Where to Eat in Mexico City: Roma, Condesa and Beyond

The best meal of my first week in Mexico City cost almost nothing. It was a paper plate of suadero tacos eaten standing up at a counter in the Centro, after dark, with a squeeze of lime and a spoon of green salsa that made my eyes water. The second best was a three-hour seafood lunch in Roma that ran well into the afternoon. That range is the whole point. Working out where to eat in Mexico City is less about a list of restaurants and more about learning the city's rhythm: big lunches, late dinners and street food at every hour in between.

Know the rhythm first

Breakfast here is serious, often eggs, chilaquiles or a pan dulce with coffee. The main meal is comida, a long lunch that starts around two and can stretch past five. Dinner tends to be later and lighter. Many of the most famous lunch places are not open in the evening at all, so plan the big meal for midday.

Tacos are eaten at any time, but different kinds belong to different hours. Tacos de canasta and guisado in the morning, barbacoa at weekends, al pastor from the evening onwards.

Roma: long lunches and good bread

Roma Norte is leafy, walkable and full of restaurants in old Porfirian mansions. Start with Contramar, the seafood restaurant that everyone in the city seems to love. The tuna tostadas and the pescado a la talla, a whole fish split and painted half red and half green with two different sauces, are the classics. Book ahead and do not plan anything for the rest of the afternoon.

For breakfast, go to the bakery of Rosetta, from chef Elena Reygadas, and order the guava roll and a coffee. Her restaurant in the mansion around the corner is one of the most beautiful dining rooms in the city.

At weekends, El Hidalguense serves slow-cooked lamb barbacoa in the Hidalgo style, with a rich consommé on the side. It is a family place and only open a few days a week, so check before you go.

Condesa: parks, terraces and late tacos

Next door, Condesa is built around two parks, Parque México and Parque España, with art deco buildings and wide, tree-shaded avenues. It is the neighbourhood for a terrace, a mezcal and people-watching as the dogs walk their owners round the park.

Lardo, also from Elena Reygadas, does Mediterranean food with Mexican ingredients and great bread, and is good at any hour. For tacos, El Califa is a dependable late-night choice, with grilled meats and a good salsa bar. Condesa is a neighbourhood to wander, so leave room and let a counter tempt you.

In Mexico City, the street and the tablecloth are the same conversation.

The Centro: old cafés and midnight suadero

The historic centre has some of the city's oldest dining rooms. El Cardenal is the place for a long, proper breakfast: hot chocolate, fresh cream, conchas and egg dishes served by waiters in white jackets. Churrería El Moro on Eje Central has been frying churros since the 1930s; have them with thick chocolate.

After dark, the tiny counter at Los Cocuyos is famous for suadero, tripe and campechano tacos, with cooks working over a huge round pan of simmering meat. It is cramped, loud and exactly right.

Markets

Markets are where the city's food really lives. Mercado Medellín, on the edge of Roma, has produce and ingredients from across Mexico and Latin America, plus small fondas serving set lunches. Mercado de Coyoacán, in the south of the city, is known for its tostadas piled high with toppings. If you are curious, Mercado de San Juan in the Centro sells everything from fine cheese and jamón to insects and game.

Beyond: Polanco and the special-occasion tables

Polanco is home to two of the most celebrated kitchens in the country. Pujol, from Enrique Olvera, is known for its mole madre, aged for years and served with a fresh one in the middle. Quintonil, from Jorge Vallejo, works with native ingredients and is equally hard to book. Reserve weeks ahead if you can, and treat them as a lunch rather than a late dinner for the full effect.

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Good to know

• Water: drink bottled or filtered water. Most good restaurants use purified water and ice.
• Altitude: the city sits at around 2,240 metres. Go easy on mezcal on your first night.
• Tipping: 10 to 15 percent is normal in sit-down restaurants.
• Book the big names. Contramar, Rosetta, Pujol and Quintonil all fill up. Street stalls do not take bookings.
• Things change. Hours and days vary, and some places close on Mondays or certain evenings. Check before you go.

Eat one long lunch, one dawn breakfast in the Centro and at least one round of tacos standing up. Then go back to the place you liked best. That is how locals do it.