Alexa & Andrew’s
Guide to Mexico City

A selection of some of our favorite places to eat, shop, and see in CDMX.

You can find the full interactive map with our entire list of recommendations here.

Food & Drink

  • Fun and casual seafood spot.

    Recommended items:

    • Aguachile Verde de Camarones (pictured) - shrimp swimming in a delicious salsa verde

    • Tostada de Atun - tostada with raw tuna, a Mexican seafood staple

    • Quesadilla de Birria de Pescado - a seafood take on traditional Mexican “birria” but with slow simmered fish. One of the best bites you’ll ever have.

    • Camarones Zarandeados - buttery grilled whole shrimp on the shell

  • CDMX’s most iconic bakery. There are two locations, but go to the one at Puebla 242, Roma Norte if you don’t want to wait in line.

    Recommended item:
    Rol de Guayaba - we literally dream about this pastry daily. A flaky danish filled with fresh guava jam and cream cheese.

  • Our favorite bar. They’re known for their clarified drinks.

    Recommended items:

    • Mango Salad - Alexa’s fave, literally tastes like a refreshing tomato salad with alcohol.

    • Singapore is a City or a State? - Andrew’s fave, non-alcoholic and tastes like liquified banana bread.

  • Our go-to lunch spot in Condesa. Everything is good.

  • A super cool spot where everything is made with corn. Great for breakfast or lunch.

    Recommended items:

    • Flautas Ahogadas - crispy corn rolled taco drenched with a delicious sauce

    • Gordita - basically a corn sandwich stuffed with filling

    • Tlacoyo - a mix between a quesadilla and a pupusa made with corn with toppings

  • Lively hip spot that is always playing good music. Coffee during the day and cocktails at night.

    • Cicatriz

    • Malcriado

    • Quentin Cafe (Multiple locations)

    • Chiquitito Cafe

    • Cara de Taza

    • Nice Day Panaderia

    • ODETTE

    • Taqueria Orinoco (Multiple locations)

    • Tacos Atranatados (Multiple locations)

    • Carinito

    • Tacos del Valle

    Adobada/Al Pastor (marinated pork) tacos are amazing in CDMX.

    • Churreria El Moro (Multiple locations) - traditional Mexican churro chain. You can’t go wrong.

    • Myka Greek Yogurt - hands down the best frozen yogurt ever with housemade toppings.

Things to do

  • A must-see! Beautiful traditional dance performance that tells the history of Mexico. Performances take place at the Palacio de Bellas Artes.

    Showtimes are posted about 3 weeks in advance and can sell out quick. You can purchase tickets here or at the ticket booth inside of the venue.

  • Mexico City’s big central park with a ton of sights and activities. Great place to spend a few hours. Make sure to check out:

    • Chapultepec Castle

    • Museo Nacional de Antropología

      Tickets can be purchased at the booth at both places.

  • Flea Market on Sundays. Best place to find rare antiques and other unique items.

  • Traditional Mexican wrestling show. Really fun time, you can purchase tickets here.

    Tip: they do not allow photography so don’t bring any type of camera (film or digital). Phones are okay though.

  • A big market with a ton of traditional craft vendors. Great spot to pick up a souvenir.

  • If you have some time and want to explore a little outside of the city, here are a few spots within an hour drive (Uber or bus).

    • Frida Kahlo Museum in Coyoacan - about a 30-40 Uber to the quaint town of Coyoacan. Here you can go to Frida’s house and walk around where she grew up. Tickets must be purchased in advance here.

    • Xochimilco - known for their colorful boats that go along the canals.

    • Teotihuacan - these pyramids are a UNESCO site. Explore the history and ancient civilizations of Mexico. You can book a bus and tour here.

Getting Around

If you’re staying in Roma Norte or Condesa, you can pretty much walk to most things. If you do need a ride, we recommend using Uber. It is very affordable and safe.

Helpful Tips

Communication

A lot of places will have English-speaking staff, but Google Translate can be helpful.

If you don’t have international roaming on your cellphone plan, we recommend downloading an e-Sim through a service like Saily, Airalo, or Holafly. These are available in the Appstore. You can purchase a week-long plan that will allow you to use your phone’s data while you’re in Mexico.

Forms of Payment

Almost all restaurants will take credit card. Often servers will ask if you want to pay in cash (efectivo) or with card (tarjeta). They will also ask if you want to leave a tip (propina), just like in the US it is common courtesy to leave a 15%-25% tip.

We recommend exchanging some cash to use at street vendors. The exchange rate is currently $1 USD = 17.93 MXN pesos. There are official bank-affiliated ATMs (Santander, BBVA, Banamex) throughout the city where you can pull cash from your personal bank account.

Common Spanish Words/Phrases

  • Hola - hello

  • Hasta luego - see you later/goodbye

  • Gracias - thank you

  • Por favor -please

  • De nada -you’re welcome

  • La cuenta - the check/bill

  • Cuánto cuesta? - how much is it?

  • Perdón - excuse me

  • Cómo estás? - how are you?

  • Dónde está? - where is…?

  • Queiro - I want

  • Necesito - I need