Mexico City has more restaurants per capita than New York and more distinct regional cuisines represented than any other city in the Americas. The circuit: the markets in the morning, the tacos at noon, the fine dining at 8pm if you want it, the street food at midnight because it’s Mexico City and midnight is early.
The Market Morning (7am-11am)
Mercado de San Juan (Juan José Baz Street, Centro Histórico):
The covered market that supplies the city’s best restaurants and the city’s most serious home cooks — the cheese section (the finest fromage selection in Mexico, the oaxaqueño, the manchego, the chihuahua, the cotija at different ages), the charcuterie (the cecina — the thin, dried beef or pork; the chorizo from the different regional producers), the fresh produce (the chillies at full variety — the ancho, the mulato, the chipotle, the guajillo, the pasilla, the arbol), and the prepared food stalls at the market’s corners.
The market breakfast: the enmoladas at the food stalls inside the market — tortillas softened in the market’s mole negro (the stall that makes fresh mole daily, the 30+ ingredient sauce visible in the large clay pots), folded around chicken or cheese, the whole covered in more mole and crema and fresh cheese. 70-100 MXN / £2.94-4.20.
Mercado de la Merced (the largest market in Latin America):
Three city blocks of everything — the chile section alone has 30+ varieties fresh, dried, and smoked. The specific purchase at La Merced: the dried chillies for home cooking (the ancho, the mulato, and the pasilla in combination make the mole negro base), the piloncillo (the raw cane sugar cone used in Mexican cooking), and the fresh epazote (the Mexican herb used in bean dishes and in the green mole).
The correct market approach: Walk the full market before buying anything. The price variation between the first stall and the stall three rows back is significant. The price at the stall serving the market’s own workers is the correct price.
The Taco Circuit (11am-2pm)
Tacos al pastor:
The vertical spit of marinated pork (the trompo — the stacked pork layers marinating in the adobo of dried chillies, achiote, and citrus vinegar, the pineapple on the spit top giving sweetness to the outermost slices) — the taquero slicing the meat directly onto the tortilla with the practiced movement that cuts the pork, catches the falling slice on the tortilla, and adds the pineapple slice in a single flowing sequence.
El Huequito (Ayuntamiento Street, Centro Histórico): operating since 1959, the oldest pastor taco restaurant in Mexico City. The basement location, the tables shared, the taquero visible from every seat. 20-35 MXN / £0.84-1.47 per taco.
El Vilsito (Petén Street, Colonia Narvarte): the mechanic workshop that becomes a taco counter from 9pm until 2am. The most celebrated midnight taco experience in the city. 20-28 MXN / £0.84-1.18 per taco.
Tacos de guisado:
The taco of the working Mexico City morning — the tortilla filled with a braised preparation (the guisado: the daily stew of the taquería, varying by season and preference). The taquería displays its guisados in clay pots at the counter; the customer points at the desired filling.
The standard guisado rotation: rajas con crema (the roasted poblano chilli strips in cream), chicharrón en salsa verde (the pork rind braised in tomatillo sauce until soft), nopales con huevo (the cactus paddles scrambled with egg), and mole de olla (the chilli and vegetable stew). Two guisados per taco is the standard order.
Las Duelistas (Aranda Street, near Salto del Agua): the most celebrated guisado taquería in the Centro Histórico, open from 9am to 3pm, the clay pots lined up for the morning rush. 15-25 MXN / £0.63-1.05 per taco.
Tlayudas (the Oaxacan export):
The large crispy tortilla (30-40cm diameter) topped with black bean paste, asiento (the unrefined pork lard), Oaxacan cheese, and a protein (tasajo — the thinly-sliced dried beef specific to Oaxaca; cecina; or chorizo). The Oaxacan community in Mexico City has produced the finest Oaxacan restaurants outside Oaxaca itself.
Guelaguetza (Colonia Roma Norte): the most acclaimed Oaxacan restaurant in Mexico City. The tlayuda, the mole negro, the memelas — the full Oaxacan table in a city that takes food seriously. 150-200 MXN / £6.30-8.40.
The Afternoon (2pm-6pm)
Chilaquiles:
The hangover food, the brunch food, the 2pm food — fried tortilla chips (the totopos) simmered in salsa until softened but not mushy, served with crema, fresh cheese, onion, and a choice of green (salsa verde) or red (salsa roja) sauce. The consistency of the chipotleados (the chips that have absorbed the sauce but not collapsed) is the skill marker: too long in the sauce and they become mush; too little and they’re too crispy.
Where: Any Mexico City café that serves brunch — the Café el Popular (Cinco de Mayo Street, Centro Histórico, open 24 hours) for the working-city version at any hour. 80-120 MXN / £3.36-5.04.
The Midnight (10pm-2am)
The torta (the Mexican sandwich):
The telera or bolillo roll (the specific Mexican bread roll — softer than a baguette, the scoring on the top allowing the controlled expansion during baking) filled with the torta guisado of choice. The correct order at a torta counter: tell the tortoero the protein, they add the rest (the refried beans, the avocado, the chipotle mayo, the tomato, the onion, the jalapeño) without instruction.
El Califa de León (Ribera de San Cosme Street): the torta de carne asada — the grilled beef, the beans, the avocado, the salsa. A small restaurant that received a Michelin star in 2024, the most unexpected Michelin star in Latin America. The queue from 9pm. 120-160 MXN / £5.04-6.72.
The antojitos circuit:
After midnight in the Colonia Roma and Condesa neighbourhoods, the street food carts emerge — the elote (the corn on the cob or in a cup, dressed with mayonnaise, chilli powder, and cheese: elotes or esquites), the tamales (the masa parcels steamed in corn husks, the fillings ranging from rajas to mole to sweet raisin), and the atole (the warm masa-based drink thickened with cornstarch, the chocolate version becoming the champurrado). The specific Mexico City midnight street food culture is the most alive at 1am on a Saturday.
The One Restaurant
Contramar (Durango Street, Colonia Roma):
The tuna tostada with chipotle mayo, the grilled fish with two sauces (the red and the green, each applied to half the fish along the spine), the shrimp aguachile — the three dishes that define Contramar and make it consistently cited as the finest lunch restaurant in Mexico City. Reserve 3-4 weeks ahead at exploretock.com. 350-550 MXN / £14.70-23.10 per person without drinks.
