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10 Best Traditional Mexican Restaurants in Mexico City


 

Mexico City is the capital of Mexico and is synonymous with the country’s Federal District.

The term Mexico City can also apply to the capital’s metropolitan area, which includes the Federal District but extends beyond it to the west, north, and east.

It is called M茅xico in Nahuatl and Ciudad de M茅xico in Spanish.

Restaurants in Mexico City have their unique takes on the local cuisines, but they all share a deep attachment for traditional ingredients.

The three staples in Mexican dishes are corn, beans and chillies (hot peppers), all present before the Spanish arrived.

Corn is consumed in all possible forms, but most importantly as a tortilla (a thin, round pancake made from corn dough).

Virtually all restaurants in the capital city use fresh in-season produce to create a rich and delightful mix of flavours and textures.

Mexico City is full of great places to eat, but if you follow the locals you will discover authentic Mexican food places.

However, there鈥檚 more to Mexican food than tacos and burritos. Like its people, the food of Mexico City is rich, diverse, and exciting.

Here are the 10 best traditional Mexican restaurantsin Mexico City.

 

1. Chilpa

Chilpancingo 35, Mexico City, Mexico

Phone: (+52)5552644976

Located in Condesa district, Chilpa is a favourite for breakfast. The speciality is chilaquiles, and you get them exactly how you want.

There is sufficient seating area and  you can use the free wifi of the restaurant  as the staff makes sure to wait on you at your table.

Choose from baked or fried tortilla chips, pick from seven sauces 鈥 ranging from mild to hot 鈥 and then pick your topping.

These include typical breakfast items such as eggs, but also cecina (salt beef) and vegetables.

If you鈥檙e not up for a big hearty breakfast, there are also some very good fruit juices available.

On the menu you will also find a variety of delicious dishes free of any animal product, and menu options for vegetarians are available as well.

The bar is not only open for enjoying refreshing beverages you can also enjoy food there. Further, food at this restaurant can also be order red for take away.

The facilities have been made wheelchair accessible.

The restaurant is a non-smoking environment, and pets are welcome on the premises.

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2. El Cardinal

Phone+52 55 5521 3080

El Cardenal first opened in 1969 at the corner of Moneda and Seminario streets in Mexico City.

While it is no longer at its original location, you can still find several branches in Palma, Alameda, Lomas and San Angel.

Located about a block away from the Zocalo, this local institution, which originally opened in 1969, serves arguably the best breakfast in the city.

Go crazy with chilaquiles, enchiladas, poached eggs in clay pots, and omelettes with ingredients you鈥檝e probably never heard of. Best to get here early or be prepared to wait.

.A must-try is its rich Do帽a Oliva chocolate, paired with your choice of freshly baked pastries and creamy nata (clotted cream).

If you prefer something savoury, the restaurant serves the likes of enchiladas, gorditas (corn tortillas stuffed with cheese and meat), and Spanish omelette with escamoles (ant larvae).

Easily one of the most well-known restaurants in Mexico City, El Cardenal is famed for its traditional breakfast service.

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3. Tacos De Canasta Los Especiales

Tacos De Canasta 鈥淭acos of the basket,鈥 literally, are steamed tacos, a popular mobile treat often served by people on the street out of cloth-covered baskets.

They鈥檙e soft and moist, with fillings such as chicharr贸n, mole verde, potato, refried beans, shredded chicken, and carnero en adobo (spicy mutton/sheep).

They鈥檙e sometimes called tacos sudados (sweated tacos) tacos al vapor, or tacos mineros in other parts of Mexico, the latter referring to its origins as a common packed lunch for workers in mining country.

For this cheap eat, head to Los Especiales. Just off the Zocalo (main square), it鈥檚 easy to locate.

There鈥檚 some seating but don鈥檛 expect to stay for a long chat 鈥 this is Mexican fast food.

Taco, Mexican, Beef, Food

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4. Pujol

Tennyson 133, Polanco, Polanco IV Secc, Miguel Hidalgo, 11570 Ciudad de M茅xico, CDMX, Mexico

Phone: +52 55 5545 4111

Chef Enrique Olvera founded Pujol back in 2000 with the vision to showcase everything about Mexican gastronomy, from its unique techniques and inimitable spices to the country鈥檚 rich history.

Pujol is a Mexican restaurant named by Wall Street Journal as the best in Mexico City.

Pujol offers a contemporary take on Mexican cuisine. Local ingredients and traditional techniques come front and centre in its dishes, but they also draw from foreign culinary styles. The dining space is elegant but has a rather casual atmosphere.

Pujol is an excellent place to try modern dishes that reflect Mexico鈥檚 rich culinary history. The tasting menu is always changing and evolving to take advantage of what鈥檚 in season.

You can also opt for the chef鈥檚 recommendation, which can be anything from octopus tacos to gorditas (corn tortillas stuffed with cheese and meat).

They also boasts a varied seven-course tasting menu that packs an incredible punch.

While the selection changes seasonally, the signature Mole Madre, Mole Nuevo 鈥 two concentric rings of the traditional Mexican preparation, one of which is aged for 2,500 days 鈥 is a stable feature, alongside a steamy dish of baby corn with chicatana ant mayonnaise.

The chef鈥檚 favourites feature on an omakase menu and include the likes of tostada with kimchi and a Kampachi taco served with avocado and seaweed.

Avocado, Dip, Food, Mexican, Mexican Food, Plate

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5. Coyoacan Market

Phone: +52 55 4072 1596

The Coyoacan Market is like a window into daily local life and it is authentic. It is a vibrant, 2-story marketplace in operation since 1921, with food stalls, apparel, art & souvenirs.

Tourists come here to purchased textiles and woven bags, but the market is predominantly filled with locals grabbing midday meals or spices for dinner.

In the food court, you鈥檒l find an array of taco and quesadilla stalls. Quesadillas are particularly popular with locals while they鈥檙e doing their shopping although the authentic versions don鈥檛 necessarily have cheese.

They have many options too like pumpkin flower and for the brave, cow brain.

A feature of this market is that every festival, tenants sell everything you need to decorate, cook and celebrate the feast.

For example, during December it is common to find many stalls selling romeritos, candy and pi帽atas for the holidays; flowers in early November and costumes for the Day of the Dead; in September hats, flags and everything necessary to prepare national holidays.

You could hire a private guide or you could wander the narrow aisles on your own.

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6.  Nicos

Phone: +52 55 5396 7090

It is a 60-year-old lunch institution in the blue collar neighborhood of Azcapotzalco, about a 20 minute cab ride from El Centro.

Restaurante Nicos was founded in 1957; it’s formal but not fancy, busy but not crowded, and pays tribute to the ingredients and recipes of both modern and ancient Mexico. 

Nicos is a family-owned eatery specialising in traditional Mexican cuisine. It鈥檚 been around since 1957, with dishes made with the family鈥檚 own recipe.

A must-try is sopa seca de natas, made with layers of tomatoes, shredded chicken, poblano chilies, and natas (heavy cream)

Depending on the season, you might be able to try Nicos鈥 version of chiles en nogada. This seasonal dish is made with stuffed poblano chillies, which are lathered in a creamy sauce and sprinkled with pomegranate seeds.        

Enjoy regional recipes unknown in urban Mexico City and also try one of the many variations mole and the warm tortillas whose corn is nixtalimized in-house.

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7. La Casa de Tono

Phone: +52 55 5386 1125

This chain has more than 30 branches, which are open 24 hours a day. It started as a simple stall in 1983 and has become increasingly popular at all hours of the day.

So much so, that when you arrive you have to collect a ticket with a number, then wait outside. Once your number is called you are shown to a table.

Drop in for all the Mexican classics you love, on the cheap. La Casa de To帽o is a great spot for a big crew, or when you just need to eat various combos of meat, cheese and tortillas.

The speciality is pozole. The stew is traditionally made with pork, but can also feature chicken or vegetables.

Pozole had a ritual significance in Mayan times, when it鈥檚 said that it was made from defeated tribes.

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8. Sud 777

Phone: +52 55 5568 4777

Sud 777 serves trendy vegetarian Mexican dishes in Pedregal, an upscale neighbourhood in southern Mexico City.

Chef Edgar N煤帽ez and his culinary team often experiment with sustainable produce such as algae and insects to create very unique dishes. 

Starters include sopa de chicharron (pork crackling soup) and nuestra sopa de cebolla (onion soup), while the tasting menu highlights indigenous ingredients like callo de hacha (a type of shellfish native to the Sea of Cortez).

The restaurant lets simple, locally sourced ingredients shine, with the likes of sweet potato lollipops, Mexican style rice and a 鈥榩erfect鈥 egg and soft-shell crab with surf and turf mayonnaise making up the 16-step tasting menu.

What鈥檚 on offer changes according to the season, with much of what makes up each dish coming from the restaurant’s garden.

Mexican vintages give the wine list additional local backbone.

If you want a unique gastronomic experience in Mexico City, Sud 777 is the place to be.

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9. El Farolito

Phone: +52 55 5273 7297

This taco chain is popular for al carbon tacos, which is essentially kebab meat, also called pastor 鈥 a tradition brought to the city by Middle Eastern migrants in the early 20th century.

The Gringa is also a popular choice, which is pastor with pineapple.

There鈥檚 also a wide variety of taco fillings, for those that don鈥檛 want kebab meat, such as grilled meat and vegetarian options.

El Farolito is the most convenient taco joint you鈥檒l find in the city, considering there are 24 of them and they鈥檙e all open very late.

The tacos al pastor are great and you should also order a chicharron de queso – basically a crispy piece of cheese.

Eat as many tacos as you can and try every sauce available. Then wash it all down with a horchata.

This chain started 50 years ago and its style of tacos al carbon has been copied in taquerias all over.

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10.  Masala y Maiz

Calle Marsella 72, Ju谩rez, Cuauht茅moc, 06600 Ju谩rez, CDMX, Mexico

Phone: +52 55 1313 8260

Masala y Maiz explores the migration of people, culinary techniques, ingredients, cultural foodways and political movements between South Asia, East Africa & Mexico.

The restaurant is founded by Norma Listman and Saqib Keval, who uses seasonal produce from small-scale farmers in Mexico.

Standout dishes include black ceviche, masala fried chicken, uttapam (Indian dosa) and mole toast.

You can also find a selection of natural wines on its drinks list, which changes weekly. Masala y Maiz is just 400 metres east of Avenida de los Insurgentes, Mexico City鈥檚 longest avenue.  

The food is a mestizaje- an organic blending of cultures over generations often in response to colonization & displacement.

 This is the culture in-between that happens when people come together. The food of Masala y Maiz is intensely personal, based on the family recipes & histories of Norma & Saqib.

The restaurant is a reflection of the chefs鈥 beliefs that food can be used as a powerful tool for environmental & social justice and that chefs have the responsibility to advocate and work towards bettering labour conditions for everyone in the food industry.

Shrimp, Seafood, Mexican Food

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Mexico City, often abbreviated to CDMX, is the oldest city in the Americas, built upon the ruins of the Aztec Empire鈥檚 capital Tenochtitl谩n.

The city is steeped in history and has long been a centre of anthropological, historical and cultural relevance.

Now, this restless megalopolis represents the perfect marriage between old and new, as it has become an epicenter of art, design, architecture, culture and culinary delights.

Simply put, Mexico City has something for everyone.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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