Mexico City Restaurants

If you think that Mexican cuisine is all beans and avocados, the Top Ten Restaurants in Mexico City will change your mind. Yes, some of the best restaurants in Mexico's capital do serve beans and avocados, but it is likely that one of the city's top chefs has rethought these humble ingredients and created something entirely new…and uniquely Mexican.

My #1 Pick: Contramar. Mexico City restaurateurs Gabriela Cámara and Pablo Bueno serve only the finest seafood at Contramar, located in Roma Norte. A favorite dish is the snapper "a la talla" - an entire grilled, butterflied fish, flavored with red chile and green parsley.

Residents of the Federal District - known as chilangos - went into deep mourning when one of their favorite restaurants, Aguila y Sol, closed its doors unexpectedly. But, the widow's weeds have been discarded now that renowned chef Martha Elena Ortiz has opened Dulce Patria, which is #2 on the Top Ten list.

A third celebrity chef, Ricardo Muñoz Zurita, the influential author of Dictionary Encyclopedia of Mexican Gastronomy, conceived and operates #3 on the Top Ten list: Azul y Oro. Unexpectedly located on the UNAM campus in southern Mexico City, Azul y Oro frequently holds food festivals that focus on individual regions of Mexico - and does it at reasonable prices, too.

If you do tire of Mexican food, try one of the city's many esteemed restaurants that serve the cuisine of other countries. Astrid y Gaston, my #8 choice, serves high-end New Andean fare, straight from Peru.

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