The best bars and cafés México

Since it is difficult to find an establishment that serves good tea in Mexico City and Mexico, it is our duty to recommend this small tea salon, which is opposite San Jacinto Square. Tea lovers can choose on the spot a cup of green tea, black, yellow, or white, or buy a package of these precious sheets to enjoy it throughout the journey. Only hic: the facilities that appear to be highly random. If the place is closed during your passage, or you prefer the coffee, rabattez-vous on Café Solo Dios, at the corner of San Jacinto Square. There is a very good coffee made from organic beans, and the establishment opens every day without fault from 7 am to 22 pm.

This cantina bears the name of a Mexican that is revered in northern Mexico by migrants trying to move to the United States. While La Paz avenue is flooded with chic restaurants, this establishment seeks to offer a more casual atmosphere, inspired by popular bars and cantinas in the small villages of Mexico. It's successful! Even though customers are among the privileged classes, they feel transported far away from San Angel district. Possibility to dance and restore. 

Nuclear is not a bar, it is a pulquería: neither beer nor wine is sold, but pulque, a milky and viscous beverage made from the fermentation of freshly recovered sap or agave. The hotel opened its doors at the beginning of 2011. However, although it is a very recent pulquería, the decoration of the establishment is consistent with tradition: a saloon door at the entrance, simple benches arranged around wooden tables, terracotta cups to taste the beverage, and magnificent frescoes on the walls that represent pulque drinkers, and the landscape of the region, with its volcanoes and magueys. A good address to explore this ancestral drink.

Owned by actor Diego Luna, the place is set on two levels, in a decor that is at once popular, kitschy and trendy. La Bipo deserves its name, which comes from bipolar: on the ground floor, the atmosphere is relaxed and minimalist, with large communal wooden tables; while the second floor offers a more elaborate décor and a warm and festive atmosphere. Concerts, open-air roof terrace, successful cocktails and good food. Without a doubt, a place not to be missed in the neighbourhood.

A small, dark and uncluttered bar with a nice selection of music, separated from the street by a thick red curtain. There's no fuss here, just mezcal to drink and beer to cool down. And for botanas(tapas), go to the sidewalk where they sell quesadillas. The place is very popular (the clientele is rather young) and often crowded, we recommend you to arrive early, especially on the evenings of weekend, to have a place at the bar or on the floor, in the small mezzanine where one settles on large cushions on the ground.

Next to Parque España, La Clandestina is a small bar that presents its forty or so mezcals in large glass bottles hanging on the wall behind the bar; the visual effect is magical. Or maybe it's the effect of the delicious mezcals served here, neat and accompanied by a few slices of orange sprinkled with chili... To start off gently, you can let yourself be tempted by one of the excellent cocktails, especially the avocado one. You can drink it at the bar, standing outside or sitting in the back room. Local clientele. Very nice.

A lounge bar beautifully decorated. Favorite for music of the 1980 s and 1990 s. 

A nice cantina for a drink. You can also eat it.

One of the most important cantinas in the historic center, opened in 1925. Here you can eat and drink to the rhythm of jarocho and mariachi music. Live music, and the good news is that there is no entrance fee. You pay for your drinks and food, and that's enough to enjoy the music. The decor, with its walls decorated with large paintings of mariachis and Mexican farmers wearing sombreros, sets the tone. As for the ceiling, it is covered with papel picados, those small perforated and multicolored flags typical of Mexico.

A bar very popular with Mexican youth (beer is not very expensive). Several floors, and a terrace. Attention to noise on Saturday evening.

In the heart of Coyoacán, here is a very nice bar which wants to be the cathedral of the artisanal mezcal . It serves mezcal-based cocktails and pulque, but also craft beers. Concerts are often organized there. It is also possible to eat on the spot of a kitchen with traditional accents, with copious and rather successful dishes (the speciality is the marrow bone served with a soup of beans). The decoration of the place, with colored walls, reminds the traditional colonial architecture of Coyoacán.

Subdued, intimate and refined, this is a good place to start the evening with creative and original cocktails. Ideal for a good little chat with friends in this bar which follows the concept of speakeasies, clandestine bars during the prohibition in the United States: you enter through the kitchen door, hidden in a fridge.. . The place being very popular, think of reserving your table a few weeks in advance. If you can, we recommend that you go to Hanky Panky during the week, as it is very crowded on weekends.

Its history dates back to the late 19th century. The cantina has faithfully preserved its large bar carved out of wood and its lighting fixtures made from German beer mugs and stained glass. Inside, the old sign that forbids entry to "women, miners, shoeshine boys and people in uniform" still stands. The clientele is made up of locals and tourists curious about the place where William Burroughs used to come and throw himself a few. They still serve very traditional calditos de camarón and tacos that change every day.

The clientele of this unusual establishment, founded in 1954, looks like Rimbaud's Bateau Ivre... You enter through a corridor of blue tiles riddled with inscriptions of popular wisdom, to literally burst into a large room lit by neon lights and with old tiles. Meanwhile, the plastic furniture is dressed with deceptively shiny tablecloths and a Virgin of Guadalupe flashes to the rhythm of a Christmas garland. Here, you can still eat traditional dishes as you pour yourself a glass.

Take a dash of the poker scene setting in Casino Royale, a dash of the sophistication of the most lavish palaces and a dash of instrumental jazz and you have a rough impression of Fifty Mils. Opened in 2015 in Mexico City's iconic Four Seasons, the elegant bistro's long marble counter is where you toast the bartenders for their spectacular feats: their cocktails. We highly recommend you try the " Bugs Bunny" cocktail (gin, carrot juice, lemongrass syrup, chilies and Fernet). A delight!

The Rosetta restaurant has been so successful that Chef Elena Reygadas decided to open a bakery next door to cater for sweet tooths. And the gamble paid off! Here, everything is excellent, from the croissant to the scone and the muffins, not forgetting the bread (baguette or cereal, among others). Even the pastries leave us wondering; let yourself be tempted by the mille-feuille. The place also offers a few dishes, including very good sandwiches. Once again, it's a great success, and the place is always full from morning to night.

This large house houses the best of literature and beautiful books on Mexico on several floors. The place also serves as a café, with its many tables and large armchairs. Special mention for the pleasant terrace, although we have a preference for the indoor tables which allow us to enjoy the hipster setting. On the menu, simple and rather successful dishes: eggs and fresh juice for brunch and burgers, salads and tacos for dinner. Three other similar branches are scattered throughout the city.

As you walk up the charming cobbled Higuera Street, you'll notice many shops that are very appealing... this little blue-fronted café tops the list! It serves the best coffee in the neighborhood, if not the capital. If you're craving a good latte with a divine foam, a cappuccino with a heart, or a full-bodied black coffee, Café Avellaneda will satisfy you. Some surprising cocktails too. The place is very small, but you can still sit along the counter and enjoy your hot drink served on a wooden tray. Charming.

Open on two floors in an old-fashioned brocante decor with gilded ornaments, porcelain, antique furniture and black and white portraits, this charming café serves delicious snacks, empanadas, bagels, quiches and desserts in a warm and surprising atmosphere. Satie or Liszt music echoes through the speakers creating a nostalgic atmosphere of the early 20th century. One can both immerse oneself in reading a good novel on the small terrace of the second floor and enjoy tea time with friends.

Chilangos call Blend Station the mecca for freelancers in Mexico City. In a spacious and bright space, fair trade coffees from independent producers from around the world are offered. The baristas don't hesitate to share their knowledge about the different characteristics of their products while concocting superior cappucinos, flat whites, mochas and smoothies. They also serve avocado toast, shakshukas and other healthy and nutritious dishes made with fresh and organic ingredients.

In this dark and intimate tasting room, you will participate in a lively and constructive exchange about the mysteries of mezcal. Not only do the staff teach you about the production methods of this delectable drink made from the leaves and roots of the yucca tree, but they also present you with a rigorous selection of handcrafted and ancestral mezcals from some 40 varieties of agave. They collaborate with independent and certified producers and guarantee an irreproachable quality of their products. A real surprise.