Mexico City to Mexico is like New York City to the United States. With its array of culturally rich places to visit and restaurants to try, here’s a list of the top restaurant recommendations sent in by members of our Instagram community.
If you’ve tried any of these restaurants, let us know in the comments below. We’re curious to hear your thoughts!
Please Note: This list is written in alphabetical order (not according to a specific rating) since Mexico In My Pocket has not yet reviewed the restaurants.
1. Cafebrería el Pendulo
Cafebrería el Pendulo is a bookstore and cafe which prides itself in being one of the most important cultural centers in Latin America. In addition to selling books, they host cultural events, concerts, and literary discussions. Its first location opened in 1993 in Condesa, and they now have seven locations all over Mexico City. Each location features the same type of characteristics—bright and open architecture, eclectic design, and tables styled to feel like a café bar. You can take a look at their menus and locations here.
2. Café de Tacuba
This historic Mexican restaurant is over 100 years old and serves a wide variety of traditional dishes such as chiles rellenos, tostadas, tamales, enchiladas, and pan dulce. The restaurant itself is filled with historic Mexican art, stained glass windows, and brass chandeliers. Fun Fact: Diego Rivera married his second wife, the novelist Guadalupe Marin, at Café Tacuba in 1922, according to MXCity. See more images of the restaurant here.
3. Cancino
Cancino is rated as one of the top pizza places in Mexico City. They offer a wide variety of options, including salads, paninis, and pastas. We’re personally interested in trying their pizza with hutilacoche and Oaxacan cheese (featured above). You can take a look at their full menu here. They have a total of eight locations listed on their website.
4. Cascabel
Cascabel is a contemporary restaurant that strives to maintain ancestral methods of cooking. The name of their restaurant is inspired by the cascabel chile, which is a round dried pepper with a nutty and earthy flavor. Their menu includes classic dishes like fish tacos, sopes, gorditas, and the chef’s mom’s recipe for albondigas. We are personally interested in trying their guacamole cascabel. You can take a look at their full menu here.
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5. Cochinita Power
Cochinita Power is a restaurant that is known for specializing in offering cochinita pibil in all forms. You can order cochinita pibil tacos, tortas, panuchos, chilaquiles, and even a hamburger! For those of you who don’t know, cochinita is pulled pork that is marinated and braised. At CP, they marinate the cochinita in achiote and cook it for 10 hours. Afterwards it is garnished with purple onions, orange juice and habanero. CP offers a wide variety of habanero salsas and recommends ordering an agua fresca to wash down the heat from this very spicy pepper.
6. Dulce Patria
Dulce Patria translates to ‘sweet heritage’. As the name suggests, its owner Martha Ortiz, was inspired by her home country to create a vibrant Mexican menu: pink mole, ceviches and tostadas, all presented with a chic style. The cocktails are beautifully crafted and dressed with fresh flowers and artful touches. Dulce Patria is housed within Las Alcobas Hotel; ask for a table at one of the two terraces and get the full cultural experience of the city’s colors and flavors.
7. El Balcón del Zócalo
Chef Pepe Salinas aims to surprise its diners with a personal mix of a contemporary style and old tradition to evoke an emotional experience with every dish. From breakfast and brunch to lunch and dinner, Balcón del Zócalo has an extensive menu that you can enjoy with a superb view from the roof of the Zocalo Central Hotel of Mexico City’s Plaza de la Constitución, the Palacio Nacional and the Cathedral. You can enjoy delicacies as simple as Mexican sweet bread, hot chocolate, and chilaquiles to elaborate gourmet-style dishes like gyozas of ‘cochinita pibil’ or roasted baby pig and kampachi ceviche.
8. Fonda Fina
Fonda Fina prides itself in serving traditional Mexican cuisine using fresh local and seasonal ingredients. Dishes range from their popular sopa de fideo seco (dried noodles) with chilaquiles to corundas. Corundas is a classic Mexican dish that is similar to tamales, but it is wrapped in a green maize leaf and doesn’t always contain stuffing. Pro-tip: Save room for dessert! They offer a delicious looking churro sandwich filled with baked bananas and topped with cinnamon ice cream. To see more of the dishes they offer, visit their Instagram page.
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9. Forever Vegano
Forever Vegano is perfect spot for our amigos who are vegan! They offer soups, salads, tacos, bowls, sandwiches, and pastas. We are curious to try their cauliflower chorizo! They have two locations. You can view their menu here.
10. GinGin
If you’re looking for to experience both nightlife and dinner, it sounds like GinGin is the place to go! Located in a beautiful restored mansion in the heart of Roma, this is the perfect spot for those who like gin and dancing. Wednesday - Saturday at 9p they hire a DJ to play a mix of house and funk music. Check out their menu here.
11. Huset
Huset is the perfect spot for an outdoor lunch or dinner. Located in a Porfirian-style home, they offer a special selection of wines and cocktails and work to create an ambiance so that their guests feel at home. Their menu is simple, but their dishes are classic. We would personally love to try their pumpkin soup with huitlacoche and their arroz con pollo. To see more images of their interiors, click here.
12. Kura
While sushi might not be at the top of your list when visiting Mexico City, Kura is well-known for striving to serve better dishes than one might find in Japan. What makes this restaurant special is the chef’s genuine passion for creating unique meals. On their website he writes, “Mexico is very different from Japan. Every day, I find something new and I also fail. But we are always working with genuine sincerity to impress our customers.” You gotta respect this kind of passion! You can view the menu here.
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13. La Boheme
La Boheme is a bakery that takes inspiration from traditional French and Mexican cuisine. The video above features pan de muerto (bread of the dead) made of metate chocolate and filled with white chocolate. This bakery is the perfect spot to have a pastry with your morning cup of coffee. We are personally eyeing their chocolate cronut! To see the full pastry menu, click here.
14. La Lavanderia Mezcaleria
La Lavanderia is the perfect place to snack on chapulines (grasshoppers), guacamole, and drink a little mezcal. According to a few Yelpers, they offer a wide variety of mezcales and also speak English.
15. La Pitahaya Vegana
La Pitahaya Vegana is another great spot for those looking for vegan cuisine. You can find a wide variety of options such as gluten-free waffles, tacos, sopes, frijoles de la olla, bowls and more. We would love to taste their pink sopes! To see their menu, click here.
16. La Unica
La Unica is a great spot for tacos. If you’re feeling daring, you should order gusanos de maguey (mezcal worms). Their cuisine is inspired by the flavors of Northern Mexico Nuevo Leon and Baja California. Their menu includes options for everyone—vegetarians, pescetarians, and meat lovers. View the menu here.
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17. Lardo
Lardo is a Mediterranean restaurant that offers both breakfast and lunch. For breakfast, they offer sweet and savory options such as cereal, eggs, pastries, and sandwiches. They also have a few vegan items. For lunch, you can order salads, grilled items, and some interesting fried options such as prosciutto di Parma croquettes, stuffed zucchini flowers, and avocado lemon zest sauce. To see both menus, click here.
18. Maque
Maque is a great spot for brunch. They offer homemade breads, pan dulce, huevos divorciados, chilaquiles, sandwiches, tamales and more. They also offer options for vegetarians. If you do decide to stop by for brunch, make sure to pick up a concha. Many have commented that they are amazing! To see more images, click here.
19. Ojo de Agua
Ojo de Agua is the perfect breakfast and lunch spot for our healthy foodies! They offer a wide variety of aguas frescas (fresh juices) as well as soup, salads, sandwiches, acai bowls, eggs, and more . To view the menu, click here. To view all the locations, click here.
20. Pasillo de Humo
Pasillo de Humo offers Oaxacan-style cuisine and is located in the neighborhood of Condesa. They have a variety of dishes including duck with mole, tequila sours, elote (corn) cakes, and chocolate tamales! If haven’t made it down to Oaxaca yet, this would be the perfect spot to taste traditional Oaxacan cuisine. To see what other dishes they offer, click here.
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21. Prosecco
If you’re craving pasta in a Mexico-city ambiance, visit Prosecco. They offer a wide variety of pizzas, pastas, and more. To see the full menu, click here. To see the locations, click here.
22. Pujol
Chef Enrique Olvera opened Pujol in Mexico City in 2000, offering two different dining options: a seven-course tasting menu in the formal dining room and an assortment of a 10-course taco bar menu selected by Olvera at the restaurant’s elegant low-lying bar. You’ll likely get to taste the chef’s famed mole madre dish no matter which of the two options you choose. As for beverages, there’s mezcal, cocktails, beer or wine.
23. Quintonil
Quintonil is the name of a green Mexican herb which is featured in some of this restaurant’s dishes and cocktails. The kitchen uses locally grown ingredients— corn, beans, squash, chiles, tomatoes and mushroom—served in a 10-course tasting menu. There’s a few meat and seafood dishes and you can also order a la carte if you don’t want to commit to a full tasting menu. You also want to make sure to leave room for dessert and order the chocolate tamale with traditional chocolate flavored ice cream.
Griselda Ramirez contributed to this article.
What are your favorite restaurants in Mexico City? Let us know in the comments below and we’ll add your restaurant recommendation to this list!
Help us create the best experience. Did a link not work properly? Was a word misspelled? Is there an error in our article? Please comment below and let us know or email luisa@mexicoinmypocket.com Gracias!
About the Author
Luisa Navarro
Mexican-American journalist, former national news producer, and graduate of Boston College and Columbia University School of Journalism. Her mission is to shed more light on the beauty and traditions of Mexican culture. This website is dedicated to her grandmothers, Tita Susana and Tita Lupita, who taught her to be proud of her heritage and to always remember where her ancestors came from.
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