A local’s guide to Mexico City
As big cities go, few have the soul of Mexico City. Although it’s gotten a bad rap for congestion, corruption, violence and pollution (deservedly so), it’s a city of contrasts. Steeped in architectural and anthropological history, with a rich food tradition and a booming art scene, the international capital is more welcoming of visitors than ever.
The “chilango” attitude is one of enjoyment — office workers take an extended late lunch, called a comida, that sometimes goes so long it signals the end of the workday. This is also a culture of hospitality: You can expect to be greeted warmly wherever you go and invited to join new acquaintances for meals.
“CDMX” is as multifaceted in nature as its neighborhoods are. Rich and poor live drastically different lives in the cosmopolitan capital: Be sure to take advantage of ultra-inexpensive Uber and public-transit rates. Explore, and be challenged and charmed by the megalopolis.
Meet your local
Allegra has lived in Mexico City with her husband since 2016. She’s a New York native who traded one mega-city for another and loves it so much that she had a baby there.
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Where I live:
Condesa, a beautiful, tree-lined neighborhood with wide streets good for maneuvering strollers or walking dogs, a lot of expats and one of the best parks in the city.
Best way to get around the city:
For all of its sprawl, it’s really an easy-to-navigate city. The best way to get to know CDMX is by foot, but if you’re not up for walking, the subway is very easy to use; it’s the only icon-based metro system in the world, meaning foreign tourists can navigate without knowing a word of Spanish.
Don’t leave without having:
A carajillo: a coffee cocktail made of espresso and Licor 43 (a vanilla-flavored spirit infused with 43 herbs and spices), shaken over ice. It’s an old-school, working-class drink originally served to give day laborers the fuel they needed to get through the workday.
But the local favorite is really:
Barbacoa on a Sunday morning. Street stalls pop up early in the morning and go until they run out of lamb — carved to order, served in little tacos alongside hot bowls of consomé, a soup made of the meat’s drippings.
If I moved, I’d most miss:
The language. Mexico City Spanish is a mix of devastating wordplay, perverse slang and the politest greetings you’ll hear outside the Deep South.
stay
In the action
Roma Norte
Originally planned as an upper-class neighborhood during the Porfirian era in the late 1800s, Roma Norte, with its tree-canopied streets lined with colonial buildings, feels a little European. Now one of the trendiest neighborhoods in the city, it’s home to funky boutiques, great art galleries, buzzy mezcal bars and some of the best restaurants in the city. There are a few beautifully designed boutique hotels in the area, if you’re willing to pay the price. Find this neighborhood.
Low-key
Roma Sur
South of Coahuila Street lies Roma Norte’s quiet cousin, the neighborhood that Alfonso Cuarón’s Oscar-nominated film made famous. Though it’s changed quite a bit since the pre-gentrified ’70s, it’s still a tranquil, residential area filled with colorful markets and mom-and-pop food stands. There aren’t many hotels in this area, but Airbnbs in Mexico City are incredibly cheap, and some of the most interesting options are in this area, from crumbling historic buildings to modern artist lofts. Find this neighborhood.
eat
Breakfast
Panadería Rosetta
This bakery (with the same chef as the Mexican-Italian restaurant Rosetta across the street) has made every list, and for good reason. Expect to wait in line at the tiny storefront, which has only a few bar stools, for the best pastries in the city. Think cardamom buns, sweet-and-salty rosemary rolls, flaky puff pastries filled with guava jam, and a daily loaf of sourdough bread with grains like spelt or buckwheat. They also serve two decadent quiches; the vegetarian version, loaded with cheese, cream and sun-dried tomatoes, is almost like breakfast lasagna.
BTW: Take your treats a block away to enjoy them alfresco, by the fountain at the Plaza Rio de Janeiro.
Panadería Rosetta, Colima 179, Roma Nte. 06700
Breakfast
El Cardenal
Fuel up for a day of touring the busy Centro neighborhood with one of the most old-school, white-tablecloth breakfast spots in the city. Join the Mexican families dressed in their Sunday best and chefs shoveling chilaquiles after a busy night. The nata (clotted cream) paired with soft, sweet breads is delicious, and you can’t miss with any of the egg dishes.
BTW: There are a few locations, so make sure you choose the one on Calle de la Palma, and get there early to avoid a wait.
El Cardenal, Calle de la Palma 23, Centro Histórico de la Cdad. de México, Centro, 06000
Lunch
Expendio de Maíz Sin Nombre
It doesn’t look like much from the outside, but this open restaurant is a unique dining experience. There’s no menu — just pull up one of the sidewalk chairs and tell chef Jesús Tornes (who also runs a stall at Sunday’s Mercado el 100) what you do and don’t eat. He’ll serve you until you’re full of dishes made from local ingredients he brings from his family farm and cooks over flames in a rustic, thrown-together kitchen. The real star is anything prepared from native corn — you can buy the masa or tortillas to take home.
BTW: Walk off your meal by shopping for the next one at Mercado Medellin, a traditional market specializing in products from Caribbean and Central and South American countries.
Expendio de Maíz Sin Nombre, Av. Yucatan 84, Roma Nte., 06700
Lunch
Nicos
In a residential neighborhood about a half-hour ride from the city center is hands down the best traditional Mexican restaurant you can find, with a slow-food seal of approval and fantastic wine list. Join the suited businessmen who have been flocking for years to enjoy their comida, or late lunch, with a drink or two from the waiter’s mezcal cart. What it lacks in ambiance, Nicos makes up for in service and food prepared with the utmost care: Chewy handmade tortillas need little more than a sprinkling of salt, Caesar salad (invented in Mexico!) is made tableside, and seasonal ingredients like escamoles (ant eggs) make the dining experience different every time.
BTW: Don’t skip the sopa seca de nata (like a French-Mexican version of lasagna) and end your meal with a café de olla.
Nicos, Av. Cuitláhuac 3102, Claveria, 02080
Dinner
El Tizoncito
At the end of a day filled with walking and eating (the best way to experience CDMX), the best kind of dinner is the most casual. This small taco chain is known for its tacos al pastor — a few of those, plus the addictive complimentary bean dip that’s waiting at each table with chips, and you’re good to go.
BTW: Finish your meal with an ice cream cone from nearby Nevería Roxy, a 1950s-style parlor that offers local flavors like mamey and soursop.
El Tizoncito, Av. Tamaulipas 122, Colonia Condesa, 06140
Dinner
Sartoria
Handmade pasta from Modena native Marco Carboni is rolled out onto a marble counter open to a modern dining room. The food is authentically, unapologetically Italian. (You won’t find a Mexican producer on the wine list, and the olive oil and balsamic are imported from Italy.) This means the menu relies on what’s the most fresh and close by, like Oaxacan potatoes and hoja santa leaf — not quite fusion but like nothing you’ve ever tasted.
BTW: End the night with a few more drinks across the street at Carboni’s new Italian delicatessen and standing wine bar, Bottega.
Sartoria, Orizaba 42, Roma Nte., 06700
Late-night
Bósforo
A dark, cramped bar in the city’s Centro district, Bósforo has a wide-ranging selection of mezcals. Agave nerds and newbies alike would be wise to ask the bartender what’s on offer, since the selection of small-batch spirits is constantly changing. If you can snag a seat on a pillow in the opium-den-style room upstairs, where a weird mix of reggae, blues and funk wafts upward, you’ll avoid getting your shoes stepped or spilled on, but then again, it’s part of the experience.
BTW: Enjoy a few mezcals while you wait for a table at no-name sister restaurant next door that serves homestyle food prepared using ancient techniques.
Bósforo, Luis Moya 31, Colonia Centro, Centro, 06000
Late-night
La Casa de Toño
This 24-hour diner runs a tight ship — you’ll be rushed in as quickly as possible, order off a checklist and have your plate cleared before you’ve even finished. But crowds line up out the door for a reason. One of the cheapest sit-down meals you’ll have in this part of the city, the hearty bowl of pozole (a spicy stew of pork and hominy) is just what you need to stave off a hangover. Toppings like lime, dried chile, shredded lettuce and sour cream abound, and there’s even a vegetarian version made with squash blossoms. There are other locations of Casa de Toño, many not open all night.
BTW: Hopefully you’ve come from Patrick Miller, an insane, Friday-only club where unbuttoned middle managers, sneakered cabdrivers and mesh-clad party kids gather in dance-off circles.
La Casa de Toño, Londres 144, Juárez, 06600
- The rainy season (June through September) is a nice time to visit. It only pours once a day (usually perfectly synced to happy hour), and the rain cleans out the otherwise oppressive air pollution.
- The main meal of the day, called a comida, occurs around 2 to 4 p.m. Dinner isn’t a major affair; in fact, many of the city’s best restaurants close at 5 or 6.
- Restaurant tipping is a standard 15 percent, and added before you sign the bill. Just tell your waiter “con quince” when you ask for the check.
do
Stroll San Ángel and hit a market
This incredibly picturesque neighborhood hosts an indoor artisan market (Bazar del Sábado) on Saturdays. Browse handmade pieces by local designers, then walk through the bougainvillea-lined cobblestone streets to the Museo Casa Estudio Diego y Frida, the home built for Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo by their architect friend Juan O’Gorman; it’s much less of a scene than the Frida Kahlo Museum.
BTW: After the museum, grab a table in the interior garden of the San Ángel Inn, a restaurant in an old monastery, and refuel with complimentary spiced peanuts and a carajillo cocktail.
Plaza San Jacinto 11, San Ángel TNT, San Ángel, 01000
La Ciudadela
Although crowded, often with tourists, this folk-art market is one of the best places to shop for crafts in the city. At this maze of an indoor bazaar, with over 300 shops, you’ll have to sift through some tacky souvenirs to find traditional handcrafted objects like woven textiles, hammered silver frames and straw baskets.
BTW: Local de Chiapas (Pasillo 2, No. 69) sells brightly colored strings of pompoms, felted animals and striped bags typical of the state of Chiapas.
La Ciudadela, S/N, Balderas, Centro, 06040
Mercado el 100
The city’s only all-organic open-air market is held Sundays in Roma Sur. Less a traditional Mexican market and more a hipster farmers market filled with attractive expats, it’s a great place to shop for unusual local produce and prepared foods, like creamy corn tamales with mushrooms and salsa verde.
BTW: If you’re checking a bag, make sure to snag a bottle of mezcal from Guerrero, something you can’t find anywhere else. They make amazing souvenirs.
Mercado El 100, Orizaba S/N, Roma Sur, 06760 Cuauhtémoc, CDMX, Mexico
Lucha Libre
The sport of Mexican pro wrestling makes WWE look, well, real. At this gaudy arena, paunchy luchadores sport colorful masks and perform hilariously over-the-top moves. They’re egged on by fans of all ages, who hurl insults that should probably never be repeated. It’s an experience beloved as much by tourists as locals.
BTW: Make like a Mexican and order a huge (two-beer) michelada or instant noodles topped with chile and lime.
Arena México, Dr. Lavista 189, Doctores, 06720
Tetetlán
A restaurant, cafe, shop and yoga studio in the former horse stables of a Luis Barragán-designed home, Tetetlán is nothing short of breathtaking in its design. (The Mesoamerican menu is quite good as well.) A glass floor exposes the petrified volcanic rock endemic to the area, and a cantilevered concrete staircase leads to an airy listening library upstairs with a skylit ceiling framed by blush-pink beams.
BTW: Call ahead to schedule a tour of Casa Pedregal (formerly known as Casa Prieto Lopez), the private residence next door recently restored to Barragán’s original design.
Tetetlán, Av. de Las Fuentes 180, Jardines del Pedregal, 01900
Dog school in Parque México
One of the city’s most beautiful green spaces, Parque México is the center of the Condesa neighborhood. (It’s smack in the middle of the former site of a horse-racing track known as the Hippodrome.) Aside from its Art Deco architecture and unique variety of plants, it’s the place to go to watch dog school; if you visit in the morning or early afternoon, you can’t miss the clusters of dozens of breeds, from Afghans to Chihuahuas, patiently lined up off-leash waiting to be trained.
BTW: An early arrival means you’ll beat the line for pastries and huevos rancheros at Maque, a traditional eatery at the southwestern side of the park.
Av. México y Av. Michoácan, Hipódromo Condesa, 06100
Allegra Ben-Amotz
Allegra has lived in Mexico City with her husband since 2016. She’s a New York native who traded one mega-city for another and loves it so much that she had a baby there.
@allgoodnewsAlicia Vera
Alicia is a Mexican American documentary photographer. She loves Mexico City for its explosion of the senses: The food, sounds, colors and textures make her city like no other.
@aliciavera
