The 23 best restaurants in Mexico City

Pujol has been a high-end reference point for contemporary Mexican food for almost 20 years. After opening in 2000, it moved from Petrarca Street to Tennyson in Polanco in 2017. This place gets high marks for its ever-changing menu. Mexico’s best restaurant plays with seasonings, textures, and heritage in Mexican cuisine with the help of an on-site organic garden. One of Pujol’s strong suits is the availability and freshness of its products. That and the fabulously delicious food, obviously.

Máximo Bistrot Local's cupboards devote two-thirds of their space to ingredients sourced from local farms, including crops from Xochimilco. Chef Eduardo Garcia, together with his wife and business partner Gabriela Lopez, opened this restaurant in 2012 with the concept of serving dishes rooted in sustainable farming and fair trade. This spot follows a firm philosophy of supporting domestic products and serving up sophisticated dishes without falling into ostentatious presentations. Pair these menu items with anything from craft beer to featured wines.

Step inside this Porfiriato-era house to find an Italian kitchen with Mexican touches and no clichés. They make use of products (above all, seafood) featured in recipes straight out of an Italian grandma’s cookbook, with the creative touch of chef Elena Reygadas. Seasonal ingredients are at the peak of their powers, with an environment that is really upbeat in the afternoon and romantic in the evening. And as if that wasn’t enough, both of their bakery locations have boomed, bringing artisanal sweet and savory delights to the Roma and Juárez neighborhoods. 

A Baja California kitchen with an urban touch, top-notch ingredients purchased that were day picked by the most discerning of palates and used generously by the deftest hands (those of chef Jair Téllez). Meretoro confronts and conquers the challenges of sourcing the best ingredients for their regionally-focused kitchen daily. The menu gets printed daily, shifting with the seasons and the chef’s inspiration.

Carmela & Sal is brimming with flavor and creativity, names of dishes that pique curiosity like riveting stories unto themselves. Chef Gaby Ruiz opened this restaurant en Lomas Virreyes behind the concept of innovative food influenced by the state of Tabasco. Here the food is like a concert. Get ready for the menu’s prelude, interlude, climax, and outro. Mexican ingredients are prepared innovatively and with looks that match flavors. Look for the plantains featured in a half-moon presentation as a prime example.

In the Claveria neighborhood, here’s a spot that’s been around for over six decades dedicated to traditional Mexican fare. Chef Gerardo Vázquez Lugo serves a menu of time-tested dishes with only the best ingredients. Nicos keeps classic recipes alive and in all their glory. The careful and sophisticated presentation is evidence that traditional food is part of haute cuisine and that both are only made better by the slow food movement.

A culinary relationship between the countryside and its bounty, with sustainable cooking cred in Mexico City at a reasonable price. Chef Eduardo Garcia is the kind of guy who is meticulous in sourcing his ingredients, as well as someone who nurtures the importance of agriculture in the restaurant industry. Eduardo's original design was crafted with communal dining in mind. Check out the 30-person long table in the front that lends itself to sharing plates and experiences.

An eatery representing a multi-concept restaurant and kitchen of a typical house in the Pedregal neighborhood, Sud 777 is Edgar Núñez’s brainchild. Its farm-fresh ingredients come alive in a backdrop of waterfalls and mirrors. Walking inside, you’ll notice a luxurious wood motif, stone, and upmarket facades, the result of a collab between Sergio Berger (Niz-Chauvet architects) and designer Adán Carábes.

Quintonil shines as a deep expression of Mexican cooking and herbal notes, brimming with uniquely different flavors (in a good way). The offerings are centered on products culled from the earth, where their flavors can take center stage. All the flavors are balanced and executed with a deft hand, taking contemporary Mexican cuisine to its maximum potential. All of this and more coming out of a humble kitchen in Polanco.

A place named in honor of the Roman fermented fish sauce. Garum specializes in Mediterranean food made with local products that make for a shifting, albeit always innovative menu. In an interview with the chef, he told us how Garum came up as “an opportunity to put together a project with a lot of freedom in it.” Rather than only being a chef-driven menu, this place is also about the details and respect for the ingredients. It’s a top spot for flavor purists and those trying to get into the food’s origin story. The menu stands as a uniquely perfect balance between local ingredients and Mediterranean influences.

Unlike other Italian places that focus on putting out food that nonna would make, and still others that skew fusion offerings, Belfiore offers up a menu that you’d find in actual Italy. The dishes shine in the simplicity of their ingredients. The food is as comforting as the humble surroundings, with low ceilings and white walls. Incredible pasta, pizza, salads, and desserts are this menu’s staples.

Rokai brings two kinds of Japanese food to the table: hot and cold. The latter is represented by their variety of fish offerings that change daily. On the other hand, the hot stuff comes by way of multiple soups and ramen, both portioned to leave you thoroughly full. This spot is the natural result of putting quality above all else. The nigiri has traditional “Nikiri” (sweet soy sauce), made in-house with soy and other ingredients.

Arango is big on Mexican pride, displayed in their dishes and revolution-era decor. The restaurant is named after Doroteo Arango, better known as Pancho Villa, a significant figure in Mexican history. The menu is crafted by chef Alejandro Cuatepotzo, a Puebla native focused on the magical flavors of Mexico. His floor-to-ceiling glass design with breathtaking views of the Revolution Monument elevates the whole experience.

Cascabel is another Mexican cuisine success story from the well-heeled Santa Fe neighborhood. These offerings are curated by chef Lula Martín del Campo, taking inspiration from three key ingredients: beans, peppers, and corn. Cascabel is a breath of fresh air, and a homage to the cascabel chile, named for its round shape and the sound the seeds make when shaken.

Emilia is Lucho Martinez’s fine dining restaurant that’s only open for dinner. This spot is fully immersed in fine dining, stemming from Lucho’s experience at Quintonil, Maximo Bistrot, and Mia Domenicca. The space, discreetly located in the Cuauhtémoc neighborhood, is centered on the utmost top ingredients, particularly those in season. The menu is printed daily, and ingredients change often (and that’s a good thing). There’s a heavy Japanese culinary influence here, with choice Mexican ingredients to bring something really special to the table.

Get ready for the nighttime haunt and “hipster taqueria” of choice. Páramo is only open at night, is a great hangout spot, and is designed for eating and drinking well for a reasonable price. The menu is all family recipes from seven different households, executed with only the finest ingredients. They’ve got a house beer, Flor de Cueino, that needs to be on your radar. They were featured on the Netflix series Somebody Feed Phil, and they’re on Mario Beteta’s list. For you music lovers, this is Interpol’s favorite restaurant. 

A feast of country-vibe food that’s generous with seasoning. Chef Karen Drijanski and her son Eduardo Plaschinki grabbed a corner in the Juárez neighborhood to run a soul food kitchen doing breakfast, brunch, and dinner. The dishes, featuring simple ingredients, boast textures and aromas that take you on a chef’s tour of Mexico and Europe. There’s bread with mother yeast, organic garden beds run by chef Karen, and an open kitchen to watch all the action.

Get transported from the Roma neighborhood to a coastal paradise. Chef Tomás Bermúdez works with shellfish (particularly oysters), a lesser-known entity around these parts that has become popular thanks to the food quality and relaxed ambiance at La Docena. The concept is simple; oysters, mussels, scallops, more shellfish, and some swimming fish. The service is warm and attentive, reminding you that the city is also a place to get ahold of some of the ocean’s rich bounty.

A little sanctuary in Condesa that pays tribute to Tuscan charcuterie. They’ve got a bar that runs the length of the entire place and is always packed thanks to the unique offering of cured meats, like house-made salami and ramonetti with quince, both creations from chef Elena Reygadas. This airy space only adds to the incredible culinary experience. The textures, aromas, and flavors come straight out of Europe’s famous boot, along with little Mediterranean touches. Their daily offerings are shaped by the available seasonal ingredients.

If there were spots dedicated to expert sandwich tasters, Belmondo would be at the top of that rotation. Miwi, aka Adriana Lima (Pizza Felix and Felix Bar), is a chef and founding partner of this humble sanctuary, where there’s a chance you might find Thom Yorke grabbing a bite. It’s a carnival of aromas that will transport you to the country, peppered with hints of oregano and rosemary. Artisanal loaves, toasted baguettes, ciabatta, and caraway seeds come fresh out of the oven with a crunch to fall in love with.

“Delicious food and weird wine.” At Amaya, chef Jair Telléz wields a kitchen that knows no creative bounds and uses ingredients to their full potential. Rather than be judged at first blush, these offerings are big on fresh ingredients, expert techniques, and exacting seasonings. The chef has his own line of natural wines, Bichi, among the first wines in Mexico to be sulfite-free. The menu is subject to change, depending on the availability and freshness of ingredients.

Fantastic Mexican cuisine in the heart of the city’s historic center. Situated on the patio of a massive house and at the helm of chef Ricardo Muñóz Zurita (Chef of the Year, 2008), Azul is not a white tablecloth restaurant. Better yet, there are no tablecloths. The naked wooden tables are adorned only with the names of streets in the neighborhood. The perfect vehicle for authoritatively classic cuisine. 

Norma Listman and Saqib Keval are the chefs in charge of the impressive kitchen at Masala y Maiz. Their offerings are distinct, expertly combining Mexican, Indian, and African features, and this cultural hodgepodge of flavors, aromas, and textures is wholly unique. This is a story told through the complex culinary migration between India and Mexico.