310 Best Restaurants in Mexico City, Mexico

This festive and always packed spot has been a mainstay for sweet tooths since 1935. The best plan is to share an order or two of long, crispy churros with at least two dipping sauces (condensed milk, chocolate, and—maybe the best—cajeta are your options), along with a churro ice-cream sandwich. The interior has white-tile walls with intricate blue patterns, simple light-wood tables, and bright lighting. There are milk shakes and hot chocolate drinks, too, in case you're somehow still craving sugar. There are numerous additional locations around the city, and the owners also run a lively roast-chicken-focused fast-casual restaurant, Pollos Poncho, a block away on Álvaro Obregón.

Inspired by his mother's cooking, chef Edgar Núñez (of Sud777 fame) opened the unpretentious Comedor Jacinta in 2016. Like most comedores, Jacinta offers a typical comida corrida, or set lunch menu, alongside a fully vegetarian option.

Come before 1 pm or make an online reservation to avoid the long wait at this airy seafood haven, a power-lunch spot for the creative and celebrity sets since it opened in 1998 (there's often less of a wait for the casual outside tables). While the people-watching is prime, your attention will be on the food: start with the famed tuna tartare tostadas, then try some fish cooked al pastor or a bowl of clam chowder, minced soft-shell crab or octopus tacos, or the huge butterflied pescado Contramar with red chile. Be sure to save room for dessert, too (the banana pie is memorable). And there are few better places to enjoy the Mexican tradition of sobremesa, lingering over drinks and conversation after a meal.

Lebanese cuisine has a long history in Mexico thanks to an immigration wave in the early 20th century, and this spot is one of the city's best. The small, casual sidewalk restaurant in the lovely, leafy neighborhood of Narvarte Poniente has just a few items on the menu, but they’re done very well.

Drop by this smart café just steps from Museo Frida Kahlo for generous portions of creatively prepared Mexican and European breakfast and lunch fare, along with a vast selection of pastries and espresso drinks. The Yucatecan-style chilaquiles, topped with cochinita pibil and pickled onions, are a highlight in the morning, while standouts later in the day include avocado-smoked salmon toast and a Croque monsieur on a freshly baked brioche.

There's often a pretty sizable crowd waiting for a seat at the long, narrow bar inside this hip ramen parlor, a fast-casual version of one of the city's most beloved Japanese restaurants, Diego & Kaito, in Del Valle. One of the only spots in town that serves food 24/7, Deigo has a fairly short but sweet menu of well-prepared dishes, with chashu (pork belly, egg, and wakame seaweed) and corn-butter-miso among the favorites. There's a second location in Zona Rosa. 

Tucked inside the small El Mercado Amazónico on the east edge of Roma, this tiny offbeat Asian-Mexican-fusion taqueria features duck in every one of its handful of dishes, all of them addictively good. In addition to both Mexican- and Asian-style taco preparations (the Peking duck–inspired "Kim" version is especially tasty), you can enjoy ginger-duck-filled wontons and spring rolls as well as duck tortas. There's also a selection of house salsas (red wine-hibiscus, tamarind, and Thai sweet chile), and they offer a handful of artisan beers. The original location in Condesa is also excellent, and there are two others, one in Polanco and one in Coyoacán.

Although not as historic as the original in El Centro (there are four locations in all), this beloved outpost of one of the city's most highly regarded traditional Mexican restaurants occupies a courtly redbrick mansion with high ceilings and expansive terraces, a setting that's ideal for a leisurely weekend brunch before shopping around nearby Plaza San Jacinto. The menu is extensive and includes consistently well-executed renditions of such regional specialties as chilaquiles rojo with cecina, Oaxacan-style chicken mole, pan de elote with clotted cream, and chiles en nogada (in September). It's open daily, but closes at 6:30 pm. Ask to be seated on the main level, ideally out on the terrace, rather than in the dark and less enchanting downstairs space.

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.

This laid-back restaurant has been serving Hidalgo-style lamb barbacoa to grateful Mexico City residents since the 1990s. Friday through Monday afternoon only, fresh lamb from owner Moisés Rodríguez’s Hidalgo farm is roasted for 12 hours over mesquite and oak in an underground pit, then served in charred agave leaves. An order of barbacoa comes with everything you need to make tacos you'll remember for days; be sure to order the consommé, flavored with meat drippings, chile, and lime, and wash it all down with a glass of pulque. Though this is a barbacoa favorite, the mixiotes (pit-barbecued meats)—another Hidalguense specialty—are fantastic as well.

Set in a handsome old building on a sliver of city blocks wedged between Parque Chapultepec and the Circuito Bicentenario freeway (you may find it easier to Uber than walk here), El Mirador is a venerable old cantina that's been drawing a crowd of regulars since Porfirio Díaz was in office—1904 to be exact. In a dining room of paneled walls and white napery, well-dressed waiters whisk about with plates of pork tongue stewed in a rich chipotle-tomato sauce and tribilín, a flavorful dish of raw beef, fish, and shrimp marinated ceviche-style in olive oil, lime, onions, and roasted chiles. When you're feeling a little trendied-out by Condesa and Roma, this is a relaxing and rewarding antidote.

Detour just a short block off Francisco Sosa to find this inviting, light-filled café that offers up gorgeous breakfast and lunch fare as well as exquisite cakes and pastries based on recipes from the owner's British grandmother, including scones with jam and nata (clotted cream), trifle, and cardamom cakes. Other menu options include lentil salad; eggs Benedict; smoked salmon, ricotta, and egg croissants; and roast beef, gouda, Dijon mustard, and caramelized onion sandwiches on rustic bread. Note that in a different part of the neighborhood, at Avenida México 36, there's a second Olvidado with counter service, a more limited menu, and a cute but tiny sitting area.

Polanco's most beloved taquería serves tacos, tortas, and panuchos of cochinita pibíl, the Yucatecan specialty of achiote-marinated pork. People from all walks of life, from hipsters to construction workers to businesswomen, line up throughout the day for a quick fix, topped with the habanero salsa and pickled red onion (and Montejo beer) typical of the Yucatán. If you can grab a table, get the sopa de lima, a mildly tart chicken soup made with the region's tiny limes. It's common to see a line here, so be prepared for a short wait.

Occupying the intimate, refined space that was the original location of renowned Máximo Bistrot, this romantic farm-to-table restaurant is the brainchild of celebrated chef Lucho Martínez, an alum of both Máximo and Quintonil. Em's exciting menu varies according to the chef's inspiration and the season's bounty, but you might start with steak tartare with black truffles and a pain perdue brioche before graduating to braised short ribs with a rich peanut-based mole sauce or a fragrant, earthy porcini mushroom risotto.

Located in the shadows of Parque Uruguay, Entremar is the lesser-known sister restaurant of the popular Roma Norte seafood restaurant Contramar; both share the same menu as well as the same attentive service. Luckily, it's much easier to get a table at Entremar, but you'll still be enjoying the same high-quality dishes like the pescado contramar, a filet of fish seasoned on one side with red adobo rub and parsley on the other.

Black-and-white tiles give this bright space an impeccably clean and welcoming vibe. With its own house mezcal, wines, and beers, it can also be a place to gather for a drink or grab a light dinner. You can sit at the long wood bars facing either the barista zone or the street and the lovely Jardín de Arte, which separates San Rafael from the Colonia Cuautémoc.

The owners of this tiny Roma kitchen with volcanic-rock floors and walls are devoted to preserving Mexico's ancient culinary traditions, including the nixtamalización process of grinding corn into tortilla dough, which is used to create exquisite yet simple breakfast and lunch fare that changes day to day, according to what's in season. You might enjoy anything from corn tacos filled with fresh cheese, hoja santa (a peppery Mexican herb), and squash blossom, to a blue-corn tortilla topped with avocado, ants, and salsa. They also carry a beer made from corn, produced by the city's Dängo craft brewery.

Partly founded by Quinonil's celebrity chef Jorge Vallejo, Fonda Fina serves modernly interpreted Mexican classics, such as raw tuna tostadas with citrus oil and a gaujillo-chile vinaigrette or a casserole of beef cheeks braised in a green mole sauce with smoked cauliflower. One popular way to choose your meal here is to mix and match your protein (rib-eye, octopus, and pork among them) with any of several vegetable garnishes and about 10 salsa options—the servers are happy to recommend tasty pairings. The creative cocktails are excellent, too.

Everyone from postclubbing revelers to early morning workers to ardent foodies (the late Anthony Bourdain was a big fan) wait in line for a chance to feast on the hearty guisados served in this legendary breakfast joint. Come with a big appetite, and try a few specialties, such as refritos huevos (eggs whipped with refried beans), chilaquiles with salsa verde, and eggs stewed with longaniza sausage. Many of the best dishes sell out well before Fonda Margarita closes at 11:30 am, and there's usually a line by 8, so try to get here early.