“I love to eat sushi. After tacos, it’s probably my favorite food and the one that I go to the most. Edo Kobayashi has been in the culinary scene in Mexico for a while. He owns several restaurants in Mexico City, but this spot in the St. Regis hotel is definitely my favorite. It's a proper Japanese omakase experience, but you can do it à la carte. They have a set menu, but sometimes I don’t feel like eating an entire meal, so you can go there and just have a few pieces.”

“Edo Kobayashi also owns the bar Tokyo Music Bar, which is a few blocks away from Tatsugoro. The sound system is amazing, and he always has really good DJs that play using classic vinyl.”

“For breakfast, I think Lardo is a beautiful spot. Lardo is one of those few restaurants that you can go for lunch, breakfast, or dinner. It’s always simple but delicious. The food is always on point. If you go, expect a little line—it’s always busy. But it’s one of my favorite places for breakfast.”

“For coffee, Raku is one of my favorites. It’s a small shop in Roma Norte. Mauricio Zubirats is the owner: He worked in Japan for a while, and he decided to open this coffee shop. When he’s around, you can always have a nice chat with him. It’s not a big place—there are just a couple of seats—but he always has interesting coffees from different roasters around the world."

“For a market, my favorite is La Merced. A lot of the purveyors from Mexico City go to La Merced instead of Central de Abasto, which is the largest market in Mexico, so La Merced tends to be a little bit more local. It’s still a huge market and very old, but it has a really good market vibe.”

“After visiting the Mercado de la Merced, you can also go to Al Andalus, which is a beautiful, authentic Lebanese restaurant and my favorite in Mexico. The food is traditional, tasty, and is located in a downtown area that is not so touristy. Visiting offers a good view into old Mexico City.”

“For tacos, my favorite are at Los Panchos. There’s a small window that you can walk up to. I personally don’t like to sit down in the restaurant; I’d rather eat standing up. They specialize in carnitas: pork that has been fried in lard. I know it sounds heavy, but it’s actually not, and if you have just a couple of tacos, it’s a great pit stop. If you’re just a little hungry or you want a quick snack before a big dinner, Los Panchos is an amazing place.”

“Campobaja is a great place for lunch if you like seafood. It’s a restaurant project by a fishmonger who has a very beautiful approach to how he fishes, but also how he understands food, and you can see that in Campobaja. They have a rotating menu with different shellfish and fish that they fly in almost every day, especially from Baja California.”

“Rosetta is one of my favorite places for a sit-down, fancier dinner. Similar to Máximo Bistrot, it’s super nice because it’s not straightforward Mexican; it’s more Mexican products with a twist. You can see the Italian influence of Elena Reygadas’s training, and you can also see the Mexican heritage and the love for the country.”

“For dinner, Maximo is another favorite. Máximo has à la carte dishes but you can also do a tasting menu. What I like about Máximo is that it’s a personal project, so even though they use Mexican products, you can see the influence of Eduardo García’s French cuisine and his training in the U.S. It’s like a little French and a little Mexican.”

“The neighborhood Roma has many little shops. I buy clothes and some of our uniforms at Takamura: a project that revolves around simple, Japanese-inspired designs, but made in Mexico. It’s not a huge production; it’s more of a rotation of designs. They're always coming up with new things and they do a beautiful job with textiles.”