It's time to relive the most incredible taco crawl of my life with my guide to Mexico City!
If you're not on Instagram, you might have missed the taco extravaganza that happened a few weeks ago when Thomas and I went to Mexico City. It was truly spectacular. We ate our way through the entire city and got our fill of incredible, colorful, flavorful food. We were there for 4 days, which is NOT enough time to try everything obviously, but we did our very best.
Here's the deal... the food in Mexico City is insane. Some of the best food I've had all year. The tacos, quesadillas, tortillas, salsas etc... blew my mind. The cocktails are top notch. The city is huge so be prepared to walk // which is also good considering how much you're going to eat. All in all it's the perfect place to go for a long weekend when you're looking for some incredible eats.
Below you'll find a map of all our favorite places to eat / drink, our hotel which was incredible and the tour group we used for the taco crawl. I always recommend using a tour guide at least for a day in a new city so you can really get the lay of the land! Any questions / recommendations / comments, should it out in the comments below! Happy traveling!
COFFEE + BREAKFAST + BRUNCH:
- Panadería Rosetta - Really amazing pastries like the guava danish and coffee for breakfast or brunch.
- Saint Panadería - A cute little bakery/coffee spot. The strawberry danish is out of this world.
- Molino El Pujol - A cute and casual spot with tamales, breakfast tacos, and fresh juice.
LUNCH:
- Taqueria El Turix - Best cochinita pibil in the city! Go for the tacos.
- Los Cocuyos - Fav tacos of the entire trip!! Worth the trek downtown and the perfect way to end the taco portion of your taco crawl.
- Taqueria Orinoco - Another chain but INCREDIBLE tacos and salsas!
- Jenni's Street Quesadillas - Honestly if I could have a quesadilla from here on a daily basis, nothing would make me happier!
- Huaracheria Doña Luz - When you need something other than a taco, this is where you should go for Huaraches.
- El Huequito - Best al pastor in the entire city!
- Taqueria Orinoco - Best chicharrón and sauce selection!
- Masala y Maiz - More upscale than everything mentioned so far and worth it if you want to have a fun mexican/indian vibed lunch or early dinner! Kitchen closes at 6 pm.
DINNER:
- Farolito - It's a chain but we went the night we landed when everything else was closed and the tacos al pastor were bomb!
- Lardo - If you've overdosed on tacos, this is the place for a lighter more mediterranean vibe!
- Contramar - A restaurant dedicated to seafood that is not to be missed. Tuna Tostadas were unreal!
- Fonda Fina - Seasonal Mexican food with a flare! Super pretty!
- Taqueria El Califa - Another chain but OMG it's good. Chain restaurants are clearly done well in CDMX
- Em - An upscale restaurant with a Mexican/Japanese influence in Roma.
- Pujol - If you're feeling the fine dining vibe with a tasting menu, this is the place to go! Book WAAAAAY ahead though as it's incredibly popular!
- Molino El Pujol - If you can't get into Pujol but want to try the highlights from the menu.... swing by this place for a taste!
DRINKS + DESSERTS:
- La Clandestina - A fun mezcal dive bar.
- La Docena - Another great option when you're over the tacos - go here for oysters and a drink!
- Campobaja - A great stop late in the afternoon. There's a pretty outdoor space and they have a great natural wine selection. The tuna tostadas are insane.
- Hotel Condesa DF Rooftop - A great bar on the rooftop deck with fun views!
- El Moro - Churros to end all churros
MARKETS + SIGHTS:
- San Juan Market - One of the oldest traditional Mexican markets that specializes in exotic and specialty food.
- Palace of Fine Arts - A beautiful performing arts center that hosts a variety of events from the opera to dance.
- Frida Kahlo Museum - A must visit!
- Mercado De Coyoacan - A very large market with food, fun trinkets, clothes, and art.
- Taco Crawl Guide- We used Club Tengo Hambre which was amazing. We did a private tour which is a little more expensive but really special because we got to customize exactly what we wanted to do! Highly recommend.
WHERE TO STAY:
- Las Alcobas - This hotel is so so so special. It's right in the heart of Polanco which is a very safe and pretty neighborhood lined with parks and every store you could imagine! Tres chic!
- Hotel Condesa - A very cute/chic hotel. Also great for rooftop drinks and ceviche.
Any other recs, drop them below!!
Places to Stay- Wild Oscar Hotel in Polanco, small boutique hotel.
El Bazar Sabado in San Angel. Saturday Market- featuring stalls and goods by artists and great food options.
Love breakfast at Eno (Pujol Chef) and Delirio which has a few locations.
Tired of tacos and craving Italian, try Belfiore for yummy pizza and pasta.
Entremar- sister restaurant to Contramar with very similar menu. Sit on the second level over looking the park.
Agree with Rosetta completely and her bakery across the street is worth a stop.
Maximo Bistrot- Do not miss, a local favorite
Just booked this tour for next weekend, thank you!
Check out Leon Trotsky’s house next time you’re there for some interesting history. And for an authentically insane night in Garibaldi Plaza, go to Tenampa. It’s the OG mariachi spot and just order a bottle of tequila, a mariachi band table side for 30ish min and enjoy!! It’s definitely not “nice” but it’s fun!
Just a correction, the guava pastry place is called Rosetta (http://www.rosetta.com.mx/en/)
Thanks!!
Where did you stay? Recommendations?
it's on the list! Bottom of the post - Las Alcobas!
Yay! so excited for this. I go to CDMX in 1 week and cannot wait to add some of these stops to the list. One question, whats the deal with h2O and drinks, especially out? Like did you drink the horchata ? How about beverages with ice? any recommendations on this would be greatly appreciated 🙂
we did bottled / filter water only from the hotel. But we drank margaritas and agua frescas and such at street food stands and bars
Hi!! Going in feb and just want to know if you recommend having every drink (even margs) without ice?? My biggest fear is getting sick on the trip re: the end your video
Loved this BTW - going to reference it so much!
I mean, not having the ice would be the SAFEST bet! But a margarita without ice seems so sad
Mmmmmm....¡qué ricooooooooo!
I wonder why Mexico City for a visit: thought it was very unsafe.
food was incredible - didn't feel unsafe for a minute the entire trip
Love Mexico City for the food! Thanks for the recommendations! Next time you go back, you HAVE to check out Quintonil. That place is amazing!
Sounds like this is a trip I will be adding to my to do list!!
Next time you go try the bean and cheese fried quesadillas at Maria Isabel, they have been in Polanco near the park for more than 30 years. Try the bean and cheese and the huitlacoche.
Headed there for a solo long weekend trip later this month and am PUMPED for tacos! I'll add these stops to my list (80 restaurants in 3 days is doable, right?!)
feels totally doable
I love this list! We hit up Tirux, Farolito, Contramar, el Moro, and the Condesa DF rooftop when we were there in 2018! We missed out on Los Cucoyos because of bad weather and were so bummed. We didn’t do Pujol but went to Quintonil which was also amazing. I’d also recommend limantour for cocktails (ranked one of the worlds best bars and really good). I was skeptical on the floating gardens, Xochomilco, but it was SO fun and Totally worth it. We stayed in Polanco and on Sunday mornings Paseo de Reforma closes to cars and you can bike, run and even take a yoga class in the street. There’s SO much to do (and eat!) in Mexico City and never enough time!