A self-guided tour to treat your taste buds to some of the best and most affordable food Mexico City has to offer!

Where we live in Canada there is a severe lack of good Mexican food.  So it’s no surprise that we were excited to eat our way through Mexico City!  With only 3 days, we managed to stuff our faces with as much deliciousness as possible and spend very little. 

This guide will take you through 4 different neighbourhoods to sample our favorite street food stands and budget food joints.  Use this guide in conjunction with our Mexico City: Perfect 3 Day Guide for Instagrammers and you’ll be good to go!

 

DAY 1

Breakfast: Pastelería Ideal

For anyone with a sweet-tooth like me, this is paradise.  For realz.  This massive shop is two full floors of pastry and cake heaven!

The first floor consists of display cases of fresh cakes, chocolates and mounds and mounds of pastries.  Grab a tray and some tongs and start piling high!

Once you’ve got your fill, head over to one of the women at the counters along the back walls.  They will give you an invoice which you then take over to one of the little cashier booths on the opposite side.  You can pay by cash OR card here.

Head back to the original woman you left your goodies with and she will have them all nicely wrapped up and ready to go for you after you give her your receipt.  All these pastries for only $34.50 pesos!!

My favorite thing here was my cajeta-filled cake.  It was the best $38 pesos I ever spent.  For a caramel-fiend like myself, this is a must-try.  I went a little overboard with the pastries and we ate them for 3 days straight haha.  Even on Day 2 and 3 they were still soft and delicious.  They package them so well.

As exciting as floor 1 is, don’t forget to head up the stairs to floor 2!  To your left, you will find all the cookies (not super interesting in my honest opinion) but turn to your right and prepare to be blown away!  You will now enter cake heaven.  All the cakes are replicas showcasing what spectacular creations you can order for your next fiesta.

Check out the massive 110kg cake (!!!) coming in at a whopping $20,000 pesos.

 

Snack: Chapultepec Vendor Carts

As you wander around the vast Bosque de Chapultepec you will find no shortage of vendor carts.  We were actually shocked at how many there were and it made us wonder how many people must visit this park daily for there to be this much food.

Therefore, this is one of the best places to sample the wide range of street snacks Mexico City has to offer.  Our favorite was the Dorilocos!  Basically, you choose which bag of chips you’d like and they add a variety of toppings and sauces.  Every stand is different but at the one we went to they put shredded radish, carrots, cucumber, peanuts, lime juice and hot sauce on top.  It’s pretty much a chip salad, which makes it a healthy choice 😉 haha

Lunch: Tacos de Canasta Los Especiales

When we saw the line up here we knew this little hole in the wall would be a gem.  Don’t let the line scare you off, it moves quickly and the short wait is worth it.

While lining up you can see which choices you have from the menu on the door.  Tacos are only $7 pesos each and drinks are $12 pesos.  Once you reach the cashier you simply tell him how many tacos you want and if you want a drink.  After you pay he will give you some tokens.  Take these to the guys just past him and let them know which tacos you want.  They grab them out of the appropriate canisters and then you tell the next guy which drink you would like.

Once you have your plate of food, help yourself to some veggies and salsa, then attempt to find a place to sit or stand.  This is a very casual place so don’t expect any cutlery.  This is a use-your-hand-sanitizer-and-eat-with-your-hands-type place.

These steamed tacos are the cheapest we had in Mexico City yet some of the tastiest!  They are pretty basic-looking but so good!  Greasy, juicy, spicy deliciousness.  My favorite part was the spicy salsa which you can help yourself to from the bowls scattered around the dining area.

Once you are done, there are some sinks and soap at the back of the restaurant to wash off the oil and salsa from your hands.

Dinner: Parque Alameda Food Carts

At the opposite end of the park from Palacio de Bellas Artes sits a wide variety of street vendor carts.  You can find fresh coconuts, fried plantains, more Dorilocos, churros, hot dogs, corn, etc.  Go wild and indulge in all your street food cravings!

Read to the end of this post to find a map of all the foodie spots mentioned in this guide!

 

 

DAY 2

Breakfast: El Moro

Some say breakfast is the most important meal of the day so why not start it off with a Mexican classic: churros!  El Moro is an institution in CDMX and has multiple chains throughout the city.  This location is the original, built in 1935, and is the perfect spot to enjoy a sweet breakfast before heading up the Torre Latinoamericana.

You can order churros by themselves (but why??) or, preferably, as a paquete with chocolate.  There are different types of chocolate to choose from as well as some dips, like cajeta.  Pair it with some coffee and you have a nice desayuno.

The churros come out hot and crispy, coated in either plain or cinnamon sugar.  The chocolate is quite liquidy, and although you could drink it, it is nothing like the hot chocolate you are probably used to back home.  If you are familiar with churros con chocolate in Spain, these are pretty similar, although the chocolate here is already sweet – no need to mix in a packet or 2 of sugar like in Spain.

Snack: Kiosco Morisco Vendor Carts

Grab some tamales or fresh fruit from the little sidewalk carts scattered around the area.  I loved the freshly cut mango with whichever topping you choose, such as lime or chili.  A cup of 3 chopped up mangoes cost $20 pesos.

If you are coming from Canada like us, where there are no fresh mangoes ever, this will be a real treat to eat ripe, sweet mangoes!

Lunch: Taquería Los Cocuyos

I squealed in delight when we arrived at Los Cocuyos, a short walk from our hotel in El Centro.  This is street food at its best.  When I saw a crowd of locals enjoying their tacos and the little plastic stools, I knew this place was going to deliver.

As you approach you can smell the deliciousness wafting in the air and once you arrive you will see the vats of bubbling meats.  Our Spanish is not so good so we didn’t really know what anything was on the menu.  So we did what any adventurous eater would do and just picked randomly off the menu: surtida, molleja and longaniza.

We chose well as everything we had was delicious, although I don’t think you could really go wrong with anything on the menu.  The longaniza was our favorite.  Being Filipino, this was one word I recognized so we had to choose it!  This spicy sausage was delicious.  The surtida and molleja were both amazing as well!

Los Cocuyos offers up every part of the animal – specializing in the head: cheek, eyes, brains….it’s all there and made into delicious, tender tacos 😉

 

Dinner: Café El Popular

This restaurant is a simple, diner-style restaurant.  It doesn’t look like much but you will see that it is popular with local families and that is what appealed to us.   It is a sit-down restaurant with a homey feel, rather than touristy.  Sitting surrounded by all Mexican families and not a single other tourist was nice.

While this wasn’t our absolute favorite place, it is a good option to try a wide variety of classic Mexican dishes in a less-touristy and more affordable setting.  They are open 24/7 and are popular for breakfast as well.  Just remember to bring cash as they don’t accept credit card.

Ryan ordered the Enfrijoladas con Chorizo and I ordered the Sopa Azteca.  They give you a plate of bread and there are bowls of salsa on the table already.

Make sure you order a cafe con leche.  Pretty much everyone we saw had ordered one so of course I had to follow suit.  They give you a glass and pour the strong coffee in until you say stop.  Then they pour in the hot milk.  It’s nice because you can choose how strong you want your coffee.  If you don’t drink coffee, go for the horchata.

DAY 3

Lunch: Taqueria El Gato Volador

Honestly there are so many taco stands on every block that you don’t necessarily need to go to one specific place that has been recommended.  However, this is one that we happened to walk by and saw a ton of locals standing about, licking their fingers, so we figured we better stop and try it for ourselves!

And we were not disappointed.  It was so good, we had to order more.  Prices are cheap – I think $10-12 pesos per taco.  There were a ton of toppings to help yourself to as well.  There are no chairs, you just stand and eat but it makes it a more authentic experience – it is street tacos afterall!

We went with the carne enchilada, longaniza and whatever it was Ryan pointed to on the grill.  All were greasy, flavorful street food goodness!

Snack:  Street Food Carts around Paseo de la Reforma

There are a bunch of street food carts all around the Paseo de la Reforma area.  Our favorite was a little stand selling the most delicious cups of esquites we ever had!  The corn was cooked with chilis so it had a nice spice to it and was topped with more chili powder, lime juice, mayo and cheese.

It was so good that I need to learn how to make it at home otherwise I might just have to fly back to Mexico City to eat this again!

Snack: El Moro

Yes, that’s right – El Moro again!  One time is not enough, even if you are only in Mexico City for 3 days.  Honestly,  I wish we had eaten here THREE times.  Again, I am a self-proclaimed dessert-fiend, but I don’t think I am the only one judging by how popular these shops are!

This location sits on a pretty corner of Parque Mexico, with indoor and outdoor seating.  We sat outside, admiring the beautiful blooming jacaranda trees, watching the adorable dogs walk by, and indulging in our sweet treats.

This time you can try a different type of chocolate and dip to go with your churros 🙂  Or go for one of their churro ice cream sandwiches!

We hope you enjoy these Mexico City delights. There is sooo much more to discover and indulge in, so please share your favorites with us in the comments below!  We’d love to hear about your Mexico City finds and try them on our next visit!

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