In CDMX, MX$100 is the threshold. Under that number, you can eat a full comida at a decent fonda, get two French-style pastries with coffee, load up on proper loaded fries, or drink a serious michelada. Over MX$150 and you're in mid-range territory. The city has well over a thousand budget restaurants competing for the same customers, so the quality floor is higher than most cities charging these prices.
For breakfast, Martina Fonda Fina on Calle Gral. Juan Cano 61 in San Miguel Chapultepec is the spot most visitors miss entirely. The neighborhood sits just west of the Bosque de Chapultepec but draws almost no tourist foot traffic, which keeps this place operating squarely for locals. Opens at 8:30am Monday through Friday (Saturdays until 2:30pm), with a menu built around chilaquiles, vegetarian options, and health-conscious cooking. Meals under MX$100, every day of the week.
Vulevú Bakery at Córdoba 234 in Roma Norte is the best bakery value in the city. The pain au chocolat and kouign amann are what people keep returning for; the almond croissant and the crookie (a croissant-cookie hybrid that makes more sense once you eat one) round out the pastry options. Individual items plus a matcha latte sit comfortably under MX$100. Open Tuesday through Sunday from 7:45am (Sundays from 8:30am, closed Mondays). The focaccia handles the savory side.
El Regreso on Yosemite 54-B in Nápoles is where this list makes its case. The kitchen runs swiss enchiladas, red mole enchiladas, chile en nogada, cochinita pibil, milanesas, and a soup program that regulars cite alongside the consommé and Pollo al Cilantro. All of it under MX$100. Open every day from 10am to 7:30pm. Nearly 1,900 reviews at 4.5 stars, earned over years of cooking at prices the neighborhood hasn't outgrown.
Pipiris Fries in Coyoacán (Calle A, Mz. VII, Local D, Educación) opens at 3pm on weekdays. This is afternoon food: macho fries loaded with toppings, jalapeño poppers, pulled pork, bolognese pasta, milkshakes. Everything under MX$100, and the 714-review count from a residential address in Coyoacán tells you the portions are earning their keep. Friday and Saturday hours extend to 10pm, making it a late-night fallback in a colonia that mostly shuts down early.
For the afternoon drink, Michelanga Narvarte at Av. Cuauhtémoc 808 in Narvarte Poniente does micheladas right. The signature is the tamarind build; the camarones version is the one for those who want it savory. All under MX$100, poured into proper glasses. Beer garden format, casual crowd, open from 1:30pm daily and until 10:30pm on weekends.
Best value in the city: the red mole enchiladas at El Regreso, Yosemite 54-B, Nápoles. Under MX$100. Proper Mexico City cooking, the kind that takes all morning to build and costs a fraction of what it would anywhere that serves it with tablecloths.
