Mexico City has no shortage of places serving Mexican food. The hard part is finding one worth an argument. My number one pick is Doña Vero on Monterrey in Roma Sur, a kitchen that runs Oaxacan and does it better than most places in the city that claim the same.
#1. Doña Vero | Roma Sur | Monterrey 313, Eje Vial 2 Poniente
Doña Vero earns the top spot by asking more of you than most kitchens will. The chapulines arrive lime-dressed. There's wild boar meat, tlayudas, fried pork rind, and pulque on the menu. Vegan options exist and craft beer too, because the Roma Sur crowd demands both and the kitchen accommodates without apology. Prices run MX$100–200. Open until midnight on Fridays, 11 PM most other nights.
#2. Casa Licha Pozole | Iztapalapa | Sur 69-A 513, Justo Sierra
Casa Licha has over 3,000 reviews at 4.5 stars. People cross half the city to eat here, and they can only do it on weekends: Saturdays 9 AM to 9 PM, Sundays 9 AM to 7 PM. The cooking is Guerrerense, meaning chilate, mixiote, chalupas, and cacao-based preparations alongside the pozole that gives the place its name. It would rank first if it opened more than two days a week. Come early or find yourself waiting on Sur 69-A with no reservation and no shade. Prices MX$100–200.
Casa Licha beats El Regreso on cooking ambition and volume of loyal customers, but El Regreso wins on availability and price.
#3. El Regreso | Nápoles | Yosemite 54-B, Benito Juárez
El Regreso keeps prices under MX$100 and still delivers red mole enchiladas, swiss enchiladas, Pollo al Cilantro, cochinita, milanesas, and broths that make the Nápoles regulars keep coming back. The consommé is the starter worth ordering. Traditional Mexican comfort food, open daily from 10 AM to 7:30 PM. The afternoon cutoff is the only real weakness, and it is a real one.
#4. Porton Maya | Portales Norte | Calz. Sta. Cruz 78, Benito Juárez
Porton Maya earns its slot by going all the way with Yucatecan cuisine: cochinita pibil, panuchos, lime soup, motuleños eggs, stuffed cheese with black filling, and marquesitas. The habanero sauce is not decorative. Prices MX$100–200, open daily 10 AM to 6 PM. It beats Leonesa for the #4 slot because regional cooking at this depth is harder to find in this city than a cantina with a mariachi band.
#5. Taquería Parrilla Leonesa Centro | Centro Histórico | Calle de Bolívar 29-A, Cuauhtémoc
Leonesa is the Centro Histórico cantina experience: live mariachi, arrachera, tacos al pastor, chile en nogada in season, ribeye steak, tortilla soup, and a seafood stew. The arrachera is the anchor order. Horchata water is the pairing if mezcal is too much for the afternoon. Open weekdays 8 AM to 10 PM, Saturdays 9 AM to 10 PM, Sundays 10 AM to 8 PM. Prices mid-range.
If you only eat at one, go to Doña Vero on a Friday and stay until they kick you out.
