Best restaurants in Mexico City 2026: 15 tables worth booking

The best restaurants in Mexico City in 2026 come down to 15 tables, from two-star tasting menus in Polanco to taquerías where a taco costs MXN 25, checked against the Michelin Guide Mexico 2026 and the 50 Best rankings. If you book only one, make it Quintonil: two Michelin stars and No. 3 in The World's 50 Best Restaurants 2025.

Best restaurants in Mexico City: how this list works

The Michelin Guide Mexico 2026, revealed on 20 May, gives the capital 11 starred restaurants, two with two stars and nine with one, plus 27 Bib Gourmands for good cooking at moderate prices. The headline was a loss: El Califa de León gave back the star it won in 2024. This list gives the taco counter the same weight as the tasting menu.

In Mexico City, a 25-peso taco and a two-star tasting menu belong on the same list.

Prices are per person in Mexican pesos (MXN), before drinks, from menus and recent reporting. For the dishes behind these kitchens, from al pastor to barbacoa, start with our guide to what to eat in Mexico City.

Quintonil, Polanco

Jorge Vallejo, who cooked at Pujol, runs the kitchen at Isaac Newton 55 with his wife Alejandra Flores in the dining room. Quintonil holds two Michelin stars, ranked No. 3 in The World's 50 Best Restaurants 2025 and No. 7 in Latin America's 50 Best the same year.

The seasonal tasting menu costs MXN 6,090, according to Excélsior, with wine pairings from MXN 3,140. It closes on Wednesdays and Sundays; book through the restaurant's own site well in advance.

Pujol, Polanco

Enrique Olvera's restaurant at Tennyson 133 put modern Mexican cooking on the world map and has held two Michelin stars since the guide arrived in Mexico in 2024. The tasting menu builds towards the mole madre, a sauce reheated and fed every day for years.

Excélsior puts the dining-room menu at MXN 3,750 and the taco omakase at the bar at MXN 4,500. Tables go weeks ahead.

Máximo, Roma Norte

Eduardo "Lalo" García cooks Mexican produce with a French accent in a former industrial space at Álvaro Obregón 65 Bis. It holds one Michelin star, was No. 30 in Latin America's 50 Best Restaurants 2025, and its head bartender, Priscila Moreno, won Michelin's 2026 Exceptional Cocktails Award.

The tasting menu cost MXN 3,200, or MXN 4,870 with wine, on the restaurant's May 2026 menu. Closed on Sundays.

Rosetta, Roma Norte

Elena Reygadas, named the World's Best Female Chef in 2023, cooks in a townhouse at Colima 166 with one Michelin star and No. 39 in Latin America's 50 Best Restaurants 2025. Dishes are built for sharing.

It serves lunch only, Monday to Saturday from 1pm to 5.30pm, and press reports put the average bill at MXN 1,000 to 1,500.

Sud 777, Jardines del Pedregal

Edgar Núñez cooks in the south of the city, at Boulevard de la Luz 777, with vegetables from the restaurant's own garden. It holds one Michelin star; the dish to order is suckling pig finished pibil-style with pineapple, with tortillas to build your own tacos.

The tasting menu was reported at about MXN 2,500 in 2025, with a long à la carte as well.

Esquina Común, Condesa

Ana Dolores González serves a set menu of six savoury courses and a dessert inspired by the fondas, the city's family canteens, on a planted rooftop at Fernando Montes de Oca 86. One Michelin star; the inspectors single out cod in green mole.

Expect more than MXN 1,000 per person. It opens Thursday to Sunday, and bookings are taken only by direct message on Instagram.

Gaba, Condesa

One of two new Mexico City stars in 2026. Víctor Toriz runs a café by day and a dinner of sharing plates at Avenida Mazatlán 190, and he is strongest with offal: crispy tripe with Ocosingo cheese, sweetbreads with chileatole.

Budget MXN 1,000 to 1,800 per person, according to Grupo Animal.

Masala y Maíz, Centro

Norma Listman and Saqib Keval blend Mexican, Indian and East African cooking at Artículo 123 no. 116. One Michelin star; start with the samosas filled with suadero and the Veracruz prawns in vanilla butter.

The average bill is around MXN 700. It serves from noon to 6pm and closes on Tuesdays.

Expendio de Maíz, Roma Norte

No sign, no menu, four shared tables on the pavement at Avenida Yucatán 84. Jesús Salas Tornés nixtamalises heirloom corn on site and keeps cooking until you ask him to stop. It won a Michelin star in 2025 and kept it.

Dishes cost roughly MXN 85 to 150 each. No reservations, cash only, and the waiting list forms early.

La Once Mil, Lomas de Chapultepec

César de la Parra opened this taquería at Monte Everest 780 in 2024 and named it after the neighbourhood's postcode, 11000. In May it became the second taquería in Mexico to win a Michelin star, for its hand-made tortillas, house salsas and prime cuts.

Tacos cost from MXN 70 to 335 for Japanese A4 wagyu, according to El Financiero; most sit between MXN 120 and 160. It opens daily until 11.30pm.

Contramar, Roma Norte

Gabriela Cámara opened Contramar at Durango 200 in 1998, and its tuna tostadas with chipotle mayonnaise have been copied across the city ever since. It holds a Bib Gourmand in the 2026 guide.

Four tostadas cost MXN 420; order the pescado a la talla, half red, half green, to share. It is a lunch place, open until 8pm, and you need to book.

Molino El Pujol, Condesa

Pujol's tortillería, opened in 2018 at Benjamín Hill 146, nixtamalises corn every day and sells it as tamales, tacos, chilaquiles and tortillas to take away. Bib Gourmand; order the pumpkin tamal.

Open daily from 8am to 6pm; tacos start at about MXN 50.

El Califa de León, San Rafael

This counter at Ribera de San Cosme 56, open since 1968, became the first taquería in the world with a Michelin star in 2024 and was the only restaurant in Mexico to lose one in 2026. The guide still lists it, and the gaonera, beef fillet seared to order with salt and lime, has not changed.

The gaonera cost MXN 70 when the star arrived. It opens from 11am to 2am; cash only.

Taquería Los Cocuyos, Centro Histórico

A narrow counter at Simón Bolívar 67 that has worked around the clock since 1980. Bib Gourmand; suadero at night, when the meat has braised for hours, and cabeza at any time.

Tacos cost roughly MXN 25 to 40, which makes it one of the best restaurants in Mexico City per peso.

El Vilsito, Narvarte

A car repair workshop at Avenida Universidad 248 by day, a taquería from 1pm to 5am. Bib Gourmand for its al pastor, shaved from a tall spit with pineapple and coriander; the gringa adds cheese and a flour tortilla.

Expect about MXN 25 a taco. To cook it at home, follow our tacos al pastor recipe, and for the corn sold from street carts outside, our elote recipe.

Best restaurants in Mexico City: frequently asked questions

Which restaurant in Mexico City has the most Michelin stars? Pujol and Quintonil, with two each. No restaurant in Mexico City has three stars in the 2026 guide.

How far ahead should I book? Several weeks for Pujol and Quintonil. Esquina Común takes bookings only on Instagram, while Expendio de Maíz, El Califa de León, Los Cocuyos and El Vilsito work on a queue.

How much does a meal at the best restaurants in Mexico City cost? From MXN 25 for a taco at El Vilsito to MXN 6,090 for the tasting menu at Quintonil, before drinks.

Which area has the most good restaurants? Roma Norte and Condesa: Máximo, Rosetta, Expendio de Maíz, Contramar, Gaba, Esquina Común and Molino El Pujol are within walking distance of each other.

How we chose

We started from the Michelin Guide Mexico 2026 and cross-checked The World's 50 Best Restaurants 2025 and Latin America's 50 Best Restaurants 2025, then weighed price and ease of booking as heavily as stars, so the best restaurants in Mexico City here run from tasting menus to street counters. Em, a one-star restaurant in Roma Norte, is left out because the guide lists it as temporarily closed.

Addresses, opening status and prices were last checked on 25 September 2026, against the Michelin Guide, the restaurants' own menus and reporting in Excélsior, El Financiero and Grupo Animal.