It is hard to picture Mexico City as it once was, an island capital built by the Mexica on Lake Texcoco. When the Spanish conquered Tenochtitlan in the early 16th century, they spent centuries draining the surrounding waters to build a new capital on the former lakebed. You still see traces of the old water world in the rainy season, when urban streets briefly turn into canals, and in Xochimilco, where farmers work plots first laid out more than a thousand years ago. Otherwise, on a hazy day, seen from above, the basin looks like one continuous slab of city.
At street level, that slab breaks into neighborhoods. In Roma, Condesa and Juárez, Art Deco architecture sits next to midcentury apartment buildings, while Jurassic Park–sized monstera and philodendron plants edge and define the blocks. Cafés spill onto sidewalks, restaurants hide behind metal doors, and almost every space shows evidence of someone thinking carefully about light, tiles and plants. On Sundays, La Lagunilla fills with vintage chairs, lamps and glassware that reappear weeks later in dining rooms and hotel lobbies across the city.
That visual energy is one reason Mexico City has climbed to the top of so many travel lists lately. Others are more straightforward: the city boasts a deep bench of chefs, a maturing bar and wine scene, and a climate that keeps streets green for most of the year. It is still a vast metropolis with all the commesurate problems, but it is measurably safer than it was two decades ago. That shift has opened the door to more visitors and more return trips.
More visitors can be a boon for certain businesses. But it can also raise the cost of living, as it’s done in key neighborhoods downtown. In the same walkable streets that appeal to travelers, rents have soared, edging service workers into cheaper areas and longer commutes.
The places in this guide are part of that story. They range from small hotels, chef-run restaurants, taco shops and mezcal tasting salons to a regenerative farm project and sustainable food tour. Together, they offer a snapshot of a city in flux.
Where To Stay: Boutique Hotels
Hotel Dama
Hidden behind a steel door on a leafy Roma block, Hotel Dama occupies a mid-century residence converted to 17 guest rooms. High ceilings and original details like black-and-white checkered marble floors and geneourous marble bathrooms, give the sense of staying in a private, nay secret, property. Common spaces like the breezy rooftop where breakfast is served on vintage furniture, offer supreme quietude in North America’s biggest city.
Hotel Parián
Located in the heart of Roma Norte, Hotel Parián folds a second floor collection of compact rooms into a courtyard complex of restaurants, bars and shops. Guests sleep in simple, well-finished king and queen spaces accented with green and white stripes for a pop of color. In the evening, the Pasaje Parián turns into a lively ecosystem around the central patio, with Tacos del Valle garneing a regular line for its al pastor tacos, thanks to a Michelin nod. Other lively drinking and dining spots include a sushi counter, a Peruvian restaurant, and 24-hour ramen shop for a quick spicy bowl before an early morning flight.
Hotel Oculto
Newly opened in late 2025 in Juárez, Oculto inhabits a restored early-20th-century structure with a lightly industrial interior that mirrors the neighborhood’s galleries and offices. Its 21 rooms use polished concrete, warm woods, and vintage framed oil paintings and other finds from the city’s La Lagunilla market, to create a quiet, inward-facing space a few steps from the action.
Brick Hotel
Occupying a historic townhouse in Roma Norte, The Brick Hotel’s namesake façade frames a modern interior of glass, metal, and wood. Rooms feel upmarket and polished with elegant furnishings and dark plush fabrics, giving the sense of a moody private apartment. The downstairs bar and aspirational Mexican restaurant pull in a local crowd as much as overnight guests. Vintage pieces and plants soften the sharper lines, so the building reads as part of the neighborhood rather than a freestanding object.
Círculo Mexicano
Círculo Mexicano, from Grupo Habita, faces the historic center, yet creates a notable contrast with its Scandi-minimalist interiors that let its 19th-century shell carry most of the character. Guest rooms are bright and spare, finished in pale wood. Up top, a rooftop pool and restaurant look across to cathedral domes and bell towers, offering a rare perspective for a hotel of this size in the Centro.
Casona Roma
Casona Roma, set in another early-20th-century pink-hued house, leans into the proportions and details of its original architecture. Guest rooms, common spaces, and hallways feature original tiled floors and high ceilings, then add contemporary furniture and a few pieces of art to create a singular vision. The hotel features a collection of restaurants, bars, and a matcha cafe and bakery where laptop warriors can post up for a few hours.
Where To Eat
Mexico City’s restaurant map changes quickly. The places below focus on a mix of established dining rooms, newer openings in Roma, Condesa and Juárez, and a few taco spots worth crossing town for.
In Roma Norte, Máximo Bistrot occupies a bright corner space on Álvaro Obregón with high, warehouse-style ceilings and plenty of natural light. White brick walls, red tile floors, checkered napkins and simple wood furniture give the room a country-meets-city feel, with potted plants and a single tree softening the industrial lines. Chef-owner Eduardo García and his partner, Gabriela López, work from a produce-led menu that applies French technique to a Mexican pantry.
A few blocks away, Rosetta operates out of a fading mansion in Roma Norte, all high ceilings, arched windows and worn plaster. Chef-owner Elena Reygadas applies Italian techniques to Mexican ingredients, turning out dishes like silky tagliatelle with chicken livers or cabbage leaf “tacos.” Nearby, the restaurant’s bakery, Panadería Rosetta, sees lines form the minute it opens for cappuccinos, croissants and chocolate–cinnamon buns.
Seafood lunches are still the thing at Contramar, which has been pulling in crowds since the late 1990s. Sunlight, white tablecloths and plates of tuna tostadas, split grilled fish with red and green salsas and clam ceviche create a scene that feels familiar but not stale. Across town in Polanco, Entremar serves nearly the same menu from a two-level space overlooking Plaza Uruguay, with a looser energy and an easier path to a table.
In the second section of Chapultepec Park, LagoAlgo turns the 1964 Restaurante del Lago into a contemporary restaurant-gallery overlooking the water. A hyperbolic-paraboloid concrete shell now houses a bright dining room for caldos, tostadas, seafood plates and shared mains, with views of paddle boats on the lake.
Farther south in Jardines del Pedregal, Tetetlán occupies the former stables of Luis Barragán’s Casa Pedregal. Bookshelves, a small retail corner and a glass floor that looks down on the area’s lava rock turn the building into a hybrid of cultural space and restaurant. The kitchen favors regional dishes with clear influence from Oaxaca.
In the historic center, El Huequito has been serving al pastor since 1959, from compact premises near its original location. The specialty remains trompo-roasted pork in a closely guarded adobo seasoning, ordered as tacos or as a stacked “torre de pastor” with a pile of tortillas and a punchy chile de árbol salsa among the house condiments.
For Jalisco-style comfort food, El Pialadero de Guadalajara on Hamburgo in Juárez focuses on tortas ahogadas, carnitas and aguachiles. Tortas arrive on birote-style rolls drenched in salsa, often with disposable gloves on the side to handle the heat and mess.
A different kind of classic lives at Churrería El Moro, whose original shop opened on Eje Central in 1935. Blue-and-white tiles, coils of dough and a constant haze of sugar and cinnamon define the narrow room. Churros and hot chocolate draw people around the clock, and the brand’s growth into multiple branches has not diluted the pull of this downtown spot.
In Condesa, Baldío presents itself as Mexico’s first zero-waste restaurant and follows through with a kitchen that measures and repurposes nearly everything that comes through the door. Co-founders Lucio and Pablo Usobiaga and Doug McMaster of London’s Silo work in close partnership with Arca Tierra’s regenerative chinampa farms in Xochimilco, drawing much of their produce from there and earning the capital’s first Michelin Green Star along the way.
Downtown on Artículo 123, Masala y Maíz has taken over a black-and-chrome brutalist box. Chefs Norma Listman and Saqib Keval describe their food as “mestizaje rebelde,” a deliberate blend of Mexican, South Asian and East African influences. A plate of Kenyan-style kuku poussin seasoned with Mexico-made berbere and served with camote purée and jícama–avocado leaf pickles captures their approach, and graphic slogans on the walls make their politics as visible as their cooking.
In Juárez, Cana occupies an Art Deco corner building with big windows and a bar that looks onto the street. Chef-owner Fabiola Escobosa, originally from Mexicali, puts out a seasonal menu that pulls from Baja, the Mediterranean and parts of Asia, in a setting that suits regular neighborhood dinners as much as special occasions.
On Aguascalientes in Roma Sur, Voraz bills itself as a “gastro-cantina” and backs that up with a tight, industrial-feeling room and a drinks list as considered as the food. The Bib Gourmand–recognized kitchen sends out flour gorditas with fried oysters, salty churros dusted with cotija, chicken wings and other shareable plates to tables that tend to turn slowly.
Close to the edge of Juárez, Makan brings Singaporean flavors into a modern, industrial space. Chefs Maryann Yong and Mario Malváez send out family-style plates of crispy pork belly, chicken and rice, laksa and kaya toast around a bar that wraps the back of the room, giving the place the feel of a busy house gathering more than a formal restaurant.
A few blocks away, Taverna operates inside a restored 1905 hacienda in Juárez. Multiple rooms, low ceilings and candlelight set the stage for Mediterranean dishes from a wood-burning oven—dates with chorizo and jamón serrano, fried sardines with sardine aioli, beet carpaccio with pistachio dressing—and a cocktail program with an emphasis on aperitifs and gin.
On Álvaro Obregón in Roma Norte, Propio channels a midcentury restaurant mood from its front hall, with plants pressed against fluted frosted glass, leading to a large, lively main room. The menu is contemporary Northern Mexican from glazed pork belly to a spectacular ribeye with mole. The open kitchen reads like a chef’s dream office.
Near Plaza Río de Janeiro, Marmota cooks over a wood-fired hearth centered on a fireplace and big communal table. Early descriptions cast it as Pacific Northwest–inspired; the current menu shows a wider range of influences, including Eastern Mediterranean accents and Mexican spices, in plates that might range from roasted cauliflower to hamachi tostadas.
Across the neighborhood on Colima, Meroma works out of a Roma townhouse with a bar and terrace that feels upscale even in this trendy, restaurant-saturated neighborhood. Chefs Mercedes Bernal and Rodney Cusic designed a contemporary menu built on small producers and in-house pastas, with dishes like tagliolini in beef ragù with smoked tomato and hoja santa.
On Avenida Yucatán, Lina stays discreet, which helps with last-minute tables. An arched doorway leads into a low-lit corridor and dining room with an open kitchen in back. Chef Mariana Villegas Martínez serves a short, seasonal menu built largely on seafood and vegetables, and the Michelin Guide’s attention has not changed the feeling that this is a small neighborhood restaurant first and a “name” second.
At Maizajo, the focus stays squarely on native corn. Chef Santiago Muñoz and his team nixtamalize on-site and mill fresh masa for tortillas, tamales and a two-level Condesa project that combines a casual taco counter downstairs with a more structured dining room upstairs. The molino also supplies dough to many of the city’s better restaurants, which gives the place an influence far beyond its own walls.
On a quiet block in San Miguel Chapultepec, Comal Oculto builds an entire menu around its namesake griddle. Diners sit shoulder to shoulder at a single communal table set partly in the street, working through wild mushroom sopes, enchiladas ahogadas, lamb shank gorditas and other corn-based dishes from a short, carefully written list.
In Juárez, Tacos La Chula has quickly earned a local following. Grills sit up front, music is turned up and the menu moves from chicharrón de queso to chuleta and arrachera tacos, washed down with aguas frescas rather than cocktails. The setup is straightforward, but execution has made it a regular stop for people who live nearby.
On Álvaro Obregón, Tacos del Valle offers a more stylized take on the taquería. Counter seating, chrome details and a visible bank of trompos give the room a retro feel. The kitchen concentrates on pork and beef cooked on the spit, with a concise slate of salsas that keeps the focus on the meat.
If there is time for only one organized experience, Eat Like a Local offers the clearest window into how the city’s denizens eat. Founded by Mexico City native Rocío Vázquez Landeta, the women-run company organizes small-group walks through markets and street stalls, often in neighborhoods many visitors would not reach alone by using the subway.
Guides introduce guests to vendors they have known for years, stopping for tacos, quesadillas, tamales, fruit, and sweets while explaining how prices, sourcing, and family labor work behind each stand. The route changes with the day and the group, but the structure is consistent: money goes directly to small food businesses, questions are encouraged and there is enough time at each stop to understand who is cooking and why they are there.
Where To Drink
Natural-leaning wine bars are now part of the nightly landscape in Roma, Condesa and Juárez. On Avenida Veracruz in Roma, Hugo El Wine Bar works as a straightforward neighborhood spot with a long counter, a few sidewalk tables and a list focused on small growers, including bottles from Mexico.
Lenez in Juárez, opened by the former head sommelier of Quintonil, feels closer to a wine bistro, with its walls lined in bottles and a smattering of tables allowing guests to hunker down with a bottle of wine and light bites. Go for minimalist wines in Condesa at Plonk, a warm space designed in eathen hues with natural materials that looks as handmade as the wines it serves.
NIV, a short walk away, uses concrete, steel and low lighting for a room where Mexican natural wines share space with mezcal and other local spirits.
Cocktail bars cluster in the same general area. Handshake Speakeasy in Juárez, which has topped The World’s 50 Best Bars list, draws steady demand for reservations booked weeks in advance. Inside a dark paneled room finished in polished wood, chatty staff serve creative, layered drinks that change regularly.
Ahorita Cantina, the newest spot from the Handshake team, hides behind a stylized red lacquered wall, offering similarly precise drinks in a slightly futuristic setting but without the waiting list, at least for now.
Nearby, Hanky Panky, another World’s 50 Best entry, hides behind a discreet entrance near the auto-parts strip in Juárez and focuses on travel-inspired cocktails built around Mexican spirits.
Salón Palomilla, up a narrow staircase in Roma Norte, is another option for cocktails in a space that feels closer to a lived-in apartment than a bar. A large oval opening in the roof brings in air, light, and Instagrammers, while classic drinks go out to guests settled into vintage chairs and sofas.
A few other addresses in and around Juárez round out the picture. Chow Chow on Avenida Chapultepec takes the theme of an American Chinese restaurant and pairs it to a cocktail list built on in-house infusions and syrups.
Kaito del Valle opened in 2016 as Latin America’s first cocktail bar run entirely by women, led by bartender and co-founder Claudia Cabrera. What began as an izakaya-style room above a sushi restaurant now sits in Juárez behind a vending-machine door, where Japanese pop references, maneki-neko and a small karaoke room frame a Japanese-inspired menu of cocktails, sake and highballs that has earned it a spot on North America’s 50 Best Bars.
Long Story Short, on Florencia, is tight little space in pink and green serving tasty negronis alongside a concise wine list, and a handful of plates from the kitchen.