ASR: Mexico City

Where to Stay / Lay of the Land

The guidebooks all tell you to stay in the ritzy Polanco district, but that’s a mistake. It’s like Beverly Hills—ritzy AF, and completely devoid of a pulse. Instead, stay in Colonia Roma / La Condesa, or up-and-coming Juarez nearby. In the early 1900s, the Mexican President, Perfirio Diaz, was obsessed with Europe, and made it his mission to emulate it whenever possible, therein giving birth to the neighborhood of Colonia Roma. Today, those building facades are protected, so there’s a funky dynamic with many buildings: a European face with a modern body. The streets are covered in green: trees, plants, flowers, parks everywhere. Condesa skews a little nicer than Roma, Juarez is the new artistic kid on the block. All are wins.

Mexico City is HUGE. Resist temptation to just plan dinner wherever because it looks close on a map. You will be happiest just walking to dinner in your neighborhood rather than battling rush hour traffic, which is like LA's rush hour BUT WORSE. Like for real, you're going to see two-way traffic disappear and people go the wrong way because it's just too much and something's gotta give.

If you look at the map of CDMX, Condesa and Roma are SE of the big parks, Polanco is NW. Basically, everybody and everybody's mother are trying to cross the park and there's just little room to do so. Therefore, try your best to not have to cross the park for dinner unless you have a special occasion. That park, while we're at it, is where a lot of the museums are located (Anthropology, e.g.). 

Believe me when I say that one of the best pieces of advice I can give you about Mexico City is to walk. That may be the romantic in me, but I think you’ll find that it’s just a remarkably walkable city, particularly in Condesa / Roma Norte / Juarez / Centro Historico, etc. If you’re like me, your instinct is to hustle from one thing to the next (“I’m only here five days, I want to see everything”). But rather than go to this museum in the morning and then that thing in the afternoon, instead just walk and see where your curiosity takes you.

It's a great place for discovery, and the best place for loafing. 

Where to Eat

There's four main categories here:

Street Tacos

Are legit AF. Don't be afraid. General tip is to follow the lines--if it’s busy with locals, it’s not an accident. It's because it's great. The best places will always have a line. Tacos de Canasta La Abuela in Cuauhtémoc a little north is the most famous, and people take pictures with the guy who runs it (with his aunt’s recipes) because he’s adorable. Small, delicious, order a bunch. “Tacos de canasta” means basket tacos. These aren’t made-to-order tacos, but are made in giant batches with various fillings like onion, beans, sometimes mashed potatoes, etc. The way they store them allows their heat to last a long time, and enables the tacos to sort of steam themselves, making them a different taco experience altogether.

Tacos de Canasta aren’t better or worse than Al Pastor tacos, they’re just different. The practice of roasting the meat over a spit arrived with an influx of Lebanese immigrants, and when a good culinary idea is brought to Mexico, that foreign idea becomes paradoxically native. The kind of new that happens when you wonder how you ever lasted this long without it in the first place. I like Leo’s in LA or Bootleg Tacos in Venice (and a hundred others), but in CDMX, they refry the meat so it gets crispy on the outside and juicy, chewy heaven on the inside, like eating a bacon taco. El Tizoncito, a local chain, lays claim to inventing the Al Pastor taco. Last visit, we came in expecting to eat 2 tacos apiece, and we each ate 5. They’re phenomenal, and they’re in a number of neighborhoods, too (in Condesa, e.g., or right next to Casa Azul if you’re going to the Frida museum).

If you’re budget-conscious, plan on trying different places like this for your lunches, which will then let you splurge for some nicer, unforgettable meals at dinner. Other names to check out: El K-Guamo (try the tostada pulpo), Taqueria Los Cocuyos (specialize in offal tacos) or Los Especiales (order tacos de canasta - ‘basket tacos’) in Centro, Tacos Don Juan (get the carnitas) or Super Tacos Chupacabras in Condesa, or Taqueria El Greco in Condesa-adjacent. In Roma, Los Parados, El Hidalguense (barbacoa specialists), or El Parnita (try a grasshopper taco!) are killer, and for food mayhem, grab some tacos at Mercado la Merced. That should get you covered if you’re a planner—match a stand to a geographic activity.

A slight variation here is Molino el Pujol in Condesa. This is a casual outfit from the Pujol chef (more on him shortly). It's basically a tortilleria that also has some bites on offer from the most famous chef in Mexico. The menu is based on corn, will have a tamale, street corn, etc. and next time I go, I plan on just trying everything they have. This will be more expensive than taco stands, but comfortably under $30 total.

Fondas

What we think of as Mexican food is a Fonda--their version of a bistro, basically. This format is familiar--tableside guac (though they often do delicious chicharrones instead of tortilla chips), then entree, etc—only it’s much better than you're used to. Irresponsibly delicious. They'll also have a mezcal cart, which I strongly recommend. If you are unsure what to get, start with a mezcal margarita to get your bearings, or follow their recommendations if they have a cocktail menu. Fondas tend to be open exclusively for lunch.

My favorite was Fonda Mayora in Roma Norte. That chef is old school and well known for his original spot Nicos (which is a bit out of the way up north, yet well worth the trip), but should a walk through the leafy neighborhood end up here, you’ll be convinced there is only one way to live, and this is fucking it. Another great one (with some guidance from the chef of Quintonil) is Fonda Fina nearby. Neither will require reservations. 

As far as Nicos goes, you will not regret going there. It is exquisite. The service is a 10, the food is an 11. It’ll get going and be packed by 230, and it’s that way for a reason. The original chef made it a neighborhood favorite, and when she handed it down to her son, it really took off. Now it stands out from all the tasting menu options on Latin America’s Top 50 Best Restaurants list as the neighborhood joint that could. It’s really, truly, wonderful. You won’t be made if you hit both Nicos and Fonda Mayora, either. Nicos is only open for lunch.

Tasting Menu Places

The two biggest names are Pujol, from Enrique Olvera (there's a Chef's Table episode on it), and Quintonil, from Olvera's protege. Both are excellent, and both require a reservation well in advance. If there’s any asterisk involved here, it’s that most people have a picture in their head of what Mexican food is. That image, as it turns out, is not what you’ll get here. Pujol is more of the classic Mexican dishes served with modern fine dining finesse, Quintonil serves modern Mexican. If, like me, you’re dying to do one or both of these, and they’re out of dinner reservations, consider looking for lunch reservations, and if that comes up empty, too, you can go to the restaurant 30 minutes ahead of time, and say you don’t have a reservation, but that you’d like to put your name down in the event of a cancellation. It might be a wait, but you can do it. Both of these reservations are in the Polanco neighborhood north of the parks. If heading to Pujol with a group, you’ll have to go the table route, but my preference is the Omakase Taco experience at the bar. There’s some overlap, but with more food options, and, in my opinion, more delight. It’s worth mentioning that Quintonil also serves an a la carte menu, so if you don’t want to spend $$$$ multiple times, you can cut costs down by ordering a few items rather than engorging yourself. The best cocktail I’ve ever had was Quintonil’s “house cocktail”—mezcal, avocado, passionfruit, heaven.

Recently, Sud 777 way down south has been getting a lot of attention. That might make sense if, for example, you’re going to a concert, or the Frida museum, or a futbol game at Estadio Azteca. That chef graduated from El Bulli and Noma, opening this spot in his 20’s. Now, it joins Pujol (13) and Quintonil (11) on the World’s 100 Best Restaurants list. In my opinion, however, I think it only makes sense to go there if you can’t get into Quintonil and are heading down to that part of town. Instead, there’s a better option.

My favorite all around tasting menu is in Roma at a wonderful restaurant called Lorea. This chef also cut his knives at 3 Michelin *** restaurants in Europe before moving back home to Mexico. Now, it’s somewhere in the Spanish Mexican space. They don’t do any press for their restaurant, instead letting the food speak for itself, which means it’s a much easier reservation to get, at least at this point. The food is spectacular, the meal a sensory adventure. I absolutely loved it.

Mid Level Deliciousness

This is where you'll make a killing.

My favorite restaurant in all of CDMX is Maximo Bistrot, which is open for both lunch and dinner. This chef, Eduardo García, grew up in Mexico, crossed the border with his family, and his work ethic landed him a gig at a fine French restaurant in Atlanta (in Le Bernardin’s family). Turned himself in after being the wheel man when cousins robbed liquor store, was imprisoned and deported, but crossed again when his Dad got cancer. Eventually, he was caught and deported again, where he landed under Enrique Olvera at Pujol. Now, he has this French / Italian / Mexican fusion spot. Literally everything we had there was fucking phenomenal. I got the snails and I loved them. My only regret was not coming back for a second visit to have the whole the tasting menu (at the time, it cost $45). When I came back the second time with a group—again for lunch—I confessed my vow to get the tasting menu. I was shot down… and afterwards they expressed the same sentiment. Skip breakfast, and get the tasting menu! The secret has gotten out here, so reservations are hard to come by, but if you're still interested (and my god you should be), I would just try to swing by around lunchtime and walk in. Mexico City is definitely a lunching culture, but peak time is around 2pm and places open at 1, so if you showed up at 12:45pm and hang until open, you’ll either be happy, or you’ll have plenty of time to hit another spot nearby before the rush anyway, even on foot. When a chef cooks food this well, he tends to open another restaurant nearby—and, in this case, that’s his casual lunch only spot across the street called Lalo, the more rustic and affordable brother of Maximo. Lalo is the Gjusta to Maximo's Gjelina, basically, but with street art. Same chef, different story: a third entry into the family is Havre 77, a beautiful, French bistro I have yet to try, but will, next visit. It may seem insane to get non-Mexican food in Mexico, but it’s not. The city is super cosmopolitan, and you’ll want some variation in there at some point.

And it’s not just that chef who’s doing it. The other spot I can't recommend enough is Rosetta. Italian food in a renovated colonial mansion. The space is beautiful, and the food will hold up anywhere in the world, including Europe. Think of it like CDMX's Felix (on Abbot Kinney). They’re also open for lunch, and, as I learned, even if they don’t have any reservations online and you want to eat there for dinner, you can swing by during lunchtime and make a reservation at pretty much anytime that same night. That chef also has casual bakeries called Panaderia Rosetta, and an all-day bistro called Lardo—a more casual Mediterranean sibling of Rosetta (minus the colonial mansion). Her newest place is Café Nin in nextdoor neighborhood Juarez (basically, a grown up Panaderia Rosetta). Try the breakfast here early in your trip, and I’ll leave it to you to decide if their rosemary-sugar roll is a morning routine fit for the gods. Panaderia was my go-to breakfast for coffee and a pastry or three.

Also in Roma / Condesa, Huset Roma is the afternoon of your dreams. It’s quiet, it’s peaceful. You’re aware that you’re in Mexico City, but from this courtyard, that all seems distant. You sit, comfortably, at a picnic bench, with stringed lights hanging overhead. You close your eyes, and take a deep breath, delighting at first in the air around all these beautiful plants until woodsmoke from the oven reminds you that you are here to eat, and, damn it, you are hungry. Rustic plus Mexican equals magic. Lunch here, have some wine, and walk La Colima afterwards (same street as Rosetta). Get the avocado pizza, and anything that comes from the wood fired oven.

Another good choice nearby is Contramar, sort of the Mexican seafood option in this category. Get the ahi tostada, and then debate whether you should order another or just come back again. The whole fish a la Contramar is half green, half red, and all delicious. You’ll feel like you’re in the right place when you get there: it’s buzzy, always busy, and a place for locals to enjoy a 3 hour lunch. Popular for a reason.

New spots I haven't checked out but are definitely worth scoping out are Masala y Maiz (a Mexican / Indian fusion from a pair of star-crossed chefs in Condesa), Mia Domenicca (a beautiful space with beautifully executed Mediterranean food in Roma Norte), and MeroTero (a surf & turf spot in Condesa from the chef of Contramar).

Those are all in Roma Norte, but if you get caught over in Polanco for some reason, I would put Eno on your radar as its the casual bar restaurant from Enrique Olvera / Pujol, or Comedor Jacinta, from the chef of Sud 777.

Etc.

-If you want to lose your mind off of churros, stop by Churreria El Moro (locations in Centro, Roma Norte, Condesa, Polanco, etc.). We don’t really like chains here, but this is a local chain, it’s everywhere, and it’s everywhere for a reason.

-For breakfast, I suggest you go light, like a Euro style breakfast with a pastry or two and an espresso. You're going to want to save some appetite for engorging yourself at lunch. In Roma Norte, I liked to start at Panaderia Rosetta.

-If you’re someone who needs a substantive breakfast, consider a local sit-down chain called El Bajio, which does great breakfast. A solid grab-n-go option is Abarrotes Delirio, which will cater to either a sit-down or a grab-and-go (they'll have the pre-made case, etc.). 

-Sunday dinner: CDMX shuts the fuck down Sundays. Street food is one option. Some places are open, but virtually every restaurant shuts down to give everyone sacred family time. So if you do go out and meet slow service, just know they’re understaffed, practice patience, and know that it’s going to be delicious. One compelling option is Restaurante Carlota, a boutique hotel restaurant with a duo of young chefs every calls rising stars. Another option would be to have a grandparents dinner at 5:30 at Azul Historico in Centro (they close at 6:30pm).

-Stop making me jealous and go already.