Mexico City, Mexico — Food and Dining
Restaurants in Mexico City, Mexico
Restaurants
Expensive
Au Pied de Cochon
This fashionable 24-hour bistro in the Hotel Presidente Inter-Continental has been a hit with Mexico City's beautiful people since it opened. Modelled closely on the Parisian original, the restaurant offers sumptuous seafood platters, including oysters and lobster, as well as steaks, pigs' trotters and snails prepared by French chefs. The chocolate profiteroles are delicious. Décor is art nouveau and the service is pleasant. An extensive wine list is available.
Hotel Presidente Inter-Continental, Avenida Campos Eliseos 216, Polanco
Tel: (55) 5327 7756.
Website: www.ichotelsgroup.com
Hacienda de los Morales
This upscale foodie extravagance owes much to its executive Chef Alejandro Heredia Resendiz, one of Mexico City's most celebrated gastronomic talents. Located in the heart of Polanco, the Hacienda de los Morales is a favorite with a star-studded clientele who flock to this grand 16th-century colonial mansion and its torch-lit beamed dining room. Expect top-notch fusion cuisine and impeccable service delivered to the sound of soothing piano music.
Vázquez de Mella 525, Del Bosque, Polanco
Tel. (55) 5283 3054.
Website: www.haciendadelosmorales.com
Les Moustaches
Understated, elegant surroundings characterize this excellent European-style restaurant in Mexico City where French cuisine has been attentively served for almost 30 years. Housed in a grand chandelier-decked mansion with an attractive plant-filled patio on the ground floor, Les Moustaches also has stylish second floor private rooms for banquets. Expect sublime flavors using fresh, sumptuous produce such as the restaurant's famous mussel soup, duck à l'orange and spectacular pistachio soufflé.
Río Sena 88, Cuauhtemoc
Tel: (55) 5533 3390.
Website: www.lesmoustaches.com.mx
San Angel Inn
Diners overlook a pleasant leafy courtyard in this former Mexico City hacienda where a Euro-Mexican menu is served in relaxed style. Situated in the southern colonial district of San Angel, the restaurant's signature dishes include trout, skewered prawns and crepes with huitlacoche (corn fungus, a Mexican delicacy). The margaritas are some of Mexico City's finest.
Diego Rivera 50, corner of Altavista, San Angel
Tel: (55) 5616 1402.
Website: www.sanangelinn.com
Moderate
Aguila y Sol
Owned by high-profile TV chef Martha Ortiz, this chichi food joint has sent fireworks through Mexico's City culinary scene. In stark contrast to the elegant, minimalist style of the dining room, the food is jam-packed with flavor and fun, from Ortiz's trademark margaritas made with black volcanic ash to the arty fideo-en-mole (vermicelli sautéed in spicy black mole).
229 Emilio Castelar, third floor, Polanco
Tel: (55) 5281 8354.
Azul y Oro
Chef Ricardo Muñoz Zurita trawls kitchens country-wide to seek out unusual traditional Mexican dishes which he then re-creates in his refectory diner. Though his four seasonal menus include special dishes that can bump up the cost, a daily three-course lunch menu is a highly affordable option - and a popular student choice.
Centro Cultural Universitario, Ciudad Universitaria
Tel: (55) 5623 3500.
Los Naranjos
For upmarket, nouvelle Mexican cuisine in comfortable and beautifully decorated surroundings, Los Naranjos takes some beating. Set within the heart of Mexico City's Polanco district, it provides a creative take on traditional Mexican cuisine to offer beautifully presented signature dishes served with true aplomb, such as tequila-marinated shrimps with ancho chilli and prickly pear, chicken rolls with curd cheese, and fried plantain with a red mole sauce, and, for dessert, guava stuffed with guanabana mousse.
Lopez de Vega 334, Polanco
Tel: (55) 5545 0755.
Villa Maria
The specialty of this friendly Mexican food haunt is the delicious selection of cocktails with the sweet and sour Margarita made from tamarind juice famous city-wide. Expect a great Mexican ambiance and excellent Mexican food in this deservedly popular Mexico City restaurant where diners range from business people to tourists and locals. Special banquet evenings provide a great excuse to try an array of different dishes to the rousing sound of Mariachi music.
Homero 704, Polanco
Tel: (55) 5203 0306.
Website: www.villamaria.com.mx
Cheap
Café Tacuba
Since first throwing open its doors in 1912, this Mexican institution in the Centro Histórico has become one of Mexico City's legendary food joints. Not only is it a great place to chow down on tasty Mexican fare, but it is also a feast for the eyes, with painted archways, colorful tiles, stained-glass windows and brass lamps. Choose from inexpensive tostadas, enchiladas, chiles rellenos, tamales and mole. The restaurant sponsors Mexico's popular rock band of the same name - so keep your eyes peeled for low-key celebrity diners.
Tacuba 28, Centro Histórico
Tel: (55) 5512 8482.
Kohinoor
Finding an Indian restaurant in Mexico City is extremely difficult. However, this authentic Indian diner in north Mexico City is the real deal for curry lovers and serves delicious, richly-flavored dishes with lightly spiced fluffy rice. A bright and clean décor features a glass-fronted kitchen, thus allowing diners to watch chefs at work. Choose from a menu of meat, chicken and vegetarian options that include tandoori special dishes, breads and chutneys.
Guillermo Gonzalez Camarena 999
Tel: (55) 5292 1291.
Website: www.kohinoor.com.mx
Saks
Mexico isn't blessed with an abundance of veggie options so this is busy all-day-long. Located on bustling Avenida Insurgentes, Saks has vaulted ceilings and medieval wall-paintings and is renowned for its fresh exotic fruit juices and enormous portions of healthy food. A menu combines Mexican and international dishes such as a huge house salad of artichokes, palm hearts, asparagus, portobello mushrooms and feta cheese. Another favorite is squash flower, nopal cactus and mushroom chilli, a hearty offering seasoned to taste.
Avenida Insurgentes Sur 1641
Tel: (55) 5563 3402.
Nightlife
Mexico City's nightlife is as lively and varied as everything else the city has to offer. All tastes are catered for from gentle supper clubs with floorshows and loud, brash nightclubs to ritzy piano bars, rustic antros (or disco-bars) and bars specializing in traditional Mexican music. La Zona Rosa remains a popular nightspot district but has lost ground to Polanco and Condesa in recent years. San Angel is another hot hangout. Prices of drinks and admission vary enormously depending on the area. Nightlife starts late and rages to the wee small hours. Many bars and nightclubs close on Sundays.
To check on what's happening across Mexico City, pick up a copy of weekly listings magazine Tiempo Libre (www.tiempolibre.com.mx), published every Thursday from the newsstands (Spanish only). English-language newspaper, The News, also has a brief what's-on guide at the weekend.
Bar-hopping at high altitude can have a dramatic effect on the body, from spells of dizziness and heightened intoxication to bouts of serious nausea. One drink in Mexico City can be the equivalent to two elsewhere in the world - so it pays to proceed with caution. Crime in the capital is another consideration after dark. Pickpockets are rife in crowded nightlife areas where wallets and bags should be well guarded.
Bars
El Centenario
Though low on glitz, the Centenario cantina is authentically Mexican with a packed bar, live musicians, dirt-cheap beer and a clientele hell bent on a good night out.
Vicente Suárez 42, Colonia Condesa
Tel: (55) 5553 5451.
El Hijo del Cuervo
In Coyoacán, the popular El Hijo del Cuervo attracts a youthful mix of Mexican students and foreign intellectuals to its cave-like depths.
Jardín del Centenario 17
Tel: (55) 5658 7824.
Website: www.elhijodelcuervo.com
Hotel Habita Bar
The popular, minimalist rooftop bar of the Hotel Habita attracts a high celebrity count in Polanco. Big bucks cocktails can put a strain on the budget, but it is worth it for the stunning Mexico City views. Expect cushion-clad couches overlooking the skyline with music videos projected onto the adjacent building.
Avenida Presidente, Msasaryk 201
Tel: (55) 5282 3100.
Website: www.hotelhabita.com
Rioma
Ultra-trendy Rioma still ranks amongst the city's hippest bars though at times the doormen guard this place like a no-go-zone. A riotous mix of electronic lounge music descends into pumping techno later on.
Insurgentes Sur 377, Colonia Condesa
Tel: (55) 5584 0613.
Clubs
Antillano
Antillano is the place to go for salsa dancing in Mexico City with its large dance floor and enthusiastic sultry, sassy street-wise crowd.
Francisco Pimentel 78
Tel: (55) 5592 0439.
Avant-Garde
In the bohemian Roma district, Avant-Garde pumps hardcore techno to a devoted crowd.
Puebla 310
Tel: (55) 5095 3996.
El Colmillo
The Colmillo, in a colonial house in the Juárez district, was founded by two English expats and remains one of the hottest clubs in Mexico City, attracting young, cool international travelers and locals alike. DJs spin acid jazz and techno in both upstairs and downstairs rooms.
Versalles 52, Colonia Juárez
Tel: (55) 5592 6164.
Live Music
Bar Jorongo
For over quarter of a century, Bar Jorongo has been one of the city's most acclaimed nightspots. Dubbed the ‘House of Mariachi', this atmospheric music hub attracts the biggest names in Mexican music.
Sheraton Maria Isabel Hotel, Paseo de la Reforma 325
Tel: (55) 5242 5555, ext 3736.
Hard Rock Live
Hard Rock Live hosts well known international as well as Spanish-language bands in an intimate state-of-the-art venue.
Campos Elíseos 290, Polanco
Tel: (55) 5327 7101.
Website: www.hardrock.com
Salón Tenampa
For traditional Mexican music, visit Plaza Garibaldi, on Eje Central between Republica de Honduras and Republica de Peru, where umpteen mariachi bands fill the tree-lined square until dawn. Arrive 2000-2400 to watch the mariachi bands gather dressed in black silver-studded suits and large-brimmed hats. Salón Tenampa is a long-standing institution on the square, where clients are serenaded by mariachis.
Plaza Garibaldi 12, Centro Histórico
Tel: (55) 5526 6176.
Website: www.salontenampa.com
