Where the Chef Behind Rosetta Eats in Mexico City
A really good Mexico City Edition
Welcome to The Relisher’s third Mexico City edition! This week is a big one: I met with chef Elena Reygadas, one of the most celebrated and influential chefs in Mexico today.
Elena is the chef behind the Michelin-starred Rosetta, a restaurant consistently featured on The World’s 50 Best Restaurants and Latin America’s 50 Best lists. She also owns Panadería Rosetta, widely regarded as one of the best bakeries in Mexico City—and a favorite of chef Jorge Vallejo of two-starred Quintonil. Most recently, Elena was named World’s Best Female Chef 2023.
On a personal note, this is my favorite Mexico City edition yet. I loved my conversation with Elena—every place she mentioned made me excited to visit the city. Many of the places were completely new to me, which made it feel like a fresh take on the best of Mexico City.
Below, the acclaimed chef shares her favorite places to eat and drink in Mexico City right now—including her go-to Mexican restaurants, where she takes friends visiting the city, her favorite bars, and more.
Where I’m Eating in Mexico City Right Now
One of the places I feel most comfortable right now—and where I really love the food—is Cana. It’s run by two incredible women: Fabiola, who leads the kitchen, and her partner Isabella, who manages the dining room.
Fabiola’s food is both fresh and classic. That’s what I love most about it—it’s timeless, but with a lighter, crisper touch. It feels like a proper bistro. Not in a heavy way, but fresh and clean. You’ll always find really good salads on the menu—lots of vegetables, which I love. When I go out, I want to enjoy myself, but I don’t want to feel heavy afterwards.
Isabella is very knowledgeable about wine, but in a relaxed, non-pretentious way. I really like her taste—we gravitate toward the same kinds of wines: small producers, fragrant. bright, and never fussy. They mostly serve natural wines from Italy and France, but always the elegant kind—not funky, just beautifully balanced.
Their Caesar salad is delicious and it’s also on their brunch menu. Fabiola also makes a seasonal fruit salad that I adore. For example, in plum season, she does a version with different plums, vinegar, citrus, pecorino, nuts, and olive oil. It’s fruity but sharp and savory. Another favorite is the steak tartare. It’s super classic, and always perfect—the temperature, the seasoning, the quality of the meat.
Another place I’m loving right now doesn’t even have a name—everyone just calls it La Esquina, since it’s on a corner (it’s located at Veracruz 34, corner with Sinaloa). It’s a charming little restaurant with beautiful tablecloths, pretty plates, and flowers on the table.
The food is Italian, the kind of food I could eat every day. The menu is short: a few starters, a couple of pastas, and some mains. Michael Crespo is the chef, he likes it classic but he is not a purist and that is always so refreshing.
I usually go with friends, and we share everything. The vibe is very casual but well thought-out. I rarely make it to the mains. I always order their panzanella—a Tuscan-style bread salad made with chunks of crusty bread soaked in tomato, olive oil, and vinegar. It’s rarely seen in Mexico. They also do these amazing agrodolce sardines, with pine nuts, raisins, and fennel. And their sautéed spinach (a side dish) is something I never skip.
Everything is fresh and thoughtful. It’s simple food, but the attention to detail is what makes it special. Like the prosciutto with melon—served at its perfect ripeness.
The wine list is short but well curated. I might order something from Alessandro Viola, or an Austrian wine.
My Favorite Mexican Restaurants
The first is San Angel Inn—one of my favorite spots. It’s located in a beautiful old hacienda with a big courtyard. Their classic margaritas are served in jugs, submerged in silver ice buckets and placed tableside, so you can pour yourself while they're kept cool.
The food reminds me of the kind of food I grew up eating: simple, traditional Mexican dishes. Think: chile relleno (a mild poblano pepper stuffed with cheese), tostadas de pata (crispy tortillas with pickled pig's foot), sopa de tortilla (tomato-based soup with tortilla strips), and ribeye tacos.
I like going on weekends for a long lunch that turns into a sobremesa in the garden. The big tables and relaxed vibe make it perfect for spending an entire Saturday afternoon.
El Cardenal creates Mexican home-cooked style meals. I love going in the mornings for conchas with nata—the most known Mexican “pan dulce,” served with thick, Mexican-style clotted cream. They source their dairy from their own farm, so the quality is beautiful. Paired, of course, with hot chocolate—perhaps the Mexican staple breakfast—and many different options of eggs and seasonal delicacies like gusanos de maguey and escamoles, all of which are excellent.
They also roll out a cart of sorbets and ice creams, and you get to choose from ten different flavors.
Cantina del Bosque is another one of my favorites. Cantinas are a very Mexican tradition—usually places where you drink and eat simple food, often more about the drinks than the food. But this one stands out because the food is delicious.
Cantinas are better during lunch and are perfect for long “sobremesas”. It’s the kind of place you go on a Friday afternoon with friends and end up staying for hours. You drink cervezas (beer) or classic cantina cocktails—the one I love is called ‘Bull’, made with dark beer, rum and lemon, served ice-cold.
They serve amazing tongue tacos, and my favorite: a kind of taco made from mashed potatoes and cheese, wrapped in a tortilla and fried until perfectly crispy. They also have dishes like pescado a la sal (salt-baked fish) and a really good flan for dessert.
What makes this cantina special is that it’s been revitalized. It’s an old spot, but a few years ago, a refresh was done. It still feels traditional, but with better food and everything feels intentional—without trying too hard.
The Restaurants I Take Friends to in Mexico City
If a friend of mine is visiting for the first time, I’d definitely take them to the three restaurants mentioned above. But if we have more time, I’d also add Campo Baja to the list. This is a seafood restaurant that focuses on ingredients from particularly Baja California, where the sea is cold and the seafood is incredible. One dish I always get is the burrito de cangrejo—a tortilla with beans and either lobster or crab.
And of course, if it’s their first time in Mexico City, I’d take them to Pujol (two Michelin stars). It’s a tasting menu, so you need to set time aside—but it’s a beautiful experience. The taco omakase is completely unique: handmade tortillas with seasonal fillings, from abuela-style stews to elegant vegetables with beautiful sauces. Everything is thoughtfully explained from start to finish.
The Best Cocktail Bars in Mexico City
I like Ticuchi, from the same team behind Pujol. It’s a great spot if someone doesn’t want to commit to a full tasting menu. The cocktails are great—especially the ones based on agave distillates, whose selection is abundant and well curated. Their music makes you happy.
What people don’t talk about enough is the food. It’s Oaxacan-style—and it’s delicious. My favorite dish is the tamal de esquites (a tamal made out of fresh corn instead of nixtamalized masa). It’s not always listed on the menu, but they always have it, so be sure to ask. It’s really special.
I also love the tlayuda de haba—a large, crispy tortilla topped with fava beans, asparagus, mint, macadamia nuts, baby corn, lemon vinaigrette, and sumac. Although it’s a cocktail bar, I love coming here for dinner.
Another favorite is TLECAN, a bar with one of my absolute favorite cocktails: a pulque colado. It’s like a piña colada, but made with pulque—a Mesoamerican drink made with the fermented sap of the maguey. Since it can’t be pasteurized, it’s rarely used in cocktails, but here it works beautifully.
My Favorite Stores in the City
I love Fundación Marso, because my favorite ceramist, Perla Valtierra, has her showroom here. The glazes are what stand out most—softly colored, not too shiny, not too matte. You can see the artist’s hand in each piece. Some bowls even have visible thumbprints or wavy edges shaped by fingers. It’s very human and still feels modern. Although it’s a showroom, you can buy beautiful bowls, vases, and pieces for the home.
Another favorite is La Gallina de Guinea, a tiny bookstore entirely focused on food. It’s not just cookbooks—they carry academic works, and rare titles, all related to food. The owner, Andrea, knows every book and gives the best recommendations. It’s one of those magical places where you can spend hours discovering something new.
And then there’s Mvndo Varón—a concept shop celebrating high-quality Mexican products made by designers, artists, artisans, and creatives, with a focus on easily transportable pieces. What really stands out for me is the jewelry: contemporary, elegant, and completely local. It’s such a beautiful example of modern design and Mexican heritage coming together.
HERE is a Google Map with all the locations listed above.
Thanks for reading,
Gabrielle