What to Eat in Mexico
Mexican food is maize, chilli and a great deal of local variety: breakfast of fried tortillas in salsa, tacos carved from a spit at midnight, a long lunch at two, and moles and stews that take days.
Mexican cooking starts from maize and chilli and goes in a hundred directions. Oaxaca, Yucatán, Puebla, Jalisco and the north are, in food terms, separate countries.
In Mexico City the day is built around lunch, which is the main meal and falls between two and four. Breakfast is lighter, dinner is smaller and later, and the street fills the gaps with tacos, corn and tamales.
The best meal in the city, a Mexico City food guide says, may cost 20 pesos and come from a man on a bicycle. Cash is essential at markets and street stalls.
How a day of eating goes
Breakfast, the desayuno, is often chilaquiles, fried tortilla pieces simmered in salsa, or a tamale from a metro vendor, sometimes inside a bread roll, which is called a guajolota.
The comida is the main meal. In a fonda it is a fixed-price menu: a fruit water or horchata, a soup, rice or pasta, a main stew and sometimes a dessert, for 50 to 150 pesos.
Dinner, the cena, is smaller and later, and often taken at a taquería or a street stall.
Breakfast and brunch
Breakfast is a hot, savoury meal built on tortillas and salsa.
Chilaquiles
Fried tortilla pieces in a red or green salsa, topped with cream, onion and cheese, and often an egg. A breakfast staple.
Huevos rancheros
Fried eggs on warm tortillas under a cooked tomato salsa.
Guajolota
A tamale tucked inside a bread roll, sold by vendors at metro stations.
Machaca con huevo
Shredded dried beef scrambled with eggs, a northern breakfast.
Molletes
A split roll spread with refried beans, covered in cheese and grilled, served with salsa.
Street food and snacks
Street food in Mexico City is cheap, and cash is all you need. No tip is expected at a stall.
Tacos al pastor
Pork marinated in dried guajillo chillies, achiote, vinegar and citrus, stacked on a spit called a trompo and carved into tortillas.
Elote
Boiled or grilled corn rolled in mayonnaise, cheese and chilli, with lime.
Tlacoyos
Oval patties of blue maize dough stuffed with beans and cooked on a griddle.
Tlayuda
A huge crisp tortilla from Oaxaca spread with beans and topped with cheese and meat.
Tacos de canasta
Soft tacos steamed in a basket, filled with potato, beans or chicharrón.
Torta ahogada
A crusty roll of pork soaked in a chilli sauce, from Guadalajara.
Tacos de pescado
Battered fried fish in a tortilla with cabbage and sauce, from Baja California.
Quesadilla
In Mexico City a quesadilla may not contain cheese unless you ask for it, unlike in other regions.
Starters and small plates
Small plates arrive with a drink and a basket of tortillas.
Esquites
Sweetcorn kernels simmered with epazote and served in a cup with mayonnaise, cheese, lime and chilli.
Guacamole
Mashed avocado with onion, chilli, coriander and lime.
Aguachile
Raw prawns in a lime and green chilli marinade, from Sinaloa. Needs very fresh shellfish.
Queso fundido
Melted cheese in a dish, often with chorizo, scooped into tortillas.
Sopes
Thick small masa discs with a pinched rim, topped with beans, meat and salsa.
Soups and stews
Soups are a course of the comida, and some are meals of their own.
Pozole
A soup of large corn kernels and meat, in red, green or white versions, served with radish, lettuce, lime and oregano.
Birria
A stew of goat or beef in a chilli broth from Jalisco, now also served in tacos with a cup of broth to dip.
Sopa de lima
A turkey or chicken soup from Yucatán sharpened with lime and topped with fried tortilla strips.
Sopa azteca
A tomato and chilli broth with fried tortilla strips, avocado and cheese.
Caldo de res
A clear beef soup with corn, courgette, carrot and cabbage.
Main dishes
The big dishes are slow, regional and for sharing.
Cochinita pibil
Pork marinated in achiote and sour orange, wrapped in banana leaves and cooked until it falls apart, from Yucatán.
Carnitas
Pork cooked slowly until tender, then browned, from Michoacán. Eaten in tacos.
Tamales
Maize dough with a filling, wrapped in corn husks or banana leaves and steamed. There are many regional forms.
Mole poblano
A sauce of chillies, seeds, spices and chocolate poured over turkey or chicken, from Puebla.
Chiles en nogada
Poblano chillies stuffed with fruit and meat under a walnut sauce and pomegranate seeds, a dish of August and September in Puebla.
Enchiladas
Tortillas dipped in chilli sauce, filled and rolled, with cream and cheese.
Barbacoa de borrego
Lamb cooked in a pit in maguey leaves, from Hidalgo.
Pescado zarandeado
A whole fish opened out, marinated and grilled over wood, from Nayarit.
Cabrito
Young goat roasted over embers, from Monterrey.
Desserts and sweets
Sweets are often fried, milky or made with cinnamon and piloncillo.
Churros
Fried sticks of dough rolled in cinnamon sugar, usually dipped in hot chocolate.
Pan de muerto
An orange-blossom bread eaten at the Day of the Dead.
Capirotada
A bread pudding made at Lent with cheese, piloncillo syrup and dried fruit.
Arroz con leche
Rice cooked in milk with cinnamon and sugar.
Flan
A baked egg custard with a caramel top.
Drinks
Cold fruit waters by day and agave spirits at night.
Aguas frescas
Coolers of jamaica (hibiscus), tamarind or rice. Served with the comida.
Horchata
A creamy drink of rice with cinnamon and vanilla.
Mezcal
A smoky agave spirit from Oaxaca, made by roasting the agave in pits.
Tequila
An agave spirit made in Jalisco and neighbouring states, from unaged blanco to aged extra añejo.
Café de olla
Coffee brewed in a clay pot with a cinnamon stick and unrefined sugar.
Michelada
Mexican beer with lime, Worcestershire sauce and a chilli-salt rim.
Champurrado
A thick hot drink of masa and chocolate, drunk in winter mornings.
Tejate
An old Oaxacan drink of cacao, maize and mamey seed, beaten by hand until foamy.
What is changing
A March 2026 Mexico City food guide still puts the street taco, the market and the fonda at the centre, and sets them against fine dining such as Pujol. No source read for this pass describes a change in the way Mexico eats.