710 Best Restaurants in Mexico

One of the tiniest yet most beautifully designed restaurants in Roma, this strangely wonderful bistro serves boldly flavored contemporary Mexican cuisine from a short, always-changing menu created by an alum of Pujol and El Bulli. Options might include a tostada topped with smoked leeks, recado negro (a charred Yucatecan chile paste) and avocado mousse, or an infladita (a fried, puffed tortilla) filled with crabmeat and corn and topped with a puree of spring peas and mint. It's a good idea to reserve a few days ahead. 

Enjoy fresh seafood on the shaded patio of this family-owned restaurant in the heart of town. Try fish prepared al ajo (in a garlicky butter sauce), breaded, grilled, or tikin–xic style (marinated with adobo de achiote and sour oranges). Pelicanos also offers a variety of four-hour excursions that include fishing, snorkeling, then cooking the daily catch at the restaurant.

This culinary laboratory is famed for developing new dishes using both inventive techniques and traditional ingredients. Everything served here is sourced locally and used imaginatively to create a contemporary Oaxacan cuisine. The head chef, Jose Manuel Baños, heads of team of leading culinary talents to prepare the finest and most delicate meals available in city. The beautifully restored restaurant also features a mezcal tasting bar and both indoor and outdoor eating areas. The six- and nine-course tasting menus, showcasing the best of the best in Oaxacan cookery, are highly recommended.

Modeled after the dock warehouses that have been converted into modern eateries in Argentina's Puerto Madero, this steak-and-seafood restaurant gets rave reviews from locals. The grilled octopus seasoned with paprika is exceptional, as are the thin tuna rolls filled with Alaskan crab meat and Maine lobster. The sushi menu lists swanky appetizers. If the restaurant is too loud inside, ask for a table outside on the patio overlooking the lagoon. Reservations are recommended on weekends.

Walk a couple blocks south of Tepotzotlán's main plaza, which is lined with mostly unmemorable restaurants, to reach this beautifully designed modern Italian spot set in a handsome old building with towering windows and brick walls. The extensive menu features creative pastas, pizzas, and sandwiches served on house-baked artisan breads---try the linguine with shrimp and octopus sauteed in garlic or the Argentinean-style choripán sandwich, with chorizo, a mix of cheeses, and chimichurri sauce. 

Named after a wild green herb often found in milpas, a Mesoamerican crop-growing system, Quintonil was opened in 2012 by chef-owner Jorge Vallejo. Today, Vallejo eschews fussiness to let the local ingredients shine: smoked trout from nearby Zitácuaro or a salad of greens and herbs from the floating gardens of Xochimilco. The discreet, refined restaurant is locally focused all the way up to the rooftop garden.

The patio of this historic home glows with candlelight in the evening, but during the day, things feel a lot more casual. Although the menu has a few fish or meat dishes (cochinita pibil, say, or butterfly chicken breast in a cream sauce), the emphasis is on vegetarian dishes such as chaya soup (made from a green plant similar to spinach), stuffed mushrooms, spinach lasagna, and avocado pizza. Prices are reasonable, and service is excellent. Expect live music in the open-air courtyard daily between 8:30 pm and midnight.

Although there's a charming downstairs seating area, the rooftop terrace of this delightful bistro serving creative Mexican dishes as well as pizzas and gastropub fare is hard to beat, with its views overlooking the town's central plaza and the steep cliffs that frame Malinalco. Highlights from the diverse menu include a tiradito of raw cecina with serrano chiles, marinated wild-boar tacos, and trout topped with pineapples, ham, and cheese in a lightly spicy sauce. Among the pizzas, the Yucateca-inspired pie with tender cochinita pibil and cured purple onions is a favorite. Save room for the traditional corn cake with whipped cream and berries for dessert.

An immediate success since it opened on a quiet side street in Colonia Cuauhtémoc, tiny Rokai is perhaps the most authentic Japanese restaurant in a city where cream cheese, chipotle mayo, and bottled hot sauce adorn many a sushi roll. Japanese chefs Hiroshi Kawahito and Daisuke Maeda use immaculately fresh fish brought in daily from Mexico's various coasts, primarily Baja California and Oaxaca, and turn it into sushi and sashimi, as well as cooked dishes. There's also a ramen restaurant next door, bearing the same name and ownership.

This stylish restaurant set on the rooftop terrace of the enchanting Hotel Boutique Pueblo Lindo offers not only some of the best views in town, but also delicious, beautifully presented modern Mexican dishes. Start the day with huevos rancheros, fresh seasonal fruit, and one of the decadent house-baked pastries; later in the day, try the grilled fish of the day with pureed potatoes and a mango salsa, or enchiladas with chicken and hibiscus flowers. Everything is prepared with care and using fresh, often seasonal ingredients. 

Regarded as one of the best female chefs in the world, Elena Reygadas worked for years at London's Michelin-starred Italian restaurant Locando Locatelli before moving back to her hometown to open Rosetta in a stunning early 1900s belle epoque mansion. Despite the perfect risottos and handmade pastas in varying shapes, what her cuisine primarily takes from Italy is reliance on local and seasonal ingredients (the olive oil is from Baja California, the burrata cheese made in the town of Atlixco)—but much of the food has a creative Mexican heart. Breads both sweet and savory are baked in-house, and sold from Panadería Rosetta bakery, which has two locations nearby.

An oat-processing facility, in an area that's busy by day but quiet at night, has been converted into an innovative cultural complex. In addition to this restaurant offering creatively updated Yucatecan dishes, you'll also find several bars, a gallery, an arthouse cinema, and a pop-up space that typically features the work of a local artisan or collective.

Across the street from the dramatic spires of Parroquia de San Andrés Cholula, this simple sandwich shop serves delicious versions of classic tortas as well as Puebla's beloved version of these hearty sandwiches, the cemita. Try it with chicken milanesa (with thinly pounded and breaded chicken) or local sausage with all the fixings, including cheese, avocado, jalapeños, and chipotles in adobado sauce.

At Siembra Comedor, the diverse dishes are elevated and delectable, with both the decor and the menu heavily centering around corn. Whether you choose tacos, octopus, or a rib eye, your meal won't disappoint. A few doors down from the restaurant is Siembra Taqueria (Newton 256), a good spot for a quick bite if your time is more limited.

Combine prime cuts from Sonora (Mexico's finest meat-producing state), a chef that has found the secret to grilling the perfect barbecue, and affordable rates, and you'll get this local favorite. The restaurant now has an indoor area with a/c, making it a comfortable place where to eat year round.

One of the most sophisticated restaurants in Puerto Vallarta and a favorite of meat lovers, Sonora Prime is a renowned chain that serves high-quality steaks, imported directly from the northern Mexican state of Sonora.

Celebrated chef Edgar Nunez has developed a thoroughly ambitious approach to contemporary cuisine that uses both Mexican and international ingredients—consider seared tuna with jocoque, fennel, smoked grapefruit, and citrus butter, or sea scallops with coconut, purple onions, and rice vinegar. The gently modern space (a 10-minute drive south of San Ángel) merges indoors with outdoors and is one of the sexiest spots in town. The desserts are always fabulous.

This sophisticated Mediterranean restaurant enjoys an enviable location at the heart of the Zona Hotelera and with breathtaking views of the Nichupté Lagoon. Start with the Alaskan king crabs marinated in lime or the Omega mussels with white wine and Sicilian lemon; continue with wood-fired Mediterranean shrimp or a New Zealand rack of lamb. For dessert, the Valrhona chocolate soufflé is handmade specially for you at the moment you order it. 

This simple, tiny taqueria is a favorite standby for tacos guisados, a completely addictive style with stewed and richly seasoned braised meats like higado (beef liver topped with avocado), chicken mole, and a tuna-sardine blend. Hola stands out from the pack for its variety of vegetarian and vegan options, including squash, Swiss chard, nopales, and quelites, a distinctive Mexican herb that's commonly used in soups and stews.

There are few more satisfying experiences after a night of dancing and drinking than devouring a plate of tacos at this taqueria with a spacious dining room on Avenida Álvaro Obregón. Fillings include trompo (al pastor), chicharrón with spicy house-made salsa, and beef; a side of the crunchy fried papas orinoco potatoes is a must. Orinoco is open until at least 3:30 am most nights and until 5 am on weekends, and there can sometimes be a long wait for a table. There are a few other locations throughout the city, including the original location on the border between Roma and Condesa.

Adjacent to a gorgeous 1947 Luis Barragán–designed house (Casa Pedegral), this dramatic space with plexiglass floors that reveal a volcanic-rock landscape beneath is a favorite destination of both foodies and architecture aficionados. The kitchen turns out fancy, organic fare from early morning until late at night, like gently scrambled eggs with escamoles (ant larvae) and salsa verde for breakfast, and artisan pizza or roasted octopus with squid ink, caramelized onions, and a pineapple puree at dinner. This is a great spot for lounging, with a bi-level library stocked with art and architecture books and a beautifully curated art and clothing boutique. Tours of Casa Pedegral can be arranged by appointment. If you're a fan of Barragán architecture, take a stroll around the neighborhood, especially along Avendia de los Fuentes, before or after your meal. You'll pass by a number of Barragán-designed or -influenced homes, mostly hidden behind walls, but these concrete-volcanic rock structures are interesting even just to look at.

Be prepared to wait for a table, especially on weekend evenings, at this hugely popular no-nonsense restaurant just off Plaza Borda that's famous for pozole. There are three options---green (available only on Thursday and Saturday), red (served only on Thursday), and white, the classic version that's on the menu daily. These rich and hearty soups, especially if you order a large portion, are quite filling, but if you aren't completely full, save room for an order of queso fundido or chicken tostadas.