Mexico City

September 2022

Mexico’s capital city and the largest city in North America. Also referred to as CDMX, it is a city with vast cultural influence and my personal favorite food city I’ve ever been to. Countless famous museums and an incredibly vivacious nightlife with unconventional speakeasys, clubs, and bars.

General Tips / Notes

• Find a balance between eating at nice restaurants and going to random places on the street. This city does both fine dining and street food as well as anywhere
• Carry some cash, many places on the street / places you may want to tip do not accept card
• This may seem obvious, but knowing some Spanish or being with someone who knows some Spanish goes a very long way
• Really good cocktails I found included Carajillo (if you like espresso martinis, 100% try this) and Mezcal Jamaica
• Try and plan your days around areas (e.g. one day in Coyoacán, one day by Parque Chapultepec, etc.) and hit all the spots you want in that area. Many museums are all concentrated in the same area, and this area is closed on Monday’s

Food

Like I mentioned, this city is my favorite food city in the world and I am notoriously obsessive over finding the best food spots everywhere I visit. The range is astounding, with everything from the $0.13 empanada on the street to the world-renowned fine dining restaurants delivering explosions of flavor with every bite.

Quintonil

• Number 9 ranked restaurant on World’s 50 Best when I went in 2022
• Book in advance, not sure about their waitlist
• $240 for the tasting menu, an extra $100 for the wine pairing (the pairing is definitely worth it)
• Would give this the very slight edge over Pujol if choosing between the 2

Pujol

• Number 5 ranked restaurant on World’s 50 Best when I went in 2022
• Book well in advance but if there is no availability, go for a late lunch or early dinner and they normally have open tables for the same day or the next
• Best mole sauce I’ve ever had
• I did the tasting menu (there is also an “omakase” option which is all tacos)
• About $240 for the tasting menu before drinks

Rosetta

• Number 60 ranked restaurant on World’s 50 Best when I went in 2022
• Excellent pasta and appetizer dishes, get the Hojo Santa dessert

Maximo Bistrot

• Number 89 ranked restaurant on World’s 50 Best when I went in 2022
• Really nice restaurant, highly recommend the sweet onion and cheese dip dish

Masala y Maíz

• Incredible bang for your buck
• Heavy African and Indian influence on Mexican dishes and are known for exquisite wines
• They change their menu regularly but the shrimp dish I had there is the best shrimp I’ve ever had (I was a bit sick when I dined here but the spice in the shrimp dish literally cleared my congestion and I became not sick I am not kidding)

Contramar / Entremar

• Good seafood dishes, nice spot for lunch
• Contramar is the place I went but supposedly Entremar is the same thing and easier to get in with a short notice

Los Danzantes

• If you make your way to Coyoacán, this place has good food and mezcal
• Duck enchiladas with 2 mole sauces is nice, but I’m also notedly partial to mole

Cariñito Tacos

• No indoors, but asian fusion tacos (mostly variations of pork belly) that are very unique

Azul Historico

• Cool ambiance and solid food, think they also had a rooftop that we did not see

Taquería Orinoco

• Unreal tacos (possibly my favorite of the trip)
• Open until 3:30 AM
• Multiple locations, but one is in a popular location in Roma Norte so this is an ideal place to stop after going out late

Ticuchi

• Speak-easy esque mezcalería with nice food
• I believe it is done by the same guy who does Pujol

Los Especiales

• Less than $3 for 5 tacos and a drink
• Place is bustling, standing area in the back with veggie/salsa stands, this is quite the authentic experience and somewhere I expect locals would go

Jeni’s Street Quesadillas

• Stand on the street with blue corn and Oaxacan cheese quesadillas
• Popular with locals, inexpensive

El Pastorcito

• Famous place open late with famous pastor tacos
• To be honest I didn’t love it but I was already uncomfortably full by the time I got there so maybe worth a shot still

El Moro Churrería

• Popular churro spot (there’s a few of them) with good chocolate drinks too
• Get all the sauces

Pizza Félix

• There are definitely places like this in America so not necessary unless craving pizza
• Good wood-fired pizza and apps

Coffee

I didn’t explore the coffee scene too extensively so I am sure more research can be done for those seeking the best options.

Tierra Garat

• I believe they have a few locations

Buna Café – Rico

• Love me some horchata

Cardinal Casa de Cafe

• Solid pastries / cookies too

Drinks / Bars / Nightlife

Xaman

• Speak-easy (a little tough to find entrance) with insane ambiance, crazy cocktails (e.g. drinks on fire) and awesome DJ
• One of my favorite bars I’ve ever been in my life

Bósforo

• Speak-easy mezcalaría,
• Cool spot to go around 10pm or so before beginning your night

Hanky Panky

• Definition of a speak-easy, you have to enter through a seemingly hole-in-the-wall restaurant but once in the basement it is a completely different environment
• Sweet ambiance, unique cocktails
• Ranked high on World’s 50 Best

Tokyo Bar

• Really cool spot with great cocktails
• Might need reservations

Departamento

• This was my favorite classic “going out” spot
• Awesome rooftop and also a club/DJ on the second floor, great place to meet people and be social

Mama Rumba

• Salsa dancing vibes are incredible if that’s what you’re into
• Really a different experience here in that it is entirely focused on salsa dancing

Patrick Miller

• Huge rave warehouse
• Electronic music, crazy lights, massive crowd

Hotel CondesaDF

• Rooftop bar with partial view of the city which serves Japanese food
• Chill spot to watch sunset or hang in the day

Hotel Fontan Reforma

• Rooftop bar with all-around view of city, they have food but I didn’t try any

Activities

Teotihuacan: Aztec City of the Gods

• Take a hot air balloon ride over massive pyramids
• Can also walk up to the pyramids after the balloon ride
• This is the one I did, which included a homemade chilaquiles meal at some garden with a mariachi band

Coyoacán

• Cool town with artisan & food markets about 30 minutes south of Mexico City (I’m not entirely sure what one might normally expect here as I went on Mexico’s Independence Day and there was a massive street fair going on)
• There are museums here as well (e.g. Frida Kahlo Museum, Leon Trotsky House, etc.)
• Can make a day of this

Lucha Libre Fight

• Basically WWE but more acrobatic
• Fun to go see for a show, wear a lucha libre mask and drink some beers

Museo Nacional de Antropología (National Museum of Anthropology)

Museo de Arte Moderno (Museum of Modern Art)

Diego Rivera Mural Museum

• Only one mural to see here but it is really interesting and historic and massive

Place to Sightsee

• El Castillo de Chapultepec (highest point in Mexico City) / Parque Chapultepec
• El Ángel de Independencia (tall statue)
• El Zocalo (large plaza with fancy government buildings, cool architecture)

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***Everything below are places/things I was recommended but CANNOT personally attest to, and have not necessarily done too much research around***

Food

• Sud 777
  • Number 52 ranked restaurant in the world (2022)
• Sushi Kyo
  • Very legit Japanese sushi with dishes influenced by Mexican cuisine. $100 omakase
• Primer Cuadro
  • Food is not great but the view of the Zocalo is nice
• Lardo
  • Breakfast, brunch, or dinner. Cute neighborhood
• Lalo!
  • Best french toast of my life. Went back 4 or 5 times just for the french toast
• Cancino
  • Really nice margherita pizza and cocktails
• Expendido de maiz
  • MUSSST, no menu they just give you what they have that day. Bar next to it and upstairs called Paramo is also really fun and pretty, can do a double whammy 
• Yoru Handrail Bar
  • Awesome sushi
• Taverna
  • Nice/slightly upscale/yummy for dinner
• Tacos Los Güeros
  • For al pastor tacos. brothy and juicy al pastor that rivals El Pastorcito
• El Hidalguense
  • Barbacoa tacos from Taco Chronicles on Netflix. Very nice flavor with blue corn, great salsas and everything well done overall
• Helados Palmeiro
  • Fireeee ice cream shop inside a market. Nata flavor is amazing
• Los Panchos
  • Tacos
• Maria Isabella
  • OG Empanadas
• Sanborns de los Azulejos
  • Breakfast downtown

Coffee

• Blend Station
• Raku

Drinks / Bars / Nightlife

• Hugo Wine Bar
  • Wine bar with good food
• Loup Bar
  • Dinner & drinks
• Sete
  • Wine bar, good food, super cool with awesome speakeasy upstairs
• Choza
  • Wine bar, good food. Fun vinyl listening parties I believe on Mondays, check their instagram (they serve full menu on weekend, but just light asian food during week)
• Yuyu
  • Dance/techno, check if anyone good playing
• Casa Franca
  • Awesome jazz club with decent drinks and great musicians
• Sunday Sunday
  • Does rooftop parties on sunday in a very cool location basically in the backdoor of a shop in the city center. Strictly open on Sunday’s
• Limantour
  • Nice cocktails at a mezcal bar, some are better than others. Little pricey for CDMX
• La Lavanderia
  • Sister bar of La Clandestina with similar menu
• Cafebrería El Péndulo Roma
  • Bookstore coffee shop with a bar on the roof. Nice place to hang out or get drinks
• Supra Roma Rooftop
  • Bougie rooftop bar with 360 views of the city. Drinks are expensive but craft cocktail status, might need reservation

Museums / Art Galleries

• Frida Kahlo Museum
  • Apparently always lines around the block and 3+ hours to get in (may be good to fact check this)
• The Trotsky Museum
  • Near the Frida Khalo Museum 
• Soumaya & Jumex
  • Two museums across from one another (competitive Mexican families)– soumaya better on exterior with more historical art inside, jumex had way more fun/modern collection IMO while we were there
• Casa Estudio Luis Barragan
  • Get tickets in advance, like now
• Munal
  • Impressive architecture / collection of mexican art
• Museo Tamayo
  • Contemporary art, temporary exhibitions
• MUAC (Museum of Contemporary Art in Autonomous National University)
• Museo Nacional de Arte
• Palacio Bella’s Artes
  • Worth the hype. Best view is from the rooftop cafe on top floor of the Sears directly overlooking museum
• Templo Mayor Museum
• Kurimanzutto
• Union Guadalajara 
• 90210
• LuLu
• La Nao
• Casa Mascota
• Casa Wabi
• Acapulco 62
• Estudio Marte
• Karen Huber
• Llano 
• Casa Organica

Markets

• Lagunilla Market
  • On Sundays
• Flea market on weekends right by hi bye (?)
  • I forget the name but go and ask the people there and they’ll likely know
• Mercado Merced & Mercado Sonora
  • You can do these together. at Merced you definitely want to see fruit/veg, candy, meat (intense). In sonora you definitely want to see the live animals towards the back and the witchcraft/medicinal area towards the side. Here’s a map of merced, it’s enormous: http://hazamjara.com/mercados/lamerced/mapa-de-distribucion/

Additional Activities

• Xochimilco
  • Get the cactus pulp that makes your tongue number, and the elotes too
• Isla de muñecas
  • Island with weird hanging dolls that you take a boat to (US$75/person and about 4 hours total)
• Jardín Centario