Haute Cuisine in Mexico City

When Enrique Olvera opened the doors of Pujol in 2000, Mexican gastronomy began to doubt its traditional course in order to pursue a higher culinary standard. Pujol stands in the 16th place within The World’s 50 Best Restaurants. We wish we could recommend a particular dish; however, its daily changing menu makes us be willing for surprises. This review was made upon a liquid “taco placero” (a drinkable traditional taco), a deconstructed “taco al pastor” (delicious and way healthier than its street food counterpart) and lambribs.

This restaurant's prestige is not far from being legendary: for years it's name has appeared on The World’s 50 Best Restaurants. Basque chefs Mikel Alonso and Bruno Oteiza are the masterminds behind Biko, who were able to mix mexican tradition with reknown Euskadi cuisine. The artful display of their dishes invites us to eat slowly, swallow carefully and explore with tiny bites the richness of their creations. Every dish must be paired with an equally crafted beverage. You don’t come to Biko to eat, you come to have a communion with its foie with tepache made from pineapple and corn; with its milk “origami” and its supreme quail with clarified gazpacho.

Quintonil is a piece of Mexico inside a small and private space —almost a speakeasy— run by chef Jorge Vallejo. It's menu uplifts Mexican cooking through creative and studied detours that have made this spot a favorite among foreign visitors. Some of its highlights are an amaranth tamal coated in salsa verde and quelites, the well-known chilacayotes bathed in homemade mole or a mamey ice cream with pinole (sweetened ground corn).

Vallejo’s cooking has leaned toward locally sourced ingredients that can be easily replaced in case they're not upt to the chef's standards. His poetical approach to traditional dishes and its courteous service make it one of the most accomplished dining experiences in the city.

Chef Edgar Núñez’s Sud 777 has enhanced the dining offer in the south of the city with a seasonal menu that attracts foodies citywide. Its proposal changes according to ingredients available in Xochimilco, creating dishes that are as distinctive as thrilling, such as the catch of the day with maguey flowers bathed in lovage sauce (a variation of celery), or avocado ice cream covered by rain clovers. However, the queen of the south is the turkey coated in ash and bathed in mole. At some point, Sud 777 merges with Kokeshi, its younger Japanese brother, which makes it unlikely for you to leave the place without pampering your palate.

Eduardo García is one of the Mexico’s most brilliant chefs. He cooked at Le Bernardin, the three Michelin star bistro in New York, and later learned from the importance of sustainable and creative gastronomy at Pujol. His learnings resulted in Maximo Bistrot, a restaurant that follows the philosophy of using and teaching about local products. The menu changes every day with impressive results. Some of the most memorable creations have been the mussels prepared with saffron and coconut, the duck with mashed potatoes and liver, the cod on a bed of lentils and its risottos.

Merotoro, a bull with a fish tail, is the creature that best portrays the surf and turf menu created by chef Jair Téllez, inspired by the local cuisine in Baja California, including its well-known regional wine. Its four-course menu has creative detours everyday, after a thorough evaluation of seasonal and organic ingredients, which gather up in delightful and generous portions. The sawfish ceviche, a variety of risottos and the roasted pork jowl crowned with a poached egg have definitely stolen the hearts —and palates— of their customers. Leave some space for the hazelnut volcano with banana ice cream. All the action takes place in the table.

With a menu composed by italian dishes with a slight mexican inspiration, Rosetta tries unusual ingredients (mainly, strange seafood) in the same way a sicilian nonna would cook them, but with the creative touch of its chef Elena Reygadas. Dishes are seasonal and adapt to the available produce throughout the year; however, we recommend the burrata or the breaded zucchini flowers filled with ricotta cheese. For the entree, its risottos are considered the best in the city. Finish on a dreamy note with its beautiful desserts: after all, Rosetta has a wonderful sister bakery.