Mexico City’s Six Can’t-Miss Neighborhoods
These CDMX neighborhoods are full of charm and their own food personalities.
Roma Norte
A bit hipster and often called the Brooklyn of CDMX, Roma Norte mixes street corner taco stands with finer restaurants that have all the buzz of a New York City hotspot. There’s plenty of sit-down stars, like Máximo Bistrot, where chef Eduardo García puts out a seasonal menu that feels something like a dinner party. Once you’re taco-ed out—which does happen, I’ll attest—there are small plates and legit Neapolitan pizzas for a good price at Pizza Félix.
La Condesa
La Condesa is the more artsy cousin of Roma Norte and a more likely place to find Mezcal cocktail bars, like the speakeasy-esque La Clandestina.
Centro Histórico
In many cities, the historic center is full of chains and T-shirt shops. While those are on the always-bustling streets, you’ll also find authentic taco stands and fine-dining restaurants like El Cardenal, where breakfast feels like a fiesta.
Polanco
Anybody familiar with Miami will feel at home in Polanco, full of wide boulevards with parks running down the middle and apartments you’ll want to look up on realtor.com. Mezcal lounges mix with finer-dining spots like Pujol, Enrique Olvera’s two-Michelin-starred temple of Mexican fine dining, where he serves a mole aged over a thousand days. Reservations are rare to come by. Book far in advance.
Pro tip: To experience a sliver of the famed chef’s work, grab a counter seat at Molino “El Pujol,” meaning Pujol mill, a tiny outpost in La Condesa where the staff presses fresh tortillas, and the menu features other simple-yet-spectacular dishes like masa, tamales, elote, corn on the cob, avocado tacos and more deliciousness.
Juárez
This neighborhood mixes glamorous new high-rises with simple looking apartments where taco stands fill almost every block. At night there are cocktail bars like Hanky Panky and Handshake Speakeasy, which serves classic cocktails with a tequila twist, and restaurants that specialize in international cuisine, such as Pho King.
San Miguel Chapultepec
This quieter enclave is where the cool kids go for spots like Masala y Maíz, where chefs Norma Listman and Saqib Keval combine Mexican flavors with Indian and East African spices. The neighborhood is named for nearby Chapultepec Park, where local food vendors line the main walking path and sell kebabs, paletas and salted mangoes.
