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No matter how many times you touch down in Mexico City, no two visits are ever the same—partly because of the tangled labyrinth of streets that ensures you're always discovering something new, but also because it's a city that's always evolving. There might be a modern high-rise you didn't notice before,  an expat you meet who now calls the capital home or a chef who's opening her new concept right alongside a decades-old taqueria. This is the city that has something for every traveler.

So dig up your passport and block off that free weekend on your calendar: We're celebrating everything Mexico City has to offer, from its towering trompos of al pastor pork to the secret spots only those who live here know about to the people who've turned the city into one of the world's leading culinary destinations.

Mexico City's Best Restaurants Aren't As Fancy As You'd Expect

After finding success with fine dining restaurants, Mexico City's top chefs are opening the passion projects they've always dreamed of.

This time, it's personal >

How to Find the ‘Best' Taco in the City

Like pizza for New York City, Mexico City residents debate the specifics of tortillas, fillings and salsas in an effort to find their city's best taco—though you'll find it's often rooted in deep personal preference and heritage.

Enter the fold >

A Local Tour Guide's Secrets on Where to Dine

You could spend all day, every day for several years eating at restaurants in the 573 square miles of Mexico's capital city and still not make it to all of them.

Secret's out >

How Eduardo García Became One of Mexico City's Premier Chefs

A childhood spent as a migrant worker in the U.S. Three years in a maximum-security prison. Two deportations back to Mexico. This chef has experienced—and overcome—more in his 40 years than most people do in a lifetime.

Read his story >

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    The teeming Mercado la Merced is the largest market in the city—which is saying something for the sprawling metropolis. It’s vast, dense and everything all at once. This butcher specializes in the thin cuts of beef used for carne asada.

    Photos: Todd Coleman

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    A youngster snacks on a massive chicharrón compuesto at the Mercado de Coyoacan. This is real Mexican street food, little known in the U.S. It consists of a crispy wheat fritter and is laden with beans, cheese, cabbage, avocado and a bright explosion of lime juice. “Citizens of CDMX are often called limoncitos,” Marco Diaz, co-owner of NYC’s Fonda, says. “We are constantly squeezing lime juice on everything."

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    A worker trundles along a crosswalk to deliver a basket bursting with red roses outside the Mercado de Jamaica.

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    Hungry diners gather in a cozy fonda (small restaurant) in Mercado de Coyoacan to snack on posole, chicken tinga and sopes.

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    Outside the main halls of Mercado la Merced, in the makeshift open-air tianguis, a group of townspeople swarms around a taco stall known for its cabeza (cow head) tacos. The meat is chopped up and served with salsa verde, lime, raw onion and pickled cabbage.

  • 1/14

    Buy

    Peering through a dense floral flush at the cavernous Mercado de Jamaica, I discover this seller lost in thought.

  • 1/14

    Buy

    A florist takes a break at the Mercado de Jamaica amid the flowers and plants. The workers start incredibly early in the morning—which is also the best time to visit.

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    If you’re lucky, you’ll stumble upon the nuns of Parroquia San Juan Bautista, a church near Mercado de Coyoacan, selling sweets and rompope—a sort of Mexican eggnog.

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    A butcher shop in Mercado la Merced isn’t complete without a pig’s head or two. They're prized for the richness they impart to posole and tacos, among many other dishes.

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    A family tops a chicken tinga quesadilla with a spoonful of salsa verde laced with avocado during a Sunday afternoon at Mercado de Coyoacan.

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    These dulces mexicanos—found all over Mexico City—hail from Puebla. From left to right: mueganos (fried orbs of dough tossed with a caramel made from raw sugar), gaznates (sort of Mexico’s answer to cannoli) and strawberry meringues.

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    For tacos al pastor, which were purportedly introduced to the country by Lebanese immigrants, thinly sliced pork is layered onto a vertical spit to make a veritable meat tower. It's spiced with chile and achiote, and continuously basted with pineapple juices dripping down from the top.

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    Buy

    Tortillerias dot every street corner and market in Mexico City, making fresh masa and tortillas every day. Do as Marco Diaz, co-owner of NYC’s Fonda, did as a child when picking up a stack of tortillas for his family: Peel a still-hot one from the top, sprinkle it with salt (every shop has a shaker) and tightly roll it into a cylinder. The first bite will be a revelation.

Everywhere You Need to Go If It's Your First Visit

Take a deep breath of al pastor-scented air: Armed with this guide, you'll be hopping from quesadilla stand to multicourse pre-Hispanic feast in no time at all. 

Explore the city >

The Best Cocktail Bars in Mexico City

From underground speakeasies to bars on the World's 50 Best list, it's time to expand your margarita horizons. 

Cheers to that >

The Best Food Souvenirs to Bring Back from Your Trip

Don't return from Mexico's capital empty-handed when your bags could be full of peppers, sweets and mescal.

Bring them home >

Unlock the Secrets of Mole Sauce

If there's one dish that best represents the incredible depth of Mexican cuisine, it has to be the complex sauce that can consist of more than 20 ingredients.

Get sauced >

Welcome to TT on Tour, where Tasting Table's editors guide you through everything you'll want to eat, drink and do in rising travel destinations around the world.

The Recipe That Will Change the Way You Think About Chips & Salsa

Chef Gonzalo Guzmán reinvents the starter by tossing toasted tortilla chips in homemade salsa de árbol.

Chip off the block >

Learn How to Make Pulled Pork Tortas

Braised pork is fried in adobo sauce before being layered on a toasted telera roll with refried beans, avocado, crunchy cabbage slaw and a bright jalapeño salsa.

Pile it on >

Tags:
Mexico Travel #TTonTour #Travel
  • 1/13

    The teeming Mercado la Merced is the largest market in the city—which is saying something for the sprawling metropolis. It’s vast, dense and everything all at once. This butcher specializes in the thin cuts of beef used for carne asada.

    Photos: Todd Coleman

  • 1/13

    A youngster snacks on a massive chicharrón compuesto at the Mercado de Coyoacan. This is real Mexican street food, little known in the U.S. It consists of a crispy wheat fritter and is laden with beans, cheese, cabbage, avocado and a bright explosion of lime juice. “Citizens of CDMX are often called limoncitos,” Marco Diaz, co-owner of NYC’s Fonda, says. “We are constantly squeezing lime juice on everything."

  • 1/13

      

    A worker trundles along a crosswalk to deliver a basket bursting with red roses outside the Mercado de Jamaica.

  • 1/13

    Hungry diners gather in a cozy fonda (small restaurant) in Mercado de Coyoacan to snack on posole, chicken tinga and sopes.

  • 1/13

       

    Outside the main halls of Mercado la Merced, in the makeshift open-air tianguis, a group of townspeople swarms around a taco stall known for its cabeza (cow head) tacos. The meat is chopped up and served with salsa verde, lime, raw onion and pickled cabbage.

  • 1/13

    Peering through a dense floral flush at the cavernous Mercado de Jamaica, I discover this seller lost in thought.

  • 1/13

    A florist takes a break at the Mercado de Jamaica amid the flowers and plants. The workers start incredibly early in the morning—which is also the best time to visit.

  • 1/13

    If you’re lucky, you’ll stumble upon the nuns of Parroquia San Juan Bautista, a church near Mercado de Coyoacan, selling sweets and rompope—a sort of Mexican eggnog.

  • 1/13

      

    A butcher shop in Mercado la Merced isn’t complete without a pig’s head or two. They're prized for the richness they impart to posole and tacos, among many other dishes.

  • 1/13

    A family tops a chicken tinga quesadilla with a spoonful of salsa verde laced with avocado during a Sunday afternoon at Mercado de Coyoacan.

  • 1/13

    These dulces mexicanos—found all over Mexico City—hail from Puebla. From left to right: mueganos (fried orbs of dough tossed with a caramel made from raw sugar), gaznates (sort of Mexico’s answer to cannoli) and strawberry meringues.

  • 1/13

    For tacos al pastor, which were purportedly introduced to the country by Lebanese immigrants, thinly sliced pork is layered onto a vertical spit to make a veritable meat tower. It's spiced with chile and achiote, and continuously basted with pineapple juices dripping down from the top.

  • 1/13

    Tortillerias dot every street corner and market in Mexico City, making fresh masa and tortillas every day. Do as Marco Diaz, co-owner of NYC’s Fonda, did as a child when picking up a stack of tortillas for his family: Peel a still-hot one from the top, sprinkle it with salt (every shop has a shaker) and tightly roll it into a cylinder. The first bite will be a revelation.

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