This tiny restaurant on Roma’s outskirts is only open from Thursday to Sunday with limited hours, but it’s worth adjusting your plans and making a reservation via Instagram. It excels at well-executed Mediterranean-Mexican small plates for lunch or dinner. Here, the beauty is the simplicity of each dish—they take a handful of ingredients and make them shine, like their famous avocado tostadas topped with just furikake and homemade salsa matcha.

At this Pacific Northwest-inspired restaurant, all of their meat is farm-raised, most of their produce is sourced locally, and just about everything on the hearty menu will be cooked in a wood-fired oven and come out nice and smoky. Their cocktail menu is impressive, but we usually stick with one of the many hard cider options, which go great with all that char.

This probably isn’t the first time you’ve heard of Contramar, and it won’t be the last. It’s legendary for its seafood-focused menu, and you should absolutely make a point to come here for the tuna tostadas and whole fish covered in red and green sauce. Make a reservation for lunch, when the sprawling dining room becomes an all-out party. If this is your first time in CDMX, a meal at Contramar is essential dining.

The step-above-casual date night spot in Roma is Pigeon. It’s an energetic cafe on a charming corner in Plaza Río de Janeiro, and is a cozy, classed-up setting with mid-century modern decor, leather booths, and dim lighting. For a place this nice, it’s surprisingly always easy to walk in and get a table. The menu uses Mexican ingredients like zucchini blossom, avocados, and local seafood and mixes them up with a European flair.

Chicken is something that Mexico excels at, especially when you consider that it’s a key ingredient of enchiladas, mole, and chilaquiles. So a restaurant entirely focused on poultry is a welcome addition to CDMX. The options here are varied: you can get a Middle Eastern-inspired grilled flour tortilla sandwich slathered with labneh and shredded chicken, as well as the city’s most famous dish, tacos al pastor (with chicken subbed in for pork, of course).

Orinoco has some of the best tacos in town, and prioritizing it for a late-night meal is always a great idea. Definitely get a round of the tacos de chicharrón—instead of crispy, potato chip-like slices of fried pork rinds, Orinoco’s are soft on the inside and seared on the outside, resulting in a fun mix of textures. And, yes, you should also go for their tacos al pastor, which are arguably the best in all of CDMX.

Rosetta is a beautiful restaurant inside a townhouse, with a menu that’s predominantly Italian with a Mexican touch. Expect things like pillowy ricotta-stuffed ravioli covered in a creamy lemon sauce, and tagliatelle punched up with some chile de árbol. Our favorite time to be here is lunch when the room fills with light, but if you’re looking to enjoy a romantic night out, dinner at Rosetta should be at the top of your list. (And yes, you should definitely go to Panadería Rosetta for pastries.)

El Hidalguense should be your tacos de barbacoa stop on a Friday, Saturday, or Sunday—and that’s because those are the only days they’re open. These are hands-down the best slow-cooked lamb tacos in Mexico City. Their only location is intended to look and feel like a country ranch in the state of Hidalgo, and is most busy in the mornings (barbacoa is one of Mexico’s most beloved hangover cures) so come closer to lunch to avoid the crowds.

Máximo Bistrot is a restaurant that’s kind of French, kind of Mexican, and one of the best spots in town for a hot date or group dinner. It’s a fun atrium-like space with great cocktails made of out-there ingredients, and they do really delicious spins on dishes you’ve seen before, like a caesar salad with headcheese. They also have a great wine list, including some Mexican choices, and operate a breakfast/brunch spot called Lalo! that’s just a few blocks away.

There might be more excellent tacos per square block in Mexico City than anywhere else in the known universe. And while most of them are filled with delicious meats and fish, we’re pretty confident that there are no better vegan tacos than those at Por Siempre Vegana. The taco de milanesa, served with avocado, is incredible, and worth the almost constant wait for a table here during peak hours.

Canton Mexicali looks like a pretty straightforward Chinese restaurant. And that’s because up until a few years ago, it was. New owners have kept the very mid-’90s feel, but now serves Mexicali-style Chinese food to cool kids and a few loyal holdovers. The camarones chipotle (fried shrimp in a sweet and sour chipotle salsa) are an essential order, and the perfect introduction to what’s happening here. Add the cucumber salad, dan dan noodles, and a round of Tsingtaos for the full experience.

Noodles are the focus at this Japanese spot from a chef whose grandfather invented one of Mexico’s most coveted snacks, cacahuates Japoneses, or Japanese peanuts. Following this family tradition, Fideo Gordo fuses traditional Mexican flavors with well-executed Asian dishes. The lamb obi udon—which mixes barbacoa with serrano chiles and handmade udon noodles—is a standout on the focused menu. Don’t just stick to noodles, though: the make-your-own tuna and kampachi taquito is a perfect appetizer.

Hugo feels like a Lower East Side transplant with a Mexican twist, which we guess is what happens when two former New York residents relocate here and open a place. Their wines, of course, are a highlight—they’re mostly natural, and many of them come from Mexico’s wine region in Valle de Guadalupe. Food-wise they keep it simple, with small plates of things like kampachi crudo and fennel with fava beans (though they also make a fantastic roasted chicken).

In a city where you can easily find incredible Japanese or Spanish dishes, great Italian food is still hard to come by. Enter: Sartoria, an always lively spot that fills the gap with perfectly executed homemade pasta and dedication to traditional Italian cooking. Classics like the most buttery cacio e pepe ever and a “twenty layer” lasagna might be on the menu, alongside less typical dishes like cauliflower milanese that all pair well with a glass from their mostly natural and biodynamic wine.

Loup was one of the first natural wine bars to open in Mexico City, and it’s still one of the best for unexpected, funky wines—their list is well-curated, with small-batch bottles from all over Europe. The food menu is small, but you can definitely have a full meal here: the juicy wagyu flank steak with perfectly creamy mashed potatoes is the standout dish. If you’re only sort-of in a wine mood, ask for a vermouth spritz with a splash of pét-nat.

More restaurants in Mexico City have become increasingly international over the past decade, and this Thai spot is another example of that. You’ll see familiar noodle dishes on the menu, but the standouts here are the “platos fuertes,” or entrees, like the khao soi and the khai paloh with egg and pork belly. Add on a plate of gai tod golae, which will be some of the best fried chicken wings you'll ever try, and wash it all down with one of their mezcal cocktails.

True to its namesake, this is a standing-room-only taquería, and a perfect spot for a mid-afternoon snack. The tacos de chile poblano con queso is a must-order (and only costs around $2.50 for an order of two) and their specialty—machitos de carnero, or finely chopped and perfectly cooked goat tripe—is equally as good. Try them both with their salsa morita and some sliced onions with lime from the condiments station.

Butcher & Sons has several locations in town and makes the best burgers in CDMX, especially the Bowie with roasted poblano peppers and fried tortilla. For vegetarians, the plant-based Yorke burger with vegan cheese is as close to a classic cheeseburger as you can get without, you know, actually eating a cheeseburger. They also collaborate with local chefs on a unique monthly burger (chefs from Pujol and Contramar have both participated before).

There’s always a line at the Roma Norte location of Churrería El Moro, whether you show up first thing in the morning, around lunchtime, or right after dinner. And for good reason—this local chain (with 15 locations around the city) makes some of the best churros in existence. You can get a four-pack fresh out of the fryer and covered in cinnamon sugar with a side of hot chocolate dip for around $4.