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Mexico City, Mexico
Photo: Comisión Mexicana de Filmaciones from México D. F., México, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
The Condesa and Roma district of Mexico City is a residential and restaurant area on both sides of Insurgentes avenue (Condesa on the west side, Roma on the east side) between Viaducto Miguel Alemán in the south and Avenida Chapultepec in the north. It's a large area developed in the 1930s-1950s with mostly art deco architecture, large parks, and a relaxed atmosphere. The area is popular with an eclectic artsy crowd who stay in the many small bed and breakfast inns and some of the city's most cutting edge Contemporary art galleries.
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Home and studio of surrealist feminist artist Leonora Carrington. Born in Britain, Carrington lived in this Mexico City home for 60 years -- almost all of her artistically prolific career. Carrington is difficult to classify. She worked in Mexico, but was educated and raised in Great Britain, so she had none of the sense of "Mexicanidad" (Mexican identity) that permeates most modern art in Mexico. She was a surrealist and her work is best understood in an international context though she was readily accepted into the Mexican artistic community. A fascinating person and an immense talent.
Antique Toy Museum
Huge collection of toys including dolls, action figures, model cars and trains, Barbies and lots more. Also provides walls to graffiti artists and is a popular place for urban artists to congregate.
Delightfully quirky museum of "stuff". All the things that become important to people in today's society, from toys, to car decorations. The museum is exhibition focused with changing themes a few times each year so the museum is "evergreen" and never the same place twice. It closes for several weeks every few months to change exhibits, so check their web site to verify that they're open and what the current exhibition theme is. Past themes have included "Objects of Literature", "Gol! Objects of Futbol" (soccer). Small museum that's fun and won't take more than an hour to explore.
Period home dating from 1910. Guillermo Tovar de Teresa was a respected intellectual in early 20th century Mexico and was a noted literary figure who chronicled life in Mexico City. The home and its furnishings, including an eclectic art collection, were purchased by the Carlos Slim Foundation. The home was restored and opened for public tours. It is operated by the Museo Soumaya (whose main museum is in Polanco). Allow about 1-2 hours for a visit.
Six to eight different exhibitions rotate throughout the year in this converted house in the heart of the Roma district, focusing on contemporary art by emerging Mexican artists.
Modern gallery showcasing contemporary art (often avant garde pieces in non-traditional media). Many of the works are by established international artists, but there are also some pieces by well-known contemporary Mexico City artists that are quite often better than the overhyped, overpriced pieces from New York or Europe.
Quiet 2-story gallery with a gorgeous spiral staircase. Features contemporary works by many of the city's most talented artists.
Casual gallery with friendly, informative staff. Affordable prices on a large selection of contemporary art, most by local Mexico City artists.
The park at the center of La Condesa, the one that the neighborhood was built around, was once a horse racing track. The park was built in the early 1920s. The main square of the park hosts frequent music bands and they also have stalls selling handcrafts and clothing. The park has a famous fountain of a woman and also a clock erected by the Armenian community.
This park was inaugurated on September 21st, 1921 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the end of the Mexican War of Independence. It contains statues such as the monument to Lázaro Cárdenas. The park was designed by the pioneer of modern urban Mexico, architect José Luis Cuevas. It has a small lake with a rustic cement bridge that resembles a wooden bridge.
Roundabout on a wide avenue featuring a large fountain with a replica of a famous statue of a goddess in Madrid. The fountain is a gathering point for the Spaniard ex-pat community who come to celebrate Spanish soccer victories and similar events. The nearby tree-lined streets are full of restaurants and lively pubs.
Attractive, well-maintained urban plaza ringed by historic buildings. The park features a replica statue of Michelangelo's David. The part is a pleasant place to walk or just sit on the park benches feeding the pigeons. Favored by local dog walkers.
Mexico City's most popular forum for Lucha Libre, the hugely popular wrestling sport of Mexico (and declared by UNESCO as part of the intangible cultural heritage of humanity). Matches are normally on Tuesday evenings and Sunday afternoons, but consult the website for current information.
Despite the name, the theatre rarely performs in English and almost never anything by the Bard. Foro Shakespeare is a performing arts venue with three stages performing contemporary drama in Spanish by latino playwrights. The main stage (Primera) seats 190 patrons, Espacio Urgente seats 58, and the smallest space, Teatrino, seats just 38 in a very intimate setting. Foreign visitors will get the most out of it if they are fluent in Spanish and knowledgable in Hispanic culture and customs.
Reasonably priced Asian/Italian fusion with a Mexican touch, good bar and good coffee. The staff is laid back to the point of being unprofessional, don't worry about asking twice for your order. Try the pasta with chicken and sesame seed oil/soy sauce.
Lebanese meze restaurant serving grilled meats like kebabs and all your Middle Eastern favorites like hummus and tabouleh. Very popular.
El 'Diez'
Argentinian cuisine run by an Argentine owner, very good food at a very reasonable price. The bar is very popular at night.
This hip cafe has some good food and a pervasive retro look. Billing itself as a cafe recreativo, it's got sudoku and word searches on the placemats, and pencils and scratch paper on every table; help yourself to the wall of board games and magazines.
Vibrant small rooftop restaurant in Condesa with innovative dishes that couple traditional Mexican dishes with unusual accompaniments and flavors. Editors of the Michelin Guide reserved their highest praise for the fresh fish entrees.
This fast-food place serves rolled sandwiches using flat thin white bread. Wide choice of salads.
Fresh salads made to order with fresh greens and other ingredients. Ten locations in D.F. When you're missing fresh veggies, this is the place to go!
The club serves Middle Eastern food and flavored tobacco "hookahs" at your table. The music selection is extremely good ranging from Electro-arabic, to house.
This family-run restaurant is one of the cheapest places in the city to have good Argentinian/Uruguayan food. Start with some Provolone cheese and papas con amor (fried potato wedges with the peel still on). If you're hungry, also try the filete bariloche (for two people, about half a kilo of meat each), the bife bufalo or the arrachera.
Creative Mediterranean food in a stylish restaurant owned by celebrity chef Elena Reygadas. Wood-burning oven. Lively corner location with open windows, plants and lots of light. Many unusual contemporary Mexican dishes like the insects mole. Variety of aguas frescas and kombucha.
Popular sidewalk coffee shop. Homemade pastries and outstanding people watching.
Chic contemporary Mexican restaurant with an upscale clientele and a reputation for sustainable business practices that earned them a coveted green star in the 2025 Michelin Guide. The restaurant is not a "vegan" restaurant, but they heavily emphasize vegetarian dishes using locally sourced produce grown in the chinampas of Xochimilco. The restaurant claims to have achieved zero waste in their operations.
Innovative upscale restaurant serving nouveau Mexican cuisine in an intimate setting. Service is top-notch and waiters will patiently guide diners through the sometimes unusual dishes. The tomahawk pork chops are big enough to share but too delicious to actually do so. Excellent wine list that includes suggested pairings for some excellent Mexican wines from Baja.
A slice of Italy just a couple blocks from Chapultepec Park. Pizzas, homemade pastas, veal piccata, in-house bakery, gelatos and an excellent wine selection.
A counter-culture vegan restaurant specializing in mushroom preparations and fermentation of all sorts, with inspiration from indigenous dishes.
Classic Jewish deli with in-house bakery serving huge sandwiches. Assortment of bagels made fresh daily.
Popular taco chain with various locations in Mexico City. A little overpriced, but very high quality tacos. The specialty is the gaonera (try the one with cheese), a large, thin slice of tender beef, roasted and placed on a tortilla. The house salsas are also notable for being made with fried tomatoes. After dinner, try the traditional Mexican coffee with cinnamon, café de olla.
This small cafe offers excellent food at very low prices until 18:00. A set dinner includes a soup, a salad, a main dish, a small dessert, fruit flavored water, and coffee. The pasta dishes are good and portions are abundant.
Tasty authentic Japanese food at good prices in a very warm, randomly decorated place. A nice spot to hang out and have a drink or coffee/tea also. Impressive tea selection.
Serves very good flautas and tacos de guisado. Delivery available.
Hugely popular upscale seafood restaurant. Reservations recommended (can be made on opentable.com). Locals recommend the tuna tostadas.
Lively fresh seafood restaurant with a wide range of innovative dishes. Excellent cocktails. Live music. Both indoor and outdoor dining areas (outdoor is sometimes more peaceful if you want to be away from the music).
Trendy upscale restaurant serving nouveau Mexican cuisine. Modern, tranquil dining room. Good drinks, wide variety of dishes including beef, seafood, lamb and more.
Contemporary Italian cuisine in a sophisticated modern setting. Fresh house-made pastas. Sustainable locally-sourced ingredients.
Casual seafood lunch restaurant where you can get baja fish tacos at reasonable prices.
A definite "splurge" restaurant, Rosetta is an upscale gourmet dining experience set in an historic mansion with period furnishings, elegant dining rooms, and carefully hovering waiters. Innovative modern Mexican cuisine with equally innovative drinks and desserts. One of the city's top dining spots, so reservations are strongly suggested. Awarded a Michelin star.
A French-influenced bakery and cafe associated with the above restaurant, that quickly became famous for its flaky guava rolls. Get there early if you want a seat, as the line forms before it opens and doesn't let up, though it moves quickly for take-away pastries.
Innovative contemporary Mexican cuisine with carefully considered dashes of French and Italian. Bright and inviting courtyard dining area. Awarded a Michelin star in 2025. Awarded Michelin's "Exceptional Cocktails" award in 2026 for innovative drinks like a corn husk martini. Reservations strongly suggested.
Trendy pool hall with a dozen billiards tables, cold beers, mezcal cocktails and a menu of burgers, fries, tacos and other light fare.
Dark, intimate mezcal bar with an extensive range of artesanal mezcals and their own house brand, Enmascarado, which is available in bottles to go. A well-curated mezcal list explains a bit about the origins, manufacture, and sensory highlights of different mezcals. Excellent place to experiment with a sampler and learn a bit about the spirit.
Popular cocktail lounge with upscale atmosphere and creative cocktails. Reservations are a necessity and the place has a reputation for "losing" reservations, and overcharging (so check the bill carefully).
Taproom for a Queretaro-based craft brewery specializing in an eclectic collection of predominantly European style lager beers. The most unusual is probably the Rye Lager. They also have a nice Schwarzbier, seasonal brews like Oktoberfest, and a Mexican Lager intended to emulate a Corona or Tecate. Good selection of bar bites and the crowd is an eclectic mix of young professionals, ex-pats and digital nomads.
One of the most popular dance clubs/bars in the city, usually very full, plays salsa, merengue, and other Cuban music. There is another branch in San Angel, which is more popular with the younger crowd and can sometimes be hard to get into. Come early and get a free salsa lesson.
Claims to be "one of the world's top 50 bars", which seems rather dubious to me, but the cocktails are amazingly good! They have a wide assortment of spirits behind the bar with a mind-boggling selection of tequilas and mezcals. Upscale place with correspondingly upscale prices. Elegant atmosphere.
Small, intimate mescaleria that is just a few blocks from La Clandestina, with a similar focus and clientele, but a smaller, but exceptionally well focused mezcal list. Waiters are very knowledgable and can explain the types of maguey used by a particular brand and how it expresses itselfe in appearance, aroma, and flavor. In addition to outstanding artesanal mezcals from Oaxaca, they have a few bottles of mezcal sub-styles, such as bacanora (usually found only in Sonora) and raicilla (usually found only in Jalisco). A good bar for the curious epicure to learn about mezcal.
Laid back club with a sort of retro-hipster vibe. The club is an offshoot of a popular club founded in Cholula. Features live jazz music nightly with an upstairs club (reservations required, can be made via Whatsapp) and a downstairs salon that becomes standing room only when a good band is in the house.
Popular rock-oriented club named in tribute to Janis Joplin. Lively crowd, large drinks. Be aware they add a 20% tip on all bills.
Hip contemporary bar specializing in mezcals with a wide variety of brands, many with very distinct flavor profiles. Many mezcal cocktails are offered including the classic mezcalhina, with a citric tang to it. Light bar snacks are available including a wonderful guacamole with chapulines (grasshoppers). A selection of local craft beers are available. English speaking staff available. Credit cards accepted.
Fun, funky jazz club hidden away in an old house on a side street off Alvaro Obregon. Live jazz bands and great cocktails keep the crowds coming. Small club so reservations are a must, otherwise you'll be warehoused in an upstairs bar where you can't see the band. No parking available, but you'll be drinking anyway, so Uber itǃ
Large brewpub serving their house-brewed ales along with pizza, wings, and other light bar food.
Lively club that attracts a lot of foreign visitors who come for the live salsa bands. Unfortunately, the management is erratic and has an unprofessional reputation.
Boutique hotel in a historic art deco landmark, offering luxurious accommodations and first-class service.
An amazing boutique hotel within walking distance of all the best bars, lounges, clubs and restaurants of Condesa. Also has a sushi bar rooftop bar, a chocolate lab, and a night club in the basement.
Hostel with shared dormitories. Cheapest lodging option in Condesa.
16 beautiful units surrounding a peaceful courtyard. Rooms are reasonably priced and stylishly decorated. Many also have terraces. Breakfast includes the usual items plus a typical Mexican breakfast delicacy. Owners are friendly and very helpful with travel tips and assistance in arranging tours, etc.
Condesa Haus is a lovely building of 8 suites and rooms near the Patriotismo Metro station. Each accommodation is beautifully and stylishly decorated, and the staff are wonderful. Special discount (no tax or fees) if you pay cash.
Comfortable and friendly bed and breakfast with eclectic decor and delicious breakfast included in room rates.
Upscale contemporary boutique hotel with first-class service and quiet, well-appointed rooms. Rooftop bar.
Large moderate hotel with spacious, clean rooms and good service.
Architecture buffs will love the carefully restoration on this classic art deco landmark. The hotel is furnished with art deco style furnishings as well. Service is top notch and guests appreciated the rooftop terrace. Guests should be aware that the building does not have elevators or air conditioning, so if you need those amenities, another hotel might be a better choice.
Radical Fashion
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One of the biggest bookstores in Latin America. Worth the stop just to see the gorgeous interior. You can spend hours just browsing through the shelves.
Bookstore with a wide selection of books (almost all in Spanish, but a few English titles) and an on-site coffee shop. Many books on art and architecture.
English-speaking travelers might want to check out this bookstore which is the only one in Mexico City to specialize in English-language books. They also sell used books and will accept your already-read discards for partial store credit.
Stylish modernist bookstore with bright naturally lit interior and an eclectic selection of books and magazines in both Spanish and English. The best selection is books on architecture, art, and literature. If the door is locked, press the bell to get buzzed in. The store is on the second level.
Eclectic used bookstore with a wide variety of books on various subjects on many languages of the world. Very well organized with helpful staff who know how to find anything of interest. Also buys used books.
Along Alvaro Obregon Avenue, this market sells crafts, paintings and there is a unique stall selling fossils and meteorites.
Fruit and vegetable market with a wide selection of unusual products used in Mexican regional recipes as well as cuisines from throughout Latin America. Many specialty vendors, some selling only chiles, others selling only coffees from Oaxaca, or food from Colombia. Street food fans will find regional dishes and inexpensive gourmet foods.
Large fun marketplace that specializes in food stands (grab-n-go, mix-n-match meals). Artesanal beers, gourmet coffees, a large variety of tacos...you name it.
By metrobus
The Metrobús, which runs up and down Avenida Insurgentes, is a very convenient way of getting to Condesa and Roma.
By bike
Bicycling is increasingly popular in Mexico City where the city government establishes bike lanes in several downtown areas.
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