Mexico City tacos I adored (and one to skip)

On the Menu:

• Why it’s taken me so long to write this

• My guide to tacos in Mexico City

• Food lovers can’t miss Central de Abasto in CDMX

I’ve been sitting on writing a Mexico guide for seven months now (apologies to those I sent shitty bullet-point recommendations in the meantime). I blame MasterChef’s all-consuming shoot schedule, moving house, and adulting in general. That’s all partly responsible, but in truth, I ate so much good food in Mexico City and Oaxaca that I’ve been overwhelmed. If you could see my camera roll, you’d be impressed – perhaps a little shocked. Maybe even disgusted. In the end it took promising Substack an in-depth travel guide on the first Friday of every month, so here we are.

Part 1 of my Mexico City food guide features 10 taco spots that still make my chest and appetite swell just thinking about them – as well as one that everyone seems to recommend, but that I think you should avoid. They are biased towards the Roma Norte neighbourhood, as that’s where we stayed.

Two of the taco recommendations are found within the guts of Central de Abasto, the largest food wholesale market in the world. If you want to see, smell and taste the lifeblood of Mexico City – go. I’ve also included snaps and tasting notes on tropical fruit you can buy here (season permitting) and probably don’t get at home, unless you live in a similar climate.

I spent about five days total in Mexico City, either side of a bucket-list trip to Oaxaca. Let me say right now, clearly: if you love food and want to include day trips in your itinerary, that is not enough time. Honestly, if it’s your first visit and you’re greedy for overseas flavours – not just the food, but the culture, history and fabric of a place – plan for 10 days. There will be more Mexico to come, but for now, I don’t recommend reading this on an empty stomach.

Sincerely, Sofia x

You arrive in Mexico City after a long journey characterised by delayed planes and no legroom. You’re staying in Roma Norte and it’s 1am. What do you do? Go eat your first taco, of course. El Rey del Taco is walking distance from the Airbnb we stayed in, and it was a brilliant start to the trip. They serve all the classics with a particularly good salsa and toppings selection, but the pastor (pork from the vertical spit and pineapple), longaniza (similar to chorizo) and cabeza (chopped pig’s head) tacos are my picks.
Corner C. Coahuila & Mérida, Roma Norte, Cuauhtémoc, CDMX

With its retro bar stools, playful lightboxes and mirrored surfaces, Tacos del Valle is set up in the style of an old-school cenaduría or diner that spills out onto the pavement. The food backs it up. Taco toppings here are too generous to be contained by their tortillas. Beef and pork are cooked on a spinning trompo – literally “spinning top,” a vertical spit. The Tijuanita, a corn tortilla with a cheesy crust, piled with steak, guacamole and tiny thin fries, was my dining partner’s favourite taco in Mexico City. But the masterpiece is the Bistec con Tuétano, five beef tacos with a grilled marrow bone on the side. It’s rich, messy, requires all the salsas to balance it out, and is probably the only thing you need to order – it will fill you right up.
Av. Álvaro Obregón 130, Roma Norte, Cuauhtémoc, CDMX, tacosdelvalle.com