Many people flock to Mexico City in order to indulge in the food scene. The #1 restaurant in the city as of 2024 is Pujol, with an exquisite (albeit $$$) tasting menu, but if you are looking for some other options, check out these best restaurants in Mexico City. Each place has its own vibe, and this list has options in all price ranges, so you can find the best food in Mexico City without breaking the travel budget! Also, if you are planning to visit Teotihuacan, check out the last spot on the list for a great lunch spot after the pyramids.
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Low Cost, Budget Friendly Restaurants in Mexico City
Panaderia Rosetta
This small bakery makes many top restaurant’s lists for their freshly baked goods and inventive flavors. We stopped for breakfast one morning to fuel up before a big day of walking and were not disappointed. Panaderia Rosetta offers light, fluffy quiches, poached egg & hollandaise croissants and of course sweet treats. Be sure to order a guava roll and perhaps rosemary, blueberry focaccia bread to-go!
Autentica Birria de Jalisco “El Jalisquillo”
If you are interested in some authentic street food that will have your momma saying, “Wow! That IS good!” then head to El Jalisquillo for some amazing birria tacos and quesabirrias. They are cash only and don’t speak a lot of English but have some amazingly tasty tacos with consume (the famous birria sauce). This style of taco is famous in Mexico and certainly not something you will see every day north of the border, but the flavors are rich. Open for breakfast until 7 pm, this little food stand is surrounded by others and near two great markets, so pair your visit with a little shopping at Mercado de Artesanias La Cuidadela (also near food market Mercado de San Juan).
Churreria El Moro
This churro spot has been making the fried dough since 1935. El Moro has several locations around the city, so be sure to stop in for some hot churros covered in cinnamon sugar (they say “canela”). When we visited the seasonal ice cream was mango, so of course we also ordered three miniature mango ice cream sandwiches with swirled churros as the “bread.” They were fabulous and offered a little refresher in the heat of the city. The restaurant also offers chocolate drinks and tortas (like a Spanish sandwich), with several “packages” that give a discount for combinations.
Los Machetes de Amparito
This is another “local’s only” spot that offers freshly made machete-style tacos. We took an Uber and while it’s pretty close to the Biblioteca Vasconcelos, it feels like a different world from Roma Norte and the expat neighborhoods we largely stayed in. There was another “gringo” couple there, but basically we were the only foreigners, and they welcomed us graciously and excitedly. It was a wonderful experience to watch them make different versions and never get an order wrong. We wanted to try a few different flavors, so we ordered 3: the pineapple/ham with cheese, the beef, bacon, pepper & onions with cheese and the chicharron and plantains with cheese. It was WAY too much food, but we loved all the flavors and took home more than half of our meal! Cash only and they close early, so plan to come for lunch only. You can find Los Machetes here on Google Maps.
Mid-range, Moderately Priced Restaurants in Mexico City
La Capital
From start to finish this dining experience was perfect. The service was attentive (without being overbearing like in some other places in CDMX). The food presentation was creative and taste unique. The open-air kitchen allows you to watch famed Chef Oscar Sanchez at work. We ordered the arugula salad with figs and prosciutto, the green enchiladas with zucchini flowers and the salmon with pumpkin seeds. It was exquisite. Be sure to save room for their famous hot chocolate cake. Reservations are encouraged and can be made on their website.
Botanico
Enjoy a night under the stars in an open-air courtyard at Botanico. Dine in a magical garden with 30-foot cacti and koi pond. The scenery makes you forget there are 100 other patrons squeezed in among you. The service is attentive, and the menu offers many different flavors. We decided to stick to the appetizers for more variety, selecting the fresh scallop tostada and green salad with figs and charred beans to start. We enjoyed the coconut lemongrass mussels, which were served with French fries for sopping up with sauce. We shared the lobster risotto (which was delicious, but not quite worth the price tag) and the roasted cauliflower. The chocolate dessert with peanut ice cream was small but rich and satisfying. Reservations can be made on Open Table.
Nudo Negro
If you are looking for some fusion and different flavors, this Japanese inspired Mexican chef does a great job at Nudo Negro. We didn’t have reservations one night and were trying to find something a little different than contemporary Mexican or tacos and came across Nudo Negro. I don’t quite understand why it was dead on a Tuesday evening because the food was phenomenal. After ordering, they take guests upstairs to the kitchen where you can sample some dumplings or amuse bouche with a little history about the food and restaurant. We ordered the curried shrimp, which was flambéed tableside and served with flair. We also had the lamb and the wonderful biang biang noodles with peanut sauce. The portions are perfect for sharing and I’d recommend an order of dumplings too!
Azul Historico
The Azul Restaurants have three locations in CDMX, but the Azul Historico offers a beautiful courtyard for lunch or dinner. We paired our visit with our downtown walking tour with GuruWalk. You can watch the women making corn tortillas. We enjoyed the black mole and fish of the day. Reservations are recommended for dinner, but you can usually walk in during the lunch hour.
Mezcal Mixology Class
While this isn’t a restaurant in Mexico City, Salon Rosario offers small group mezcal tastings and mixology classes. We signed up for the Mezcal Mixology Masterclass and had the absolute best time! Our group of 8 enjoyed sipping mezcal to understand the flavor profiles before learning to make 3 different cocktails! Our guide, Caro, did an amazing job of taking us through ways to make each drink our own based on our preferred flavor profiles and tips for making each cocktail at home. We loved this class and talked about it our entire trip, so sign up here!
If you don't have time for a full class, or just can't get enough mezcal, head to Tlecan for some serious mezcal drinking. They offer dozens of mezcals by the ounce, or you can try one of their inventive cocktails. The servers are knowledgeable and can help you select a drink.
Bonus: La Gruta Restaurant at Teotihuacan
If you decide to visit the famous Teotihuacan Pyramids outside of CDMX, be sure to make a lunch reservation at La Gruta. Located inside a cave, this unique dining experience offers live music at night on the weekends too. We were expecting good ambiance and not so great food, but we were very pleasantly surprised with wonderful dishes. We ordered the Mexican Sampler Platter with chicken mole, steak asada (tasajo), tamale and taquito. It was filling and enough for 2 people to share. We also ordered the pumpkin seed chicken, and the sauce was amazing!!! It comes with rice, and you can request fresh tortillas to mop up all the additional sauce when the meat is gone. They are strict on reservation timing, so give yourself enough time to exit the monument (at Gate 5) and walk to the restaurant, which is about 10 minutes from the gate. Credit cards accepted.
Don't forget to book your accommodations for Mexico City! I love Booking.com for their loyalty rewards and cheap prices. You can filter for free breakfast, a swimming pool or by neighborhood. I would suggest staying in Roma Norte! We loved the area with cute boutiques and lots of cafes and restaurants.
I hope at least one of these restaurants makes it on your foodie list in Mexico City. CDMX (and Teotihuacan) offer some amazing spots; I hope you agree these are some of the best foods in Mexico City! Enjoy.
Awesome, each restaurant is discrided accurately. Lot’s of good food and memories made. So much to enjoy.