find everything from taco stands on the streets to simple, family-style eateries and elite restaurants. The number and range of international restaurants is growing and diversifying, particularly in middle- and upper-class neighborhoods like Polanco, San Angel, La Condesa, La Roma, Lomas de Chapultepec, and Del Valle. Argentine, Spanish, and Italian are the most dominant international cuisines; however, you'll also find a fair share of Japanese, Korean, Arabic, and French restaurants. Mexico City restaurants generally open 7–11 am for breakfast (el desayuno) and 1–6 for lunch (la comida)—although it's rare for Mexicans to eat lunch before 2, and you're likely to feel lonely if you arrive at a popular restaurant before then. Lunch is an institution in this country, often lasting two or more hours, and until nightfall on Sunday. Consequently, the evening meal (la cena) may often be really light, consisting of sweet bread and coffee, traditional tamales, and atole (a hot beverage made from corn and masa and sometimes chocolate) at home, or tacos and appetizers in a restaurant.
If having dinner, most locals start out at 9 pm; restaurants serving dinner stay open at least until 11 pm during the week, and later on weekends. Many restaurants are only open for lunch, especially on Sunday. At deluxe restaurants dress is generally formal (jacket at least), and reservations are recommended; see reviews for details. If you're short on time, you can always head to American-style coffee shops or recognizable fast-food chains all over the city that serve the tired but reliable fare of burgers, fried chicken, and pizza. If it's local flavor you're after, go with tacos or the Mexico City fast-food staple, the torta (a giant sandwich stacked with the ingredients of your choice for about $3). Eating on the street is part of the daily experience for those on the go, and surprising as it may seem, many people argue that it's some of the best food in the city. Still, stick to crowded stands to avoid a stomach illness.
Also cheap and less of a bacterial hazard are the popular fondas (small restaurants). At lunchtime fondas are always packed, as they serve a reasonably priced four-course meal, known as the comida corrida, which typically includes soup of the day, rice or pasta, an entrée, and dessert. There are few vegetarian restaurants, but you'll have no trouble finding nonmeat dishes wherever you grab a bite. Vegetarians and vegans, however, will have a more difficult time, as many dishes are often prepared using lard.
Colonia Polanco, the upscale neighborhood on the edge of the Bosque de Chapultepec, has some of the best and most expensive dining (and lodging) in the city. Zona Rosa restaurants often fill up with tourists, so don't expect to be sitting with the locals here. The Condesa and Roma neighborhoods buzz with a younger crowd all week.
Fonda Mi Lupita
Some of the best mole to be found in central Mexico City comes out of a giant clay pot that, at first glance, looks bigger than the entire dining room of this modest, family-run fonda. Opened in 1957, Fonda Mi Lupita specializes in mole from the eastern side of Mexico state, where the dish leans toward the rich, savory flavors of mulato chilies. You'd be hard pressed to find a better rendition anywhere nearby.
La Oveja Negra
Busy and stylish, this is a popular classic in the Santa María la Ribera neighborhood, located in an older building that has retained its original high ceilings and tile work. Known for having slightly higher prices than usual for the area, it’s also recognized for excellent service, taste, and variety of traditional Mexican dishes, but the star is the barbacoa (slow-roasted sheep meat) and pulque.
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Taquería Los Paisas
You'll know this all-day taco spot (open 8 am to midnight, seven days a week) from the crowds that take over the corner outside. The main draw here are tacos de bistec—thin cuts of beef cooked on a flat top—and a staggering array of toppings from mashed potatoes to boiled beans to pico de gallo that could make a solid meal on their own.
Antojitos Mexicanos Las Escaleras
So named for its location blocking access to a narrow staircase, this tiny stall is known for its deep-fried quesadillas, a notch above others in the neighborhood. Be prepared for a line any time you visit.
Baltazar
Before Mexico City had al pastor tacos, Puebla had tacos arabes, a kind of schwarma brought here by Lebanese immigrants in the early 20th century and adapted to the flavors and ingredients of the New World. Baltazar serves arguably the best rendition of the dish in town along with some light, crisp falafel for vegetarians.
Café El Cordobés
A corner coffee spot clad in dark wood with an impossibly narrow upstairs balcony, El Chavelete is a pleasant spot to stop for a pick-me-up in the vicinity of San Juan. You can also grab your coffee to-go from the window that opens to the sidewalk.
Café El Jarocho
A block from Plaza Hidalgo, this old-time café whose name translates to "native of Veracruz" has a nearly fanatical following. It has stood at this prime street corner in 1953—many evenings the line for coffee, hot chocolate, mochas, and doughnuts extends down the block well past midnight. There are a few other—generally less crowded—branches around the neighborhood, but the original is still the most popular.
Café Jekemir
The main location of a small local chain founded in 1938 by a family of Lebanese immigrants, Jekemir recently moved to one of Centro's prettiest plazas, at the end of the pedestrianized Calle Regina. One of precious few places in Centro to sit outside, Jekemir is still a family-owned operation.
Café La Pagoda
Think of this as Mexico City's equivalent of your favorite all-day diner: open from 7 am to 4 am every day of the year, La Pagoda is the best of several (admittedly very similar) old school cafés lined up along the northern side of Avenida 5 de Mayo. The food is far from extraordinary, but the atmosphere is beyond charming, with its long bar and bright lights, service that borders on the maternal (expect to be called mi amor or mi vida at least once), solid breakfast dishes served all day, and a perfect café con leche to snap you out of a late-night or early-morning stupor.
Casino Español de Mexico
Housed on the mezzanine floor of the magnificent Casino Español, this restaurant is as classic as it gets: white tablecloths, coffered ceilings, formal service, and food straight out of the Iberian Peninsula, with a particular focus on dishes from the northern regions of Galicia, Asturias, and País Basco. The Casino was founded in 1863 as a club for Spanish immigrants to independent Mexico and relocated to its current, opulent home in 1905.
Chicago Bernie's Beef Bike
This peculiar restaurant name (for this latitude) is thanks to the Midwestern owner who started making delicious burgers on a cart from the back of his bike. These gratuitous-in-every-way burgers quickly became well-recognized across the city and its San Rafael location has become one of the busiest restaurants in the neighborhood. Stop in for a beer on the patio, catch a gringo game on the TV, and see if it lives up to the hype.
Churrería el Moro
A branch of the historic churro restaurant in Centro Historico, this is a great place to stop and take a break on the eastern edge of Polanco. Delicious churros, hot chocolate, milk shakes, and coffee will satisfy your sweet tooth here
City Café
A local chain, this location of City Café is the perfect place to grab breakfast, lunch, or a quick snack in Bosque de Chapultepec. It's located in Section 2 close to Lago Mayor and offers a menu filled with healthy choices.
Cocina Mi Fonda
If you're looking for the platonic ideal of a Mexico City fonda (the small, home-style restaurants that feed much of the city's population each day), you need look no farther than this sunny mainstay between the Mercados San Juan and Arcos de Belén. The food here is simple, classic, and always served with love, from the famous paella to the daily, three-course comida corrida.
Coox Hanal
Located up two flights of stairs, this neighborhood institution has turned out solid fare from the Yucatán since 1953 in a big, sunny spot filled with families and, on most afternoons, live music. If you turn up on a weekend lunch hour (usually from around 2 to 4 pm), expect to find a line winding down the staircase.
El Cardenal
An institution known for its classic Mexican cooking, today El Cardenal has locations all over the city, but the branch to try is on Calle Palma, in a three-story building in the florid style of the late 19th century. Inside, the atmosphere (think beige walls and white tablecloths) and food are old school; the best time to come is breakfast, when trays of pan dulces make for a pleasant prelude to eggs or chilaquiles. Another location in the neighborhood can be found at Marconi 2.
El Corral del Chivo
A beloved family spot with indoor and outdoor seating overlooking Santa María la Ribera’s main park, you can smell the birria (goat meat) from a block away. The service is quick and the menu is not entirely varied, but its specialties have kept people coming for years. Sparsely decorated but clean and open, it has a welcoming vibe that beckons to visitors morning, noon, and night.
El Moro
In the past few years, this classic churrería (churro shop) has exploded across the city, opening branches decked out in chic blue-and-white. But the original location, open since 1935 on the Eje Central (previously Avenida San Juan Letrán), is a cozy, two-story maze of wooden beams, ceramic tiles, and stained glass. Come for fresh churros and hot chocolate or, if you're peckish by day, stop out front for a torta de mole.
El Nuevo Café Bagdad
Open since 1955, Café Bagdad occupies a long narrow room in an 18th-century house on the Plaza de la Aguilita, one of several plazas in Centro's rundown and hectic but charming eastern side. Coffee beans are toasted and ground on-site and simple but hearty comida corrida (all-inclusive meals that include soup of the day, rice, beans, tortillas, and fruit juice) comes at an affordable MP80.
El Puerto de Alvarado
This seafood stand in the Mercado San Juan sells some of the market's freshest fish, which are also served up as ceviches and tostadas for diners who stop at the tables across the aisle. This is the place to try fresh almejas chocolatas ("chocolate" clams, named for the color of their giant shells), so fresh they'll move under a squirt of lime juice.
Farmacia Internacional
Located on Bucareli, a grand avenue lined with opulent turn-of-the-century apartment buildings, Farmacia Internacional is a perfect specimen of a café: all warm wood, pleasant light, good coffee, and the kind of light, simple cooking that can feel hard to come by in this neighborhood. Stop in for a freshly baked cookie in the morning, a glass of wine in the evening, or a midday salad.
Finca Don Porfirio Cafetería II
This charming colonial-era café is open to the street, with regulars, families, and digital nomads regularly making appearances. It’s bustling, maybe a bit too bustling for some folks to focus on work, but the price-to-quality ratio is impressive, as is its selection of Mexican-style hot chocolate, which range from spicy to sweet to bitter. Whether you're looking for molletes, chilaquiles, or pan dulce, this place has it all, served quick and delicious.
Fougasse
Part bakery, part restaurant, you won't be disappointed whether you stop here for a quicker bite or a full sit-down for dinner. The star of the show is the roulette, a round, flaky pastry reminiscent of a croissant and served plain or with savory or sweet toppings and fillings.
Helu's
After 70 years in a tiny alley of a shop deep in Centro's fabric district on Calle El Salvador, Lebanese grocer and baker Helu's moved to bigger, shinier digs on Mesones, where they serve tasty shawarma on homemade pan arabe and empanadas libanesas stuffed with spinach, cheese, or meat. There are also Lebanese groceries like labneh and tahini for sale, popular with members of the community coming through the neighborhood for work.
Joe Gelato
This gelato shop features flavors that are inventive, inspired by the Mexican palate. Friendly service from the owner himself gives it a homey vibe, where you can sit and enjoy your dessert or order coffee and tea. The real deal here is the quality of the refreshing and unique flavor blends; you can mix up to three flavors in a single scoop.
Klein's
This popular deli has been serving up affordable Mexican-Jewish fusion in Polanco since 1962. You'll find hotcakes, waffles, and chili dogs on the menu alongside chilaquiles and enchiladas, all topped with a large range of house-made salsas. Klein's has retained its charming diner appeal with burnt orange vinyl booths and laminate tabletops despite opening multiple locations throughout the city.
La Corte
Open since 1932, La Corte is a sunny, cheerful spot for breakfast or a particularly ambitious rendition of what's known in Mexico as comida corrida: three-course meals at a set cost designed to eat quickly during a work lunch break.
La Divina Culpa
This perpetually packed sidewalk diner offers the quintessential quick bite experience in Mexico City. Serving breakfast and lunch, it’s popular for the daily comida corrida (three-course meal); tables turn over fast.
La Santa
This tiny pizzeria has more space on its sidewalk than its interior, which is mostly a kitchen that prepares thin-crust Argentine style pizzas, empanadas, and salads. The service is attentive and the prices are low. You’ll probably have to wait for a table, as there are very few, but the food and staff will make it worth it.
