Guest post by John Shaw

Where to Eat in Mexico City – 2023

We based our stay in Mexico City (CDMX) in the Condesa neighbourhood. Residents of Condesa are referred to somewhat condescendingly (pun intended) as fresas (strawberries) — delicate folk living in a trendy bourgeois bubble — guilty! 

We ate breakfast and most dinners at home and used Eater (a great review source for foodies), OpenTable, Google, the judgements of others, and our noses to select places to eat out while we toured the city. We sampled offerings from street vendors to top restaurants in Latin America. Most of our experiences were excellent. It is clear why CDMX has become a global destination for foodies. 

Late leisurely lunches following a visit, or a series of visits, to ‘capital T’ tourist or lesser-known attractions, and shorter stops between visits were a theme for our two and a half weeks in CDMX. These capsule reviews are organized by district for easy reference while touring. Establishments marked with an asterisk (*) are well worth a detour!

A caution about food allergies. Come armed with a laminated allergy list in Spanish. [Tema’s note: if you have many food allergies you should always carry a travel allergy card/list, even in your home country!] Even with such a list, we had near misses with sesame seeds, and a shrimp soup mise-en-bouche that could have been disastrous. One restaurant we visited, *Los Danzantes Coyoacán, proactively asks guests on entry if they have food allergies!

Condesa

The afternoon we arrived, we were both hungry and tired. We went across the street from our apartment to El Diez — a popular grill, with valet parking no less. The food was competent but not as good as a similar meal we had the previous evening in Puerto Vallarta — tacos and burritos at Los Molcajetes, a street stand! 

The next morning, I was out early, bought a baguette, and berry and fruit-filled pastries from *Saint Panderia and brought them back to our apartment. I made several early-morning return visits to Saint during our stay. We tried a half dozen different pastries! They and the baguette were all excellent. 

I bought fresh squeezed orange juice and fruit to complete our breakfasts, and vegetables for light meals that I cooked at home some evenings, from a green grocer (on Campeche just east of the Michoacan) labeled quite simply Jugos y Licuados. I dropped into the Mercado Condesa only once, to check it out. Jugos y Licuados was closer and their product quality was excellent. Over time, I met the father, the son and the daughter. They run the business jointly and were uniformly welcoming and obliging.

The dining room at *Merotoro is elevated above and open to a tree lined street. The atmosphere is relaxed but sophisticated. Get a table by the railing if one is available. Our waiter brought blue tacos containing sesame seeds along with a spicy dip to the table as we sat down, and a bit later an allergen free bread! Kind of them. Merotoro has well-curated beer and cocktail lists, and excellent wines by the glass. Vaquita Marnia Pale Ale was new to me, and the Botanist (a Guava + vodka cocktail) came with a pretty flower floating on it. On our first visit, we shared a radish, pear, and goat cheese salad appetizer, followed by braised beef and bone marrow risotto in a red wine reduction, and mahi-mahi with tiny brussels sprouts and rapini with a delicate sauce and deep-fried rapini leaves on top. All three dishes were beautiful to look at and quite delicious. We had no room for dessert or coffee. We returned to Merotoro on our last day in CDMX for a second lunch. Eat there if your budget permits.

Lardo is trendy, relatively small and has a bustling atmosphere. Book a table or wait in line for one! The menu is short and unimaginative but includes vegetarian options. Four of us tested much of the menu during dinner: parmesan pizza, vegetable curry, artichoke salad, lamb kebab, fresh fruit and pana cotta desserts. They have artisanal beers, and a straightforward cocktail list. The restaurant hits a quality / price / atmosphere niche that explains the number and nature of the reviews, and the line-ups. We enjoyed ourselves too! Perhaps best to go in a group!

At Ciena, we shared a 250 ml can of Mexican wine: Rosadito Lata Granache, from Queretaro! Quite good and inexpensive. It turns out that aluminum cans drop the total emissions for wine production and distribution by about 30%. Ciena doesn’t sell other wines by the glass. We found that a bit odd. We wanted to try another Mexican wine, so we bought a bottle and took the unconsumed half of home. (We drank the balance on the roof of our apartment building while watching the moon rise one evening.) We sampled arancini and polenta fry appetizers, pasta and fish mains, and a chocolate dessert (excellent). The food, atmosphere and service were good but the ratings and price seemed high. Perhaps they are resting on their laurels.

Sunday evenings many CDMX restaurants are closed. We had a mid-range BBQ dinner at a Porco Rosso outlet near our apartment. The restaurant smelled inviting. The food was filling but not memorable. Their non-alcoholic lemon and coconut milk cocktail is excellent.

Of all of the restaurants we tried in Condesa, Primos was the most overpriced for the combination of food, service and atmosphere on offer. This speaks to the level of competition in the neighbourhood. It is a good restaurant.

Roma and Roma Norte

We took a 5-hour, 22 km cycling, food and beverage tour with *Foodhood. It started at 09:00 and we’d been warned not to eat breakfast. We cycled just a short distance before having lattes and muffins over a welcome chat. We then cycled on for sopes from a *street vendor on Serapio Rendon south of La Privada Rojo on the east side.

OaxacAqui, a Oaxaca speciality restaurant, was up next. There we ate tlayuda (a large crispy pita folded over a filling. We chose a chicken-based one from the many options).

After some more cycling and sightseeing we had a pulque tasting at *Pulqueria la Canica. See Magnificent Mexico City – Part 1 for more information about pulque.

We ended our tour early afternoon with micheladas (beer mixed with lime juice, in a glass with sesame encrusted tamarind paste on the rim) at Tucco la Condesa. The cycling was easy and the stops were chosen with care. The tour and the stops are worthwhile!

*Maximo is among the top restaurants in Latin America. Its reputation is fully justified. A reservation is a must. We shared six dishes: two appetizers (lamb, and a cruffin with a bowl of something akin to French onion soup), two mains (duck breast, and ravioli) and two desserts (a chocolate one of course, and a tarte tatin). We started with cocktails, and then had a Mexican pinot noir. Our best meal in CDMX, and by far our most expensive one too!

*Mux prepares traditional Mexican food with twists in flavour and presentation. It is clear why it is on do-eat-there lists and on foodie tours! The place itself looks a bit down at the heals, a pity. My flaming plantain dessert was a highlight of presentation. The sopes were excellent. It was by far our cheapest lunch, even though we both had a glass of wine and dessert. It was our third best meal after Maximo, and Merotoro! So, really good value. Do go there!

We rode rental bikes in the Sunday morning Paseo Dominical Muevete en Bici twice, riding car-free and carefree on a 55 km network of roads stretching from the Zocalo to the old Olympic venues, from Chapultepec Park out toward the airport! These bike rides were a wonderful way to see the city. Both Sundays we had brunch at *Bella Aurora,a rooftop restaurant, on our way home. We enjoyed the plant-filled setting, and their Eggs Benedict (2 eggs in individual millefeuille pastries), beef in baguette sandwiches, fig tart, mango bellinis, among other items.

Centro Historico

We returned to the Centro Historico over and over again. Chose just one theme, from Rivera murals, to Spanish colonial architecture, to markets, to art, to archeology, and tour until you just can’t go on!

On one occasion we stopped at L’Opera (a pretty belle époque bar) for a rest and a drink. On another occasion we had a quality old-school Mexican lunch at El Cardenel. Eat in the upstairs dining room if you can. 

The Museo Estanquillo has a quiet and lovely rooftop terrace with excellent views. The snacks and hot chocolate are mediocre but it is an oasis of calm in El Centro Historico. You will need one. The interactive Lucha Libre exhibit at the Museo Estanquillo is fun too. Visit that too if it is still showing! (See What to do on a Monday in Mexico City for more about that.)

We had an excellent Mexican food-theatre-like experience at a new branch of *Azulisimo. The dining room is staged as if for a movie and the service is choreographed. The staff were welcoming and considerate. We had cocktails, and shared a mushroom tamalito, a sopa de tortilla served in a stunning tureen, and a caldo tlalpeno (another soup). The dishes were beautifully presented and delicious. 

San Juan Market provides a full-on working-class food experience. However, there is a yuppified market one block north and west. It is filled with touring tourists and fancy displays. We didn’t eat in either place but I expect at the latter it is safe even for fresas to gorge!

The art collection at the Museo Kaluz focuses on figurative art by Mexican or Mexican-resident artists — including works by refugees from Franco’s Spain. The roof terrace, accessible without entering the museum, is popular, and another good choice for a break. The museum is just west of the Alameda. The nearby Hidalgo Metro Station provides a safe place to smoke pot — and presumably to purchase it too. The smell there was incredible, and not in a good way!

Chapultepec Park

We spent most of one day at the National Anthropology Museum. We had an expensive but quality lunch at Sala Gastronomica, inside the museum. It made for a nice break from the galleries, and would also be a good choice just for a cool drink and a sit for a bit! Their traditional Mexican specialities are served on a calm and spacious outdoor terrace within the museum garden. The staff make guacamole on the terrace among the tables.

On another day in Chapultepec Park, we toured the Castle and then the Mueso de Arte Moderno. The castle itself feels out of place: it is a little piece of Europe, right down to the carpets and carriages. It was lived in by the one-time Emperor of Mexico. The Museo Arte Moderno has a sculpture garden, and had a temporary exhibit of works by Rivera. Another exhibit showed works by Remedios Varo. She painted whimsical figures in imaginary worlds. Both were better visits than anticipated and we spent much more time than we’d planned, so we didn’t get to Quebracho, a popular Argentinian parrilla near the Mueso Arte Moderno, until 15:00. The restaurant was packed when we arrived. (Like the Spaniards, Mexicans often eat lunch late.) We had chicken Milanese with sweet potato fries and grilled asparagus on the side. The restaurant was decidedly not gourmet. The service was fast and efficient. It was in the right place at the right time and good value.

Polanco

We went to the Polanco district to visit the Soumaya Museum with its huge collection of Rodin sculptures on the top floor, and the Jumex (modern art) Museum next door. Both museums are private and have free entry. There are many street stalls across the street. Some looked interesting. We didn’t chance it, a fresa thing perhaps, and opted instead for lunch at Loma Linda Plaza Carso. We shared grilled artichokes and a chopped rib eye dish with vegetables and sauces. The view of the museums from the rooftop terrace was lovely. The service was attentive but stuffy. The food was competent.

Further Afield

We took a food themed *tour to Teotihuacan with Noa. On the way back to CDMX we ate at the Mercado San Juan Teotihuacan, opting for flautas, and sopes from an unnamed stall outside and just north of the west entrance. There, I discovered that mango juice is sold in bottles like colas. I assumed the bright orange beverage wasn’t natural and was sweet. Noa assured me it wasn’t. I wouldn’t have had it without prompting. I tried crickets too — crunchy, salty and fishy. This was a great street food experience.

We had pre-Columbian chocolate drinks at Chocolateria Cacondo around the corner from the market too. The owners found the recipes in an Aztec codex. We chose two with a milk base on Noa’s recommendation. Animals weren’t milked in the pre-Columbian period, so not truly authentic – the original recipe calls for a water base – but nonetheless delicious.

In Coyoacan we spent the morning on short visits (the Freda Kahlo Museum, Trotsky Museum, the local mercado), and walked around the main squares. We were ready for lunch by 13:00 and ate on the shaded terrace at *Los Danzantes Coyoacán. We sampled the Oaxacan influenced menu, with San Angel’s famous coyote fountain in the background. We shared two small dishes to start: hoya santa — a mildly anise flavoured leaf on top of melted cheese and a green salsa (we requested a spoon and extra tortillas to wipe the plate clean) and tlayuda de seta — a crispy larger pita type bread surrounding mushrooms and cheese. We had two mains (bone marrow with corn and red salsa, and duck with a black mole and vegetables). The mole was at the centre of a round plate in the form of a chocolate fondant puck. The puck was just solid enough on the outside to stay intact and creamy on the inside. All of the dishes were excellent. It was yet another great food and restaurant experience. 

We also went to San Angel to see the Sabado Bazaar. There were lots of arts and crafts, nice paintings and sculptures mixed in with amateurish items, and many street food options too. We had lunch at Jacinta, competent Mexican food, with attentive professional service in a bright and airy upstairs room overlooking the bazaar.