The best places to eat and drink in Mexico City, according to SF restaurant pros

From centuries-old landmarks to boundary-pushing restaurants and bars, CDMX never stands still. | Source: Alejandra Rajal for The Standard

Published Jun. 7, 2026at6:00am

If you’ve visited Mexico City, then you know that some of the best memories have to do with food. The smell of pork sizzling on the street-side trompo. The way the first sip of milky-fizzy-sour pulque makes your mouth pucker. The warmth of a fresh, pillowy concha from a panadería.

Mexico City — CDMX for short — is home to 573 square miles of centuries-old architecture, scores of museums, and a food-and-drink scene that never stops evolving. There are Michelin-starred restaurants, award-winning Japanese bars, booming mercados, and street vendors steaming, roasting, and frying unforgettable tacos, tlayudas, and tamales. You can’t eat everywhere in one — or even 100 — trips, but that’s part of the appeal. “Every time I’m at the airport leaving Mexico City, I catch myself making the same promise: I’ll be back soon,” says Heena Patel, chef at San Francisco’s Besharam.

Needless to say, there’s a lot to love beyond the usual spots recommended for first-timers. To narrow the options, we asked San Francisco chefs who have lived in, worked in, or simply fallen for CDMX to share their favorite places to eat and drink.

Val Cantu, chef and owner, Californios A corner building painted orange and white with a wooden door, a sign reading “Nicos,” traffic lights, and a street sign labeled “Cuitlahuac.” Restaurante Nicos. | Source: Alexandra Farias for The Standard A woman in black sportswear checks her bag while another woman in shorts and a white shirt reads a book sitting on concrete steps in a sunny park. A sunny weekend afternoon at Parque México in the Condesa neighborhood. | Source: Alejandra Rajal for The Standard

Favorite spot: Restaurante Nicos, Clavería, Azcapotzalco
When he was growing up in Texas, Cantu would travel with his dad on business trips to CDMX. “He wanted to expose me to as much of our Mexican heritage as he could,” Cantu says. Old-school institutions like Restaurante Nicos are some of his favorites. Cantu makes the 20-minute trek outside of El Centro, the historic center, to this unassuming joint for breakfast. He orders “as much as humanly possible,” including popular items like cafe de olla prepared tableside with a 15-minute bean-grinding and spice-and-sugar mixing process; molletes with beans, manchego, and salsa; and enchiladas Nicos, stuffed with shredded chicken breast and bathed in salsa verde and crema. “It’s not super fancy, but the dishes here are absolutely what you should be eating,” he says.

Laura Ozyilmaz, chef and owner, Dalida and Maria Isabel A bowl of puffed corn snacks topped with creamy white cheese, fresh green herbs, and a drizzle of olive oil, held by two hands against a dark background. Esquites at Jowong. | Source: Courtesy Jowong A tall monument with a golden winged statue on top stands at a busy avenue surrounded by modern buildings and trees, with cars and people nearby. The Angel of Independence, a landmark in Mexico City. | Source: Alejandra Rajal for The Standard

Favorite spot: Jowong, Condesa
Ozyilmaz swears she would recommend Jowong even if her sister weren’t one of the owners. “It’s genuinely one of the most exciting places to eat in the city right now.” This is high praise from Ozyilmaz, who was raised in CDMX, attended cooking school there, and keeps close tabs on the city’s evolving food scene via annual visits. Jowong infuses Korean flavors into familiar Mexican dishes — and vice versa — for a dining experience that feels singular to Mexico City. Get the esquites, Ozyilmaz says, which add an elevated Asian twist to the Mexican snack via stracciatella, cotija cheese, and Sichuan peppers.

Heena Patel, owner and chef, Besharam A bowl contains grilled shrimp, thinly sliced beetroot arranged in curls, and a lime wedge, placed on a carved wooden tray with a small black cup of sauce.

Favorite spot: Masala y Maiz, Centro
Patel has visited CDMX only twice, but the city left a mark. “Somehow, this trip pulled me right back to the streets of Mumbai again. Mexico City is one of those rare places where you taste history and innovation in the same bite, and that’s what makes it unforgettable.” Led by Norma Listman and Saqib Keval, Masala y Maiz marries African, Indian, and Mexican spices and techniques into exciting new takes on traditional dishes. Classics like esquites get a Kenyan twist, simmered in coconut milk, masala, and mixed with mayo and cotija cheese, while juicy prawns are sauted in vanilla-infused ghee and a tongue-tingling chile morita. “For anyone visiting Mexico City for the first time,” Patel says, places like Masala y Maiz “are where you understand how global and emotional the city’s food scene really is.”

Brenda Landa, head chef, Outerlands Hands are gently picking up a freshly baked, golden-brown pastry from a wooden tray filled with similar pastries. Orejas, a flaky, sugar-glazed pastry similar to a palmier, at Panadería García Madero. | Source: Alejandra Rajal for The Standard Hands are placing a piece of dark brown dough onto a round piece of lighter dough on a baking tray with several similar dough balls. Chocolate conchas. | Source: Alejandra Rajal for The Standard A street vendor under a bright pink umbrella sells snacks from a tricycle cart to two women, one in white clothes and the other in jeans and a denim jacket. Sidewalk vendors are a staple of daily life. | Source: Alejandra Rajal for The Standard

Favorite spot: Panadería Garcia Madero, Condesa
Landa stumbled upon this nondescript panadería during her first visit to Mexico City eight years ago. “I’m pretty certain I could smell the pan dulce before I spotted the space and booked it over immediately,” she says. Pick from the modest display case, which is filled with a variety of pan dulce throughout the day. The bread is made with butter instead of vegetable shortening, and when Landa bit into her first almond concha, she instantly could taste the difference. “I truly believe it is the best concha I’ve had to this day. I get one every time I’m in town!”

Jacob Croom, chef and owner, My Friend Fernando

Favorite spot: Bar Las Brujas, Roma Norte
If you like your bars “dark and espooky,” then Croom recommends Bar Las Brujas. The cozy, delightfully witchy bar, owned and operated by women, is lined with taxidermy bats and eerie black-and-white portraits. The kitsch extends to the menu, which Croom calls “esoteric,” featuring ingredients like sandalwood cordial and cotija-infused bacanora. If you’re able to snag a stool (there are only 12), order La Matlazihua, a mezcal-based drink made with grasshopper brine and chamomile liqueur.

Sincere Justice, owner and chef, Tacos Sincero

Favorite spot: Gaba Restaurante, Condesa
Justice recommends getting lost and eating everything you come across: street-side camotes with condensed milk, conchas from El Cardenal in Centro, and quesadilla fritas at Mercado Coyoacán. But if you’re looking for a fine-dining experience, Gaba, helmed by Victor Toriz (an alum of L.A.’s Bestia), is not to be missed. Justice raves about the cecina-inspired tartare featuring dry-aged wagyu beef and crunchy chicatanas, large leaf-cutter ants. “This spot is my No. 1 recommendation for a lovely meal in Mexico City.”

John Wesley, chef, Kiln A clear cocktail in a stemmed glass garnished with an orange cherry on a pick sits on a wooden bar counter. The Strange Love, made with gin, olive oil, orange liqueur, and tequila, served with a tomato garnish, at Tokyo Music Bar. | Source: Alejandra Rajal for The Standard A man wearing a white shirt and dark apron selects a vinyl record in a warmly lit room filled with shelves of records and a green desk lamp. Bartender Alejandro Muciño selects records from Tokyo Music Bar’s collection. | Source: Alejandra Rajal for The Standard A diverse group of people dances closely in pairs under a vine-covered structure with sunlight filtering through the leaves. Free salsa and bachata classes at Parque México are a weekend tradition. | Source: Alejandra Rajal for The Standard

Favorite spot: Tokyo Music Bar, Cuauhtémoc
Wesley has a rotating list of favorites he visits when he’s in Mexico City, including Oropel for hard-to-find natural wines and vermouth cocktails, Mendl Delicatessen for a Jewish deli fix, and Tacos El Guero for any of the stewed meats, like cabeza and lengua. For a nightcap (or three), he typically hits up Tokyo Music Bar, a dark, sleek speakeasy just north of Roma Norte. It’s equal parts vinyl library, listening bar, and Japanese-inspired cocktail destination, serving drinks like Your Love, made with sake, prosecco, sakekazu, pear, and yuzu, or Strange Love, served up with gin, olive oil, tomatoes, orange liqueur, and a kiss of tequila.

Ximena Williams, owner, Florecita Panadería Two tattooed hands hold slices of vegan pizza topped with avocado, roasted vegetables, squash blossoms, and pickled red onions on a rustic wooden table. A vegetarian tlayuda at Tetetlán, which swaps the classic toppings of beans, cheese, and cecina for cauliflower, chayote, carrots, and squash blossom. | Source: Alejandra Rajal for The Standard A cozy restaurant with wooden tables and shelves, filled with diners and waitstaff, with a kitchen visible in the back under copper pendant lights. The restaurant, café, and library is housed in the former horse stables of Casa Pedregal, designed by renowned architect Luis Barragán. | Source: Alejandra Rajal for The Standard

Favorite spot: Tetetlán, Jardines del Pedregal
Despite moving away from Mexico City at age 3, Williams still considers it home. “I spent most of my summers as a kid in Mexico visiting my grandmas.” Now, she flies back at least once a year to visit relatives and stop at nostalgic spots like the local chain La Casa de Toño for pozole and flautas or family-favorite Tetetlán for tetelas and tlayudas. The stunning interior of this restored horse stable boasts a restaurant, art gallery, boutique, library, and mindfulness center — and some of Williams’ favorite conchas.

Raquel Goldman, pastry chef, Norte 54

Favorite spot: Pastelería Ideal, Centro
Goldman, who spent childhood summers in Mexico City, never waited in line at the hot, new bakery. “Pan dulce was whatever was available from the local panadería across from my grandmother’s place in the city,” she says. It was only when she started her own baking journey in 2020 that she began to visit iconic spots like Pastelería Ideal, a nearly 100-year-old institution with tables and display cases stacked high with flaky orejas, bite-sized garibaldis, and fruit-filled empanadas. Grab a tray, pick up a pair of tongs, and snag a gelatina, a few pasta seca cookies, and, whatever you do, a concha.

Andrey Ivanov, beverage director, Nisei

Favorite spot: Bar Nino, Roma Norte
Ivanov, who has lived in Mexico City part time for three years, calls Bar Nino “one of the best-kept secrets for wine in the city.” The charming Italian-Mediterranean restaurant is located on a picturesque, tree-lined street. The wine program is run by Gus Gosson, a recent transplant from New York City, who sources organically farmed and sustainable wines from Mexico and around the world. “It’s the kind of place you end up wanting to return to multiple times during a trip,” Ivanov says.

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