Mexico.
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49 places
Rooms you can walk into, ranked the way I would send you.
Key: what the badges mean
★ Michelin star · Bib Bib Gourmand · Green ★ Michelin Green Star · Michelin in the Michelin guide, no distinction · J Jeff's own note · Jeff ★★★★☆ 2019 his own rating out of five, and the year he gave it · new the venue itself opened recently · just added recently added to Jeff's list, whatever its age · 2◆ independent chef/industry recommendations · ! hygiene caution in force · ? no current public hygiene record, not a caution · keep walking Jeff has been and would walk past it · the line under a name says when to go: Destination (plan around it) / Solid (the dependable send) / Listed (on the radar). Under it, where the entry states one: how the room takes bookings, and the date I last checked the entry.
Go here first.
Where I'd actually send you first: the rooms I'd put a visitor in on night one, in town rather than an hour down the highway, spread so six cards are six different answers. Producers, markets and the rest of the city are below.
Huniik★just added
Destination · Yucatecan, creative · Parque Santa Ana, Centro · $$$$
booking essential
Roberto Solís runs twelve courses of Yucatecan cooking off an open pass, aguachile through pibil lamb to a habanero xe'ec.
Handshake Speakeasyjust added
Destination · Cocktails · Juárez
booking essential
Eric van Beek's team clarifies the piña colada and has kept the Fig Martini on since the bar opened. Two rooms sit at C. Amberes 65, one slow upstairs and one loud in the basement.
Expendio de Maíz Sin Nombre★just added
Destination · Mexican, heirloom corn · Roma Norte · $$
walk-in
Four shared tables sit on the Roma Norte sidewalk under no sign, and there is no menu: Jesús Salas Tornés asks whether you eat everything and the kitchen sends plates until you tap out.
CetliBib?
Solid · Mexican, moles · Villas Tulum · $$
book ahead
Claudia Pérez Rivas grinds her spices and herbs on stone metates and builds the moles from there. The istak is a fish fillet poached in seawater under a white almond mole.
HartwoodMichelin?
Solid · Mexican, wood fire · Tulum Beach · $$$
booking essential
Everything cooks over open fire in a wood-burning oven and grill the kitchen built by hand, and solar panels run the lights.
Somewhere tonight.
One tap hides everything shut today and everything that needs a booking, then sorts the rest by how close it is to you. I don’t publish opening hours, because they go stale faster than anyone can check them. Check the door before you go.
The dependable sends
Good cooking needs no occasion, and these are the ones I hand out on a normal Tuesday. 4 here.
Taquería El Califa de León★just added
Mexican, tacos · San Rafael · $
walk-in
They sear the gaonera on a plancha with lard, salt and lime, and press the tortilla beside you. The menu runs to four items, nobody sits down, and it trades until two in the morning.
Cocina Doña Paulajust added
Mexican home cooking, Tlaxcala recipes · Centro · $
walk-in
A hundred and twenty-five pesos buys a dish, a sopa de fideo, a litre of agua fresca and up to a kilo of tortillas. Tlaxcala recipes, on Calle 6 between the 10 and the 15.
Chef Rosalía Chayjust added
Maya, Yucatecan · Yaxunah
booking essential
Rosalía Chay Chuc cooks cochinita in the píib behind her house in Yaxunah, out of achiote she grows herself. There is no restaurant. You book, and you eat at her family's table.
Hotel El Mesón del Marquésjust added
Yucatecan · Centro · $$
book ahead
The kitchen, Hostería del Marqués, cooks Valladolid's own dishes: queso relleno, longaniza, lomitos, pavo en relleno negro.
On my list
These are on my list; I haven't been yet. 40 here.
El Fogón (Constituyentes)?
Mexican, tacos · Gonzalo Guerrero · $
walk-in
They cut tacos al pastor off the trompo from noon until eleven, seven days a week, and quesadillas, gringas and alambres sit behind them.
Lonchería Doña Mary?
Mexican, antojitos · Gonzalo Guerrero · $
walk-in
They cook quesadillas, tlacoyos and traditional soups on Avenida 30, from five in the evening until eleven. A local told Jeff to eat here. They close on Mondays.
El Pirata?
Mexican, seafood · Zazil-Ha · $
walk-in
They fry fish and build seafood tostadas on Calle 40 in Zazil-Ha, ten in the morning to eight at night. They close on Wednesdays.
Casona Sforzajust added
Mexican, local ingredients with French technique · La Barra de Colotepec
booking essential
Eleven brick vaults sit a few yards off the sand at La Barra de Colotepec, and the hotel restaurant, La Bóveda, cooks local produce through French technique. Adults only.
Taquería Orinocojust added
Mexican, tacos, norteño · Roma Norte · $
walk-in
The chicharrón comes soft inside and seared outside instead of shattering like a crisp, which is the taco to lead with. Roma Norte door, Álvaro Obregón 100, and it runs late.
Tacos La Chulajust added
Mexican, tacos · Juárez · $
walk-in
Order the chicharrón de queso first, then the taco de chuleta, then an agua de la jefa with horchata and strawberries. Bright walk-in taquería on Liverpool, in Juárez.