We’re going to Mexico City and (probably) the Yucatan peninsula for a total of two weeks in August. Travel Forum, do your thing!
We’ll likely split our time evenly between the two places. On our recent summer vacations we have deftly balanced city/culture with beach/leisure, with great success, and thought to do the same here.
I would be grateful for any recommendations on anything - we’ve never been to Mexico, and it seems everyone else has! We’re up for leisure, culture, all of it.
Diving in Cozumel is fantastic. Experienced or beginner. just top notch.
Mexico City is fantastic. Some of the best food on the planet and the restaurants are relatively inexpensive for folks coming from the US. Contramar was excellent, and one of my most memorable meals of 2022. Pujol is regarded as the city’s best, but reservations can be tough to come by so plan early. Em was another outstanding restaurant with a highly affordable and impressive 17+ course tasting menu; I’d go back in a heartbeat.
There are some 170+ museums in Mexico City, it’s really incredible. The museum of natural history is one of the most impressive museums I’ve been to in any city, period. It’s a must see, in my opinion, and the entry fee is something line $3USD. The art museums and Diego Rivera murals around the education ministry are also worth a visit.
As for locations to stay, I’d recommend the Polanco neighborhood. Extremely safe, and walking distance to many of the city’s best dining and museums including the Natural History Museum.
The wine scene in Mexico City is…lacking to be honest. Import taxes on wine are sky high so you don’t see much coming in from France or even the US. However, the valle de Guadalupe is improving and there are some really interesting Mexican wines that are worth trying out. There’s also a huge cocktail scene in CDMX and some excellent bars. Try some mezcals and sotols.
Enjoy!
It’s been a minute, but we loved Merida. Berserker and all-around mensch @Glenn_L_e_v_i_n_e lives there now.
I’ll add a second nod to Contramar and Pujol. Contramar is much more casual and accessible, but outstanding quality of seafood. If you can get a reservation, Pujol was lights out. I’ll also throw in Quintonil, which is another excellent tasting menu format.
Drank beer at Contramar. I remember the list at Pujol being solid but heavily marked up (which is fair considering the 100% import tax on wine). I remember the pricing at Quintonil to be fairly reasonable for any big city. Drank Emmerich Knoll Gruner and Lopez de Heredia Todonia Riserva.
In the Roma Norte area there are a few wine bars that have popped up, leaning more on the natural side. I would highly recommend checking out Hugo el Wine Bar. Great small plates and a fun, interesting list. Drank Arianna Occhipinti and Sylvain Pataille.
Got curious and wanted to look back on my photos from my CDMX trip. Figured I’d share a few:
You visited and didn’t reach out man?
Get to Mérida let’s meet and do something. Month left of good weather.
“It’s been a minute” is Midwestern for a long time. Ann and I visited Merida way back in 2008. I’d definitely go back.
Y’all come back now, anytime! Different city entirely.
Do they still do Merida en Domingo? That was so fun. They shut down a big street and everyone wandered around having fun. All these old guys dancing with their ladies. Loved it.
We just went to Mexico City in mid-December and ate at the following:
Pujol (dinner tasting and taco omakase)
Contramar
Maximo Bistrot
Quintonil
Rosetta
I’d highly recommend all of them except Maximo, which we didn’t enjoy very much for mainly service reasons, but the food I wouldn’t put on the same level as the others. Contramar obviously much more casual, but it was amazingly good! We had a lot of Mexican wine while there and enjoyed most of them.
If you want more tourist recommendations for sights, just let me know. I’d love to go back sometime in the future!
Yes, Paseo de Montejo closes for pedestrian & bicycle traffic each Sunday. Whole new street, Calle 47, going off now with restaurants after an infrastructure rebuild.
We spent six weeks in CDMX last winter, and I lived there for a while in the mid-80s during my youthful vagabond days. Stay in Condesa, Roma or the part of Juarez east of the Zona Roma and bordering Roma Norte. These neighborhoods are packed with great restaurants and they still have a vibrant street food scene. They are walkable and safer than any comparable US neighborhoods. I particularly like the area around the Parque de Mexico. Polanco is sterile. International chains and no street life. Pujol and Quintonil are in Polanco, but that’s no reason to stay there, as you can easily Uber there from Condesa or Roma.
In addition to the many great restaurants already recommended, Mexico City has the best and most varied street food of anywhere in the Americas. If you see a line, get in it and order what everyone else is ordering. Tacos al pastor (spiced pork with pineapple), tacos suadero (“sweaty” tacos made from beef brisket) and tacos de canasta are Mexico City specialties. Also try gorditas (fat blue corn tortillas stuffed with a unique Mexico City Chicharon and beans or cheese) and tlacoyas (similar to gorditas, but with cheese and nopales).
As far as things to do:
Food tour(s)–you could do one every day and not run out of new discoveries
Balloon tour over the pyramids
Anthropology Museum
Chapultepec Park
Zocalo and the National Palace
Lucha Libre
Frida Kahlo Museum and nearby Coyoacan Market
Xochimilco Canals
Bichi is a good natural wine producer in Baja that is the favorite of all the somms these days. It tends to disappear quickly, but if you see it, it’s worth trying. I thought their rose was especially good.
If you get a chance to try some true, fresh, artisan Pulque (not the flavored kinds) it’s worth it. Lightly fermented maguey drink. But it doesn’t keep, so it has to be fresh, or it starts to get a little slimy.
Niv is a new wine bar. I don’t think it was open last year, but the wine director is Tanguy de Bodinat. He’s the best importer in town–he helped me choose the wines for my daughter’s wedding. He knows his stuff and had a good inventory for a WB palate even in the states. In Mexico it was off the charts. Lots of of the same producers Kermit Lynch and Neil Rosenthall import into the US.
Remember that Mexico City is over 7,000 feet, so plan for a day or two of adjustment.
Adjusting to altitude physiologically takes 5+ weeks, in case you’re a cardio-pulmonary patient considering a visit.
Just FYI.
The gordita stand on av Nuevo Leon and Michoacan was my breakfast for about four of my five days there in April. Truly one of the best meals I’ve ever had on a street, highly recommend.
I was in Mexico City in mid Jan for 24hrs on the way back from a 3 day retreat in Tepoztlán.
I stayed in Polanco at the JW Marriott on points. Great hotel with clean, large rooms.
Nearby, I had phenomenal tacos standing on the sidewalk at El Turix. Note: They only serve cochinita pibil. While there, I bumped into someone in line that I knew and haven’t seen in 14 years who is now stationed at the US Embassy in CDMX.
In the evening I went out in Roma Norte with ex-pat friends that live there. Roma Norte felt more my vibe than Polanco (hip vs. posh). If you like natural wine bars, Loup Bar in Roma Norte is world class.
I hit the Museum of Anthropology the next day and had an incredible time. It is a fantastic museum.
Museum of Anthropology + Templo Mayor (and the museum) are must visits when visiting CDMX.
And the taco stands in Mexico City are just phenomenal. As Hardy mentioned, El Turix is great. I would also recommend:
La Esquina del Chilaquil in Condesa – not a taco, but chilaquiles stuffed in a torta. Carb on carb action!
We are visiting CDMX in May with our 2 kids (ages 21/24) and wife wants to eat at Pujol or Quintonil. On Reddit I get a lot of mixed reviews but here ev1 seems to like both. A common take I saw was that Quintonil was more creative and Pujol more or less has the same menu for many years running. And for better or worse that they are “touristy”. I guess I’m a tourist too but was hoping to find some places that both a local and tourist would deem an excellent find and more reasonable in price considering it’s 4 of us.
