Colonia Condesa Restaurants

Choosing your taqueria chain in Mexico City is kind of like choosing your soccer team: It's likely to cause some debate and is a marker of age, social standing, tastes, and politics. The main divide seems to be between El Farolito and El Califa, so much so, that there is one street in the Condesa where the two warring factions are directly across from one another. Both serve great tacos, whether its steak, nopal, chicken, pork belly, or the standard al pastor (spit-fired, marinated pork), but each has its own specialties. El Farolito, which is slightly more old-school has its own salsa especial recipe, a mix of all their salsas thrown together on the grill—dangerously spicy and addictive. Meanwhile, El Califa offers "the Costra" which was invented in a taco stand outside one of the upscale nightclubs in the 90's and became legendary: it's a tortilla topped with an abundant amount of crisped cheese and then filled with a meat topping. Try both: We try to be non-partisan when it comes to tacos (though we're starting to lean toward El Califa).

This spot from the owners of Contramar is yet another successful foray into importing quality seafood to Mexico City. With their support, Chef Jair Téllez , who first made a name for himself with Laja, a restaurant located in the Valle de Guadalupe wine region in the Baja Peninsula, brings his brand of Spanish-influenced, northern coastal cuisine to this street-side deck dining room in the Condesa. In the spirit of surf and turf for which the restaurant is named, there are delicate ceviches, seasonal salads, whole roasted fish, and serious hunks of lamb and pork on offer. Along with the food, the wine list boasts many of Mexico's best producers from the Ensenada region in the north, and there are Mexican craft beers available, too.