315 Best Bars in Mexico

A breath of fresh air in the nightlife scene of Puerto Vallarta, Act2PV is a multigenre theater, cabaret, and sophisticated bar all in one. On the top floor of a little shopping center in Zona Romántica, it offers a great diversity of shows, both on the Main Stage and in the more intimate Red Room. Altogether, it's an excellent option for a different kind of night out in Puerto Vallarta. 

This stylish mezcaleria and gastropub has a smartly decorated tile-floor interior as well as plenty of sidewalk tables. In addition to artisanal mezcal and cocktails, there's a great wine and craft beer selection and well-prepared modern Mexican food to snack on.

This snug and stylish hideout just off Avenida Amsterdam is decorated with framed butterflies and bird illustrations and offers up an enticing list of innovative cocktails—try the Old George Sour with Altos Plata tequila, cardamom, and cucumber, or any of the several fine mezcal elixirs. The tight space with just a handful of seats inside and a few more on the sidewalk can get busy on weekends, but if you can snag a table, it's a lovely place to chat with friends or mingle with new ones. It's owned by the same team behind the Roma's famous Licorería Limantour.

At what's said to be Taxco's oldest bar (it opened in the 1930s), a tequila, lime, and club soda concoction called a Berta is the specialty. Watch out for Taxco's high curbs and ankle-turning cobblestones after you down a few of those. You can also sample local mezcal here.

Since 1951 (minus a two-year closure during the pandemic), this unabashedly campy cabaret in the eastern reaches of Doctores has been luring even shy patrons onto the central dance stage for salsa, merengue, and cumbia music. The live orchestra is almost as much fun to watch as the completely diverse crowd that includes everyone from white-haired couples to gay teens. Upstairs by the restrooms, be sure to check out the kitschy, obscene artwork. Although not terribly far from Roma or El Centro, the area can get a bit dodgy at night—it's best to Uber here.

This little cabaret offers entertainment six nights per week, ranging from drag shows and burlesque to exotic dancers and impersonators. There’s nothing dull about a night at Cabaretito, and it’s a welcoming space for all. Bottle service is available, and you'll find plenty of alcohol to lower your inhibitions and fit in with the rollicking crowd eager for a good time.

This sleek and rather spare cocktail and natural-wine bar on the ground floor of Casa Nuevo Leon hotel stands out for its long list of expertly prepared cocktails and its well-chosen selection of very interesting wines, including pét-nats and still wines from Baja's Valle de Guadalupe, along with selections from Georgia, Portugal, New Zealand, and other vino-centric parts of the world. There's also a tempting selection of seafood-focused bar bites, including anchovy toast, smoked-oyster pâté, and crab-salad sandwiches.

The glow of flickering candles welcomes visitors to this swish Parisian-style bar that presents live jazz and blues bands several days a week, along with a menu of designer pizzas, Mediterranean tapas, wine, and cocktails. It's a popular spot on weekends, and reservations are recommended if you want a table. Around the corner, sister restaurant Franca Bistro serves a more extensive food menu and has a similarly classy but laid-back air about it.

This open-air beer garden is extremely popular with students and ale aficionados and is located a 10-minute walk west of Cholula's pyramid. In addition to the extensive selection of artisanal beers, you'll find plenty of tasty snacks, including empanadas, tacos, and salads. 

This sophisticated rooftop restaurant and bar serves exquisite seafood and stylish cocktails with a side of fantastic ocean views. It's a great place to have dinner at sunset and enjoy music from international DJs at night.

Open only on Friday nights, The City is a giant party complex with several large bars selling overpriced drinks and a cavernous dance floor with stadium seating. Dancing and live shows are the main draw during the legendary foam parties. This is by far the loudest club in the Zona Hotelera, so don't be surprised if you go home with your ears ringing. Doors open at 10 pm; expect to pay a MX$500 cover or MX$1,300 for open-bar entry.

The wild Coco Bongo has no chairs, but there are plenty of tables that everyone dances on and capacity for 1,800 people. There's also a popular show billed as "Las Vegas meets Hollywood," featuring celebrity impersonators and an amazing gravity-defying acrobatic performance with an accompanying 12-piece orchestra. After the shows, the techno gets turned up to full volume, and everyone gets up to get down. Doors open at 10:30 pm. Tickets are MX$1,400–MX$2,600 for open bar and shows.

Like its successful sister properties in Cancún, Coco Bongo has things like flying acrobats, bar-top conga lines, live bands, and DJs mixing everything from rock to hip-hop. The cover charge includes unlimited drinks.

The name of this lively lounge in the city center's bustling La Cruz district may give you pause if you last attended college in the previous century, but College Bar actually appeals to a wide range of ages thanks to its pretty rooftop lounge with great views and an extensive menu of legitimately tasty pub fare, including pizzas, Cobb salads, and gigantic burgers. Musicians entertain the crowds, and TV monitors air soccer as well as NFL football games.

This grand, cavernous 1940s-era cantina has a long antique bar to one side and a kitchen serving up tasty Asturian Spanish fare. It's filled nightly with the sounds of the tercera edad (a polite phrase for the elder generation) playing exuberant games of dominoes and millennials chatting about their adventures at Roma's latest gallery opening.

This oceanfront bar is just the way a beach bar is supposed to be—small, hip, and laid-back—making it a real pleasure to enjoy a beer while watching the waves of Playa Camarones. There's live music on Friday night and a DJ on Saturday. There's always a good vibe, and if you feel like having a bite, you can always ask the waiter to bring you some food from their next-door sister restaurant, El Barracuda.

This diminutive bar along nightlife-rich Avenida Álvaro Obregón is further evidence of Mexico City's increasingly fervent embrace of craft beer. As the name suggests, it has a particular soft spot for Belgian beers, but you'll find a little bit of everything here, including some bottles from smaller, cult brewers around the world, as well as one of the most current selections of up-and-coming Mexican producers. The friendly bartenders really know their stuff, too.

Best known for its terrific cocktails and live music, Fayne's is a brightly painted place with a hip, energetic personality. The party kicks off nightly at 8 with everything from American rock to Caribbean rhythms providing the soundtrack. Bring your dancing shoes.

The Habita Hotel rooftop showcases a magnificent view of the city from its hip open-air bar and terrace. The lounge area with its fireplace is a great place to chill out without catching a chill. Sipping a selection from the range of mezcals on offer will also do the trick. On some nights, you can watch vintage movies projected onto the building across the street.

One of the most fashionable cocktail venues in the neighborhood, this contemporary open-air rooftop bar is perched atop the chic Hotel CondesaDF. Hang with friends beneath a white umbrella on one of the wide arm chairs or snag a table overlooking the lush foliage of Parque España. In addition to well-crafted drinks, there's a menu of tasty sushi and other Japanese-fusion snacks.

Mingle with the fashionable crowd that frequents this trendy wine bar on the border of Condesa and Roma Norte. The focus is mostly on natural wines, with many selections from Europe but also a good number from Mexico's own esteemed Valle de Guadalupe. A nice selection of share-worthy small plates—pastas, beef tartare, eggplant caponata—are available, too. Hugo is a cousin of its hip neighbor, Cafe Milou.

One of Guadalajara's hot spots, I Latina is where you will spot a cool, upscale local and international crowd having cocktails. Their food has long been considered the best cuisine in all of Guadalajara.

This casual gastro pub is a colorful rooftop hot spot that shares the same stunning view of the famous Los Cabos Arch as its downstairs counterpart, Sunset Monalisa. With live jazz music every day and a selection of more than 140 wines and champagnes, this is the place to watch the sun set over light bites and cocktails.

Right in the heart of town, some of Mexico's most talented jazz musicians perform at this well-respected and lively music club that also turns out excellent gastropub fare, such as burgers, cheese fondue, and pizzas. There's a second branch in Roma Norte in Mexico City.

This bustling, stylish craft beer bar stands out for its attractive setting inside a high-ceilinged space with vertical-garden walls and an exceptionally varied selection of bottled and draft beers, most of them Mexican. There's also a great menu of elevated tacos, tortas, and other bar food, plus ping-pong and live music many evenings.

At this welcoming, lively Cuban joint set in a grand but faded mansion that wouldn't look the least out of place in Havana, every surface is splashed with graffiti. Inspired by the original Havana establishment where Hemingway once lapped up mojitos, La Bodeguita also serves inexpensive Cuban food and sells Cuban cigars. Much of the time, live salsa, timba, and rumba bands provide entertainment.

Talented mariachis, a long drinks list, and very tasty (though slightly expensive for the neighborhood) contemporary Mexican food are among the draws of this trendy modern cantina across the street from Jardín Centenario. But the biggest boast is the gracious setting: the main dining and drinking area is in a scenic courtyard with giant trees and a glass roof. There's a cozier bar upstairs, and next to the entrance, La Calaca has a cute little shop that sells fun gifts, crafts, and artwork.

A womblike, intimate space with shelves adorned with countless bottles of mezcal, La Clandestina is one of four establishments in Roma and Condesa operated by Mezcales Milagrito, an artisanal distiller in Oaxaca (La Lavandería, El Palenquito, and Traspatio are the others). The fun here is in sampling some of the many different varieties, ideally straight up (take your time and sip slowly) so that you can taste the different complexities. There's also an extensive list of creative cocktails as well as tlayudas and other light bar snacks.