Top 10 culinary specialities in Mexico City

Mexican food is colourful, warm, spicy and spicy! It’s a feast as soon as you sit down to eat. Mexicans are notorious for not having the same eating habits as the rest of us. We French, and almost everyone else in the world, eat three meals a day: breakfast; lunch; a possible snack; and finally dinner. It’s what we’ve almost always known. But if you ever get the urge to travel to Mexico’s capital, Mexico City, you’ll find that breakfast in Mexico lasts from 8am until around 1pm. This is the most festive and important meal of the day for them. Then lunch comes around 2pm until 4.30pm, and finally dinner at around 9pm.

In fact, Mexicans don’t really have a fixed time for eating; they sometimes nibble all day long: “As long as you’re hungry, you eat”! That could be their motto. So it’s easy to find a welcoming restaurant at any hour of the night!

What to eat in Mexico City

1. Tacos

Yes, we have to start with a well-known classic. Tacos are the very ambassador of Mexican cuisine. It’s made up of a hot corn tortilla with a variety of fillings inside, all of which are sure to turn your stomach. You’ll find a variety of vegetables and meats, as well as chunks of onion and a little coriander, all seasoned with a chilli sauce. Long ago, this dish was taken by women to the fields to feed the hard-working men. Easily transportable and delicious, tacos gave them the strength and goodwill to carry on.

2. Chilaquiles

A little less well known than tacos, but just as tasty, chilaquiles are fried pieces of tortilla. A bit like crisps, you add meat, grated cheese, an egg, vegetables, crème fraîche and red chilli. A real assortment of foods! Very popular in Mexico City, it’s a high-calorie dish, but you have to try it at least once in your life to really know what true culinary bliss is. It’s up to you!

3. Tequila

Tequila is Mexico’s most popular spirit, a traditional drink that has quickly become the country’s national beverage. In Mexico City, it’s extremely easy to buy and enjoy: in every restaurant, bar and supermarket in town. There are over 500 brands of tequila in all, so you’re spoilt for choice! But don’t forget that drinking it is a ritual: you have to put a thin layer of salt on the back of your hand, swallow it, then drink it straight down, not forgetting to suck the famous lime that comes with the drink!

4. Ceviche

Ceviche is a particularly aromatic dish, with an easily recognisable smell that tends to tickle our nostrils before making our stomachs growl. Made from shellfish and raw fish, these are mixed with citrus fruits and local seasonings. The whole dish is usually sprinkled with lemon juice (which goes very well with fish). As fish is eaten raw, the most important thing is to choose the freshest fish to tantalise your taste buds. So, when you go to Mexico City and eat a Ceviche, you’ll be eating the fish of the moment, the one that is caught most frequently depending on the season.

5. Enchilada

This dish, once again made from a tortilla wrapped in a filling, is a real culinary nugget! It’s a bit like eating a pancake with pieces of meat inside, either white or red. Mexicans like to add a chilli-based chilli sauce (a local staple), cheese and a few pieces of tomato, not forgetting good old-fashioned onions. It’s a festive dish that’s fun to eat, and a particular favourite with children.

6. Churros

You may have eaten them in your life, but you’ve never tasted one as good as the one in Mexico City, believe us! Churros are the country’s flagship pastry, available in absolutely every little street food stall, and quick and easy to make. Shaped like spaghetti, Mexicans generally like to eat them plain, although they can be sprinkled with icing sugar or dipped in chocolate. It’s a divine dish that both young and old love!

7. Tamales

We bet you’ve never seen similar foods before, have you? Tamales arouse the curiosity of many travellers every year when they visit Mexico City. It’s one of the oldest dishes in Mexican culture, at least 5,000 years old, made from corn dough. A bit like a papillote, it’s sure to be one of the best culinary discoveries you’ll ever make! Wrapped in their crunchy leaves, they contain meat and other succulent fillings!

8. (Exotic) fruit juices

Mexico City is a warm place, where you’ll find sunshine on your plate. It’s also a place where you’ll have the chance to eat lots of exotic and tropical fruit, as a dessert or as a drink: bananas, pineapples, passion fruit, guava, papayas, chico zapote, pitahaya… Juicy, freshly-picked fruit just waiting to be tasted! You’ll find some of the best fruit juices you’ll ever taste, at reasonable prices, from the street vendors. Enjoy!

9. The Tres Leches

This is an unusual cake that is very popular in the coastal regions of Mexico. What makes it so original? The Mexicans bake it with three different types of milk, making it a bit like a “sponge cake”: unsweetened condensed milk, cream and sweetened condensed milk. A real explosion of flavours, which can be eaten with a delicious exotic fruit salad on the side. Smooth and creamy, Tres Leches is a sweet gem that visitors and tourists to Mexico City love.

10. The Huarache

Easily translated as ‘sandal’ because of its shoe-sole shape, this is a Mexican dish made with masa dough and pinto beans. It is usually eaten for breakfast. With vegetables and pieces of meat, although many add other fillings, such as cheese. Very popular with the inhabitants of Mexico City, this is a festive dish to get the day off to a good start!