Mexico City Research

Richie Stark: An absolute winner. Great tacos, esp the Chicharron prensado. Many options, and they all looked good.

Amber: The tuna tostadas are just as good as everyone says, and don't forget a slice of fig tart for dessert.

Amber: Casual spot with all the finesse of a fine dining establishment. Tamales, tacos, and guisados are satisfying and hearty, larger plates excellent. Get the crème brulée rice pudding for dessert.

Amber: Serves a full menu of snacks and drinks, but know you're really here for the doughnuts, the pastries, and the super addictive savory-sweet bollos de romero.

Amber: Skip the food and instead order drinks. The gin and tonic is dope thanks to a cucumber infusion; mezcal and sangrita are a classic choice.

Amber: Unlike everything else in the area, it's decidedly no frills. You're here for the cochinita pibil. The roasted, braised meat is meltingly tender and needs only a topping of pickled onions.

Amber: Edgy design, thumping base or live jazz, mixology lessons, coolness. Found through the refrigerator door of La Surtidora restaurant. Have a reservation.

Amber: Arrive after 10 p.m. for the full Cocuyos experience — an empty street with bright lights shining on every cut of meat, plucked from a bubbling caldron of mixed braised meats and chopped to order.

Amber: Unlisted address, get a reservation by calling their number on facebook. Guest bartenders change nightly.

Amber: Molecular gastronomy meets cocktails.

Amber: Named after a the first independent woman who appeared in the Bible, this bar pours delicious, playful, sometimes-questionably-named drinks.

Amber: Cool, low-lit Condesa joint, where gin-and-tonics are inspired by the namesake author’s most iconic characters.

Amber: bohemian-meets-midcentury design and sexy mellow beats.

Amber: The real draw here is the molcajete caliente - Mexican hot pot - with meat, chilis, cheese, spring onions, and so much sauce. Use tortillas to soak up the salsa, and get an horchata on the side.

Amber: Order by checking dishes off on a short sheet of paper. When the sandwiches come — laden with hot, crispy fried breaded chicken or pork -- rejoice.

Amber: One of the only 24/7 joints in DF, they have all the classics available but you're here for the pozole.

Amber: Located inside the Hyatt Regency. The chefs are using local ingredients in creative ways and the breads, breakfast pastries, cakes, candies, and cookies are some of the best in town.

Amber: A Japanese-owned bakery that's making French pastries in Mexico. Hashtag globalization.

Amber: European-style bakery with Portuguese influences, including traditional pasteis de nata. Several locations, each with a different selection. Hunt down the breakfast pastries and cookies

Amber: European-style bakery with Portuguese influences, including traditional pasteis de nata. Several locations, each with a different selection. Hunt down the breakfast pastries and cookies.

Amber: European-style bakery with Portuguese influences, including traditional pasteis de nata. Several locations, each has a slightly different selection. Search out the breakfast pastries and cookies.

Amber: Part of a large chain, every location can be counted on for a dizzying collection of breads, cookies, pastries, jello-based desserts, flans, and cakes. Worth going for the experience.

Amber: Breads, pastries, desserts, and cake, wall to wall and floor to ceiling. The mass production means slightly lower quality, but all made fresh daily. Don't miss the second floor wedding cakes display

Amber: Tiny bakery in Roma. The almond and chocolate croissants are popular, but don't miss their excellent flan.

Amber: One of DF's oldest bakeries, it offers the variety of Pastelería Ideal but not the volume, allowing more attention to detail. The pans de muerto, filled with vanilla cream, are popular.

Amber: Order the taster here, a set of shot glass samples with every flavor on offer. That's not much more than a full sized pint and will give you just the right amount of buzz.

Amber: One of the only 24/7 joints in DF, they have all the classics available but you're here for the pozole

Amber: everyone is here for the chamorro, a braised pork shank served with an endless supply of tortillas.

Amber: Beautiful, light-filled space on a tree-lined block of Roma. A go-to for lunch among locals and food-obsessed DF tourists. Local ingredients and sustainability with a French-leaning Mexican menu.

Amber: A hole-in-the-wall mezcal bar without signage. The menu is an intense booklet mapping out how and where every bottle is made.

Amber: Small, quirky mezcal bar that opens onto a tree-lined Condesa street

Amber: vertical doner spit

Amber: Get the Al Pastor. One of the best places to finish off a long, drunken night.

Amber: Birria, a richly flavored goat stew, can be found throughout the city but this is one of the best versions. Expect to wait in line.

Amber: Slightly upscale but not pretentious or overly modern, and the food never disappoints. Try the cochinita pibil, and one of their margaritas.

Amber: Came highly recommended but didn't live up. Food was a sterilized version of what it should have been, service was weird. 

Amber: In the back of Lenox is Parker, a cozy, dimly lit cocktail den that also offers live jazz on most nights and the occasional burlesque show. Menu has 30 cocktails, but the classics are also on point.

Amber: Some of the best mole in the city. Also, cochinita pibil. Recommended by Eater.

Amber: The name means "cool" in Mayan — a rock-and-roll sort of place where molecular gastronomy and farm-to-table cooking meet in the middle. Recommended by Eater.