The Best Local Restaurants in Mexico City

Contramar is a bustling seafood restaurant, known for its authentic dishes and excellent flavours. The menu is a testament to the restaurant's commitment to fresh, seasonal seafood, with items like the iconic tuna tostada, aguachile, and the signature red and green fish. The atmosphere is vibrant and busy, reflecting the restaurant's strong connection to the local community.

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JR Ryall

Head Pastry Chef – Cork, Ireland

An essential first stop for anyone visiting CDMX. Beautiful simple food, authentic dishes and excellent flavours. Fun, bustling and atmospheric. The service is always excellent - the tuna tostada is iconic, but the fresh tasting aguachile is what I dream about, essential.

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The restaurant Quintonil is a gastronomic project led by Alejandra Flores and Jorge Vallejo, aiming to present a menu that reflects the flavors of Mexican ingredients with a personal touch. The dishes, prepared by Chef Jorge Vallejo, are a testament to fresh local produce and the team's dedication to quality, offering rich and unpretentious flavors. The restaurant provides an experience where each diner feels special, with Chef Cesar's commitment and the cohesive effort of his team transforming the space.

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Vaughan Mabee

Chef – Queenstown , New Zealand

What an amazing journey of Mexico through the mind of Chef Jorge Vallejo. An amazing attentive service guiding us through traditional cuisine and some Mexican wine in a modern way.

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At Expendio de Maiz Sin Nombre, the culinary experience is an immersive journey into Mexico's rich food culture. The open kitchen allows you to watch as the chefs expertly prepare a variety of corn-based dishes, from tacos and tamales to innovative soups and stews. There's no set menu, so each visit offers a unique dining experience where dishes are served until you are full, making it a true exploration of authentic, organically driven flavors.

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Gilberto Briceño Gómez

Cook – Costa Rica, Costa Rica

In the bustling heartbeat of Mexico City, you might stumble upon a sidewalk sanctuary: Expendio de Maíz Sin Nombre. Here, the theatre of an open kitchen unfolds before you, orchestrated by culinary alchemists dancing with wood fire, prime ingredients, and boundless imagination. This establishment defies tradition. There's no menu to peruse; instead, you're invited to surrender to the maestros at work. With every dish, you're drawn deeper into their narrative, beckoning more with just a raised hand until satiety sets in. Many inquire about my frequent sojourns to Mexico City, and it's places like this - where raw passion and talent stoke my own creative fires - that I hold up as my reasons. Expendio de Maíz Sin Nombre is not just a dining spot; it's an immersive tale of Mexico's culinary tapestry.

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Fonda Margarita is a traditional Mexican restaurant known for its early morning breakfasts. The menu offers a range of dishes prepared in a traditional way, providing an authentic taste of Mexican culture. Some of the most popular items include fried beans with scrambled eggs and different daily stews, which are highly recommended by visitors.

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Eduardo Garcia

Chef – Mexico City, Mexico

I love this place because it’s Mexico. It tells a bit of a story about Mexican culture in a plate. Come as early as 5 am and taste the real flavors of a true Mexican breakfast.

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This late-night taqueria, Los Cocuyos, is a hidden gem in the city center where you can find yourself standing in line at 2:00 AM for some truly unique tacos. With a menu that includes offal tacos such as cooked tongue and brains, it offers a unique culinary experience for the adventurous eater. The taqueria is renowned for its utilization of various by-products; from ears, head, and eye muscle to intestine, stomach, belly, and tongue, daring diners are encouraged to order everything and try.

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Jorge Vallejo

Chef at Quintonil – Mexico city, Mexico

This truly amazing late night taqueria, called Los Cocuyos, is in the city center. It's basically a hole in the wall. You go and stand in line outside in the middle of the street at 2:00 AM in the morning. They have tacos with cooked tongue, brains and other amazing offal tacos.

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This restaurant, Meroma, offers a unique blend of dishes inspired by global cuisines, all prepared with fine Mexican ingredients. The establishment is led by chefs Mercedes Bernal and Rodney Cusic, who bring their experience from renowned kitchens such as Café Boulud and L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon. The space is divided into a lobby for snacks and cocktails, a small dining room with striking interior design, and a terrace that provides a tranquil view of the neighborhood.

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Ali Kurshat Altinsoy

Brand Director – Mexico City, Mexico

Superb choice of dishes inspired from across the world. Absolutely delightful restaurant atop the gorgeous street that is Colima. A superb choice of dishes inspired from across the world made with wonderful Mexican ingredients.

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With a vibrant atmosphere, Baltra Bar is a popular spot for enjoying superb drinks. The bar is known for its 'martes martinis', a Tuesday special where delicious martinis are offered for 100 pesos. It operates from 6:00pm to 12:00am from Sunday to Wednesday and extends its hours until 2:00am on Thursdays to Saturdays.

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Ali Kurshat Altinsoy

Brand Director – Mexico City, Mexico

One of my favourite places to drink in CDMX - super drinks, super vibe. Tuesdays are ‘martes martinis’ ie delicious martinis for 100 pesos …

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Known for its classic chilaquiles, Chilpa is a popular spot for breakfast, brunch, and lunch. The restaurant is a go-to choice for those who enjoy Mexican cuisine. Unfortunately, more detailed information about Chilpa is not available at this time.

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Ali Kurshat Altinsoy

Brand Director – Mexico City, Mexico

This Mexican breakfast / brunch / lunch spot is one of our go-to restaurants for classic chilaquiles. Located in la Condesa, this Mexican breakfast / brunch / lunch spot is one of our go-to restaurants for classic chilaquiles

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With an emphasis on natural wines and small plates, Hugo offers a unique dining experience. The place is known for its awesome vibes and attention to elegant detailing, making it a favourite among many. Operating hours are from 2pm to 11pm from Tuesday to Saturday, and 3pm to 9pm on Sundays, with Mondays being their day off.

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Ali Kurshat Altinsoy

Brand Director – Mexico City, Mexico

Awesome vibes, natural wines and delicious small plates. This is one of my favourite places in the city - awesome vibes, natural wines and delicious small plates, elegant detailing…

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Jenni's Quesadillas is a standout spot for fresh, made-to-order quesadillas crafted with purple corn masa. With a myriad of fillings to choose from, the squash flowers, known as "Flor de calabaza", are particularly noteworthy. The place serves as an excellent introduction to the dynamic world of street food.

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JR Ryall

Head Pastry Chef – Cork, Ireland

The best quesadillas in Roma Norte, CDMX. Jenni makes the very best quesadillas using purple corn masa, preparing each tortilla to order, cooking them fresh on the comal in front of you. There are many fillings to choose from, I particularly like the squash flowers, “Flor de calabaza”. A great stepping stone into the vibrant world of street food in the city.

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With a focus on seafood, La Jefa is a hidden gem nestled in La Florida's streets. The establishment offers a variety of dishes, with recommendations including shrimp soup and fresh fish tostadas, each providing a unique taste experience. In addition, they have a carefully selected range of special mezcals to complement your meal.

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Peter Meng Sapper

Charcutier/Restauranteur – Guatemala City, Guatemala

A hole in the wall with great food! La Jefa is a small place hidden in La Florida’s streets. Specializing in seafood, we tried a shrimp soup and several fresh fish tostadas. All great and different from the usual, but good. They have well selected, special mezcales to conplement the offer. Recommended for lunch, be wary that there are many places sharing the same name nearby, so make sure you get to Calle Ajusco!

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Mi Compa Chava Marisquería is a walk-in seafood restaurant, inspired by the flavors of Sinaloa. The menu highlights include black aguachile of prawns, taco with a cheese crust and prawn, and a tostada with crab, scallop, raw and cooked prawns, and avocado. The service is noted for being friendly and attentive, and the dishes are described as fresh, flavorful, and reasonably priced.

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David P. Leja

@thegastrojourney – Palma, Spain

Fish and seafood restaurant inspired in Sinaloa. We had heard mixed reviews about this place, but we still had a good feeling and decided to give it a try on this last visit to the city, and we are very glad we did because it ended up being our favorite meal of the trip in CDMX. First of all, the restaurant is mostly walk in only, we arrived at 15:15 and had a 1 hour waiting time to get seated. Once you get seated you get served a very generous “botana” and we recommend you order some micheladas because they are delicious here. The service is super friendly and attentive, and the only negative point for us is that they serve everything at once leaving you without space on the table and making it a bit stressful, but we can also understand when you see how many people wait to get seated. Now, focusing on what we ate, we had the following: * Black Aguachile of prawns. * “Costra de camarón”: taco with a cheese crust and prawn. * Taco with fried “botete” (blowfish) and black mayo. * Ceviche with scallops, prawns (cooked and raw) and octopus. * Tostada with crab, scallop, raw and cooked prawns and avocado. We really enjoyed every single dish except for a clam dish which isn’t pictured. The seafood was nice and fresh, nice flavors, with a nice acidity when needed, and a good level of spicy, just very enjoyable overall. All this food plus two more dishes came out for a little over 100€, which we felt is super cheap, especially in current times in the city we all prices have considerably gone up. Definitely a place we will go back in the future.

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