12 OF MEXICO CITY’S BEST RESTAURANTS
MEXICO CITY has one of the best culinary scenes in the world. From street tacos to two and three-star Michelin fine dining emporiums.
Like most of you, before we went to Mexico City for a week in late July we asked all our friends who’ve been for recommendations. That led to about 100 different ideas. But I reached out to Gustavo Romero, the chef/owner of Nixta in Minneapolis who goes to CDMX multiple times a year, and Andrew Zimmern, who knows the hidden gems and the spots that live up to the hype. And then we started making reservations. And then we stopped ourselves. Because over-planning a vacation isn’t a vacation.
YOU will want to leave time to go to the taco stand that the locals go to, you will want to take a tip from a bartender and go to her favorite spot. Consider this guide a starting point. We have high end options and streetside seafood and taco stands. My favorite tlayuda was outside a museum. So there’s that.
Don’t miss my guide to Mexico City’s best cocktails, my favorite coffee shops of Mexico City, and my travel guide to four days in Mexico City.
Here are 12 great Mexico City restaurants in Roma Norte and Condesa, plus one market recommendation in Xochimilco.
MAIZAJO: Upstairs is fine-dining, in the line of Oro by Nixta, and downstairs you’re going to the love the stand-at-the-counter taqueria. https://guide.michelin.com/us/en/ciudad-de-mexico/cuauhtemoc_1995126/restaurant/maizajo They sell masa and tortillas and ingredients, and they’ll cook it up in front of you too. The taquería is first-come-first-served, we didn’t have to wait too long to get a spot at the counter, and it was an absolute joy. Great kind people, delicious tacos too. https://www.maizajo.com/pages/taqueria
LIMOSNEROS: I loved this restaurant, even thought we were the only people in the room at opening time on a Sunday. May have had something to do with the World Cup final happening at the same time. They have their own agaves hanging in glass containers over the bar, a tableside molecajetejada that was spectacular, beef cheek donuts blew my mind, and these tacos were next level. That suckling pig hidden inside the red onion - wow! They have a tasting menu experience too, but we enjoyed the a la carte. Great service here as well, we were outnumbered by about 5 or 6-fold. https://limosneros.com.mx/en/
TAQUERIA LOS COCUYOS: The suadero brisket taco is legendary from this favorite street tacos spot - recommended to us by multiple Minnesota chefs, and it did not disappoint. Incredibly affordable, they recently bought a storefront next door to the taco counter so people would have a space to sit. Legendary for the “meat jacuzzi” - meats simmering in their own juices ready for the meat cleaver to be put in perfect tortillas. Each taco is about $1.25 USD https://guide.michelin.com/us/en/ciudad-de-mexico/cuauhtemoc_1995126/restaurant/taqueria-los-cocuyos
PUJOL: 2 Michelin stars, the mole madre was the star of the experience. Pujol is a tasting menu where you get to pick your courses (reminiscent of Restaurant Alma in design in Minneapolis). We loved the food, but there were some rough edges here that had me questioning whether Pujol still deserves both stars. The silverware felt worn and old, my fork had bent tendrils. The rug in our section wasn’t tightly pulled and servers tripped over it twice. Nothing major - but little touches are what matter when you have two stars. I loved the tortilla soup with a truly impressive amount of lobster in it.
The Pork Belly chicharrón in salsa verde, purslane salad was fresh, bright, perfect. Hard to understate how ballsy it was when Pujol opened to just put mole on a plate. Truly elevating and celebrating a key part of Mexican cooking. The dish highlights mole madre, like a sourdough starter, a mole that has been kept alive for 4049 days on our visit. 35 ingredients. A newer mole, mole de Xico, is on the inside, surrounded by the madre (the darker mole in the picture) giving a true experience to taste the difference. $3795 MXN ($220 USD) which felt very reasonable for the six courses. We ordered a bottle of wine rather than doing the pairing. https://www.pujol.com.mx/en/
ROSETTA: Worth it for the cabbage taco alone. The description undersells the magic - Savoy cabbage tacos, pistachio pipián and romeritos. The cabbage is the tortilla, the pistachio is the filling, and then the little texture and aroma from the romeritos springs. What a beautiful restaurant, in a narrow alley-like space. We got the corn and ash bread with chicatana ant butter too, and a beautiful tomatillos, nopales, and piloncillo salad. Rosetta is known for pastas, and the chile cascabel tagliolini with escamoles (“Mexican caviar”) and shrimp broth, https://rosetta.com.mx/en/menu-en
Off menu corn tamal - incredible texture and huge corn flavor at TICUCHI
TICUCHI: Tichuchi is maybe more known as a bar first and a restaurant second. The selection of mezcals and agave spirits was absurd - just incredible. But the food was legit as well - vegetarian and pescatarian focused, their most famous menu item was off-menu. A corn tamal that truly elevated and celebrated maiz. We loved the sikil pak romesco dip, the mushroom tlayoco too. https://www.ticuchi.mx/en
Costra crunchy cheeese taco at TACOS DON JUAN
TACOS DON JUAN: Long line in Condesa made me think- better get in. Don Juan has been around since 1982, known for thinly sliced beef suadero, we got one of the tacos coated in cheese and then hit on the griddle. You’ll see it called “Costra” - which means crust. Lovely. Tasty. instagram.com/donjuan_clasicoscondesa
TAQUERÍA ORINOCO: Perfect tacos al pastor with cilantro, onion and those thin slices of pineapple. 9 locations all over Mexico City, Orinoco is everywhere and is terrific. https://pido.taqueriaorinoco.com/
ASADEROS OROZCO: We waited forever for this carne asada and it was almost worth it. Nothing’s really worth waiting 90 minutes for in Mexico City, especially when there’s so much great food everywhere. And yet, the carne asada here was so good. It’s a new restaurant so no doubt the lines will subside, and their systems will improve, but it was really great and very fun. Tender, juicy, steak tacos - I especially loved the tostada with bone marrow. Details in my Instagram video.
MAL HECHO: A Roma Norte street side seafood restaurant. Mexican flavors meet Asian influence here- really delightful. We got a crazy Shrimp aguachile at mal hecho that was incredibly spicy and delicious plus a tuna tostada. Great flavors - fun experience. https://www.instagram.com/mal_hecho_x
RANDOM TLAYUDA SPOT / DONA TERE: Outside the Anthropology Museum you’ll find a bunch of vendors, and we LOVED the nopales tlayuda from Doña Tere.
XOCHIMILCO MARKET: if you’re going to the Floating Gardens of Xochimilco, make time to visit the sprawling market (about a 30 minute walk) and you’ll thank me later. Some of the best tamales I’ve ever had both outside the market and in the food court area by the vegetable and flower market. There are restaurants inside all the markets here - amazing experience and delicious too! https://mexicocity.cdmx.gob.mx/venues/mercado-xochimilco/?lang=en
