Chef Gerardo Aguilar, who is known for throwing experimental pop-up dinners around the city, finally has his own space in Colonia Doctores. A meal here is a private experience, which means the menu is tailored to your party and you’re free to get up and ask the chefs questions while they cook.
Humboldt 59, Colonia Centro
+52 55 5086 4706
An atmosphere of a foodie's dream: sidewalk seating, jamón hanging over the bar, a table spread of croquetas, chistorra (a Basque cured sausage akin to chorizo), much-need salads, salt-baked fish, and a tray of aged meats that you cook yourself on searing cast-iron skillets provided by the kitchen.
Emilio Castelar 185. Polanco 11560
+1 52 806 650
An of-the-moment food hall in Barrio Juárez with insane seafood tacos and a very Instagrammable ceiling filled with colorful paper umbrellas.
Calle Lucerna 51, Barrio Juarèz
+52 55 5535 8665
A charming cafe from the venerable bread makers at Panaderia Rosetta. The menu is extensive, the space is beautiful, and you can't go wrong with a guava roll and scrambled eggs in spicy tomato sauce with the aromatic herb hoja santa.
Havre 73, Juárez
+52 55 9155 4805
Brave the line at the popular stand for improvised tortas for breakfast or early lunch.
Alfonso Reyes 139, Colonia Hipódromo
This cozy new wine bar demonstrates food standards to live by: well-sourced ingredients, immediate flavors, and simple dishes. Though not all of the food offerings are traditionally Mexican, everything is made with locally sourced, organic ingredients. The cook, Joaquín Cardoso, is super talented and does a mean risotto and flank steak.
Tonalá 23, Colonia Roma Norte
+52-55-55-14-69-83
For five years, chef Oswaldo Oliva was the second on board at Mugaritz, one of the world's best restaurants in Spain. He has finally returned to his native city. Definitely a chef to watch, his tasting menu tells the story of Mexican ingredients throughout the seasons.
Sinaloa 141, Colonia Roma Norte
+52-55-91-30-77-86
Don’t underestimate this understated, street-side taqueria. Despite its hole-in-the-wall looks, it offers some of the best cochinita pibil tacos around.
Emilio Castelar 212, Colonia Polanco
+52-55-5280-6449
The best of Baja, California, in the city. Go for yummy aguachiles (shrimp ceviche) or the succulent roast pig lechón. Head upstairs to newish Departamento to dance off dinner.
Oaxacan chef Alejandro Ruiz brings the region's rich moles and stewed meats to the D.F. Try the caldo de piedra shrimp soup cooked over hot river rocks, or the crispy chapulines (grasshoppers, yes, really) tostada.
Go for breakfast: fresh juice and pastries and croque monsieurs with hoja santa. By night, chef Elena Reygada (best known for her Italian Rosetta restaurant and panaderias) whips up Mediterranean dishes made with the freshest ingredients and often served in shareable portions, a rarity in the city.
One of the city's newest and best raw bars. Chefs and fashion types sit shoulder to shoulder at the bar to slurp oysters and G and Ts, and at the sun-drenched tables by the floor-to-ceiling window to sample the rest of the eclectic menu, which includes plates like Peruvian ceviche, grilled seafood, oyster po-boys, and sweet potato fries.
Chef Gerardo Vázquez Lugo's refined-but-accessible take on local and regional dishes continue to draw crowds to his Condesa restaurant. The tortillas, made from corn that is ground on site, are fantastic. As are the pacholas, the bone marrow soup, and the huevos encamisados. (For the curious and still hungry, see where it all started at Lugo's first spot, Nicos.)
Baja meets Mexican highlands. The team behind Contramar does intriguing small plates in Condesa.
For a taste of classic D.F., head to this throwback helado shop, complete with chrome bar, spinning stools, and ice creams referred to as snow and ice. Flavors include guava, tamarind, sapodilla, and cajeta (a mexican confection of caramelized milk).
After a nice stroll through a charming residential area, you'll hit upon this adorably sunny marisquería. Step inside the retro eatery for a laid-back lunch of garlicky shrimp and ceviche, then polish it off with a cold beer.
This cult torteria next door to the Museo de Arte Popular has been slinging hearty sandwiches since 1936. Favorites like bacalao (cod) or carnitas (barbequed pork) are served with chili and fresh avocado.
The newest location of this beloved breakfast and lunch spot is in a beautiful old house in San Angel. order escamoles and maguey worms with homemade tortillas. Bread is baked daily in-house, and the sweet breakfast rolls called conchae are to die for.
Oaxacan-style cooking meets forward-thinking design at the newish cantina from the makers of Los Danzantes, a premium mezcal people can't get enough of these days. (The drink of the moment also makes for a fine souvenir.)
This hidden spot is strictly for those in the know. Very good new Mexican cuisine is made with the best traditional ingredients. Try huauzontles and the perfect egg with rice.
Hidden in plain sight, this sweet six-table cafe is where, between shopping stints, posh mujeres stop for flavorful Mediterranean lunch specials that change daily.
Chef Martha Ortiz hits it out of the park at her high-energy cantina. The food is femme and festive — homemade breads are hot from the oven, sangritas are tangy and fresh, and traditional sweets are delivered tableside along with Mexican toys. It's pure culinary joy.
The newest restaurant of the Azul brand from chef Ricardo Muñoz Zurita is located in the heart of downtown on the patio of a historic building. He serves special festival menus every few months from every region of Mexico.
This local favorite serves excellent Italian fare in a romantic restored belle epoque mansion. Can't get enough? During the day they operate a cute panaderia (bread shop and cafe) just down the block.
Highly regarded chef Enrique Olvera reinvents traditional Mexican dishes with a sophisticated flare (sushi-grade ceviche, suckling pig in consomme) and a quirky flourish (for dessert: A "glass" pinata made of sugar, and filled with cocoa and candies).
Talk about making an entrance: Take an elevator up to the spacious dining room, get whisked to a table by a small army of staff, and proceed to be surprised and delighted by avant-garde Mexican-Basque cooking and whimsical plating techniques.
A traditional, two-story restaurant, where kindly grandpa waiters serve authentic Mexican cuisine like caldo tlalpeño (chicken soup with vegetables and avocado), romeritos con torta de camaron (dried shrimp and rosemary patties in a rich mole sauce), huachinango (red snapper), and a mountain of simple, perfect guacamole. It's too classic to be trendy, and perfect because of it.
The lunching hot-spot is not to be missed. Go around 2 in the afternoon for the full experience. Order with abandon, double down on mini margaritas, and do not forget the tuna sashimi tostadas.