Mexico’s best bars and restaurants

The world’s 50 best bars and restaurants are announced every year. In 2024, Mexico City’s Handshake Speakeasy was selected as the best bar in the world, whereas Barcelona’s Disfrutar was selected as the best restaurant. Handshake Speakeasy was followed by Bar Leone (Hong Kong) and Sips (also in Barcelona), while Disfrutar was followed by Asador Etxebarri (also in Spain, but in Atxondo, Basque Country) and Table by Bruno Verjus (Paris). Today, I will focus on Mexico’s best bars and restaurants.

Mexico’s best bars

There are four bars in Mexico among the world’s 50 best. As well as Handshake Speakeasy (number 1), there is also Tlecān (number 20), Licorería Limantour (number 32) and El Gallo Altanero (number 48). The latter is located in Guadalajara, whereas the rest are all located in Mexico City (in/near Roma Norte).

As well as these four bars, there are five more among the world’s 100 best. These include Arca (number 55), Baltra Bar (number 83), Rayo (number 87),  Zapote Bar (number 91) and Hanky Panky (number 93). Arca and Zapote Bar are both located in the state of Quintana Roo, on the Caribbean coastline of Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula. Arca is in Tulum, whereas Zapote Bar is in Playa del Carmen. The rest are all located in Mexico City (in/near Roma Norte).

When I visited the country, I was fortunate enough to visit three of Mexico’s best bars and try some of their delicious cocktails.

Tlecān

In Tlecān, I had two cocktails, a ‘negroni cacao’ (a negroni with mezcal instead of gin) and a ‘pulque colada’ (pulque with pineapple juice). I loved both and I would happily go back to try more cocktails! Most cocktails cost around 200 pesos (10 US dollars).

Licorería Limantour

In Licorería Limantour, I had a ‘tegroni’ (a negroni spin-off with tequila instead of gin) for 270 pesos (13 US dollars). They also do some snacks, but I’d already had dinner!

Arca

In Arca, I went for dinner as well as cocktails. My friend and I shared 4 dishes (they’re more like tapas) and a dessert (the avocake). We also had two cocktails each. I had a ‘Naked in Tulum’ (a cocktail with mezcal and Aperol) and an ‘Armando Santos’ (a cocktail with mezcal and vermouth). Cocktails in Tulum are generally more expensive than in Mexico City – the ones I had cost about 400 pesos each (20 US dollars).

I hope I visit Mexico again to visit the rest of the above-mentioned bars.

Mexico’s best restaurants

There are six restaurants in Mexico among the world’s 50 best. These include Quintonil (number 7), Pujol (number 33) and Rosetta (number 34). They are all located in Mexico City.

As well as three of Mexico’s best bars, I’ve been fortunate enough to visit two of the best restaurants: Pujol and Rosetta.

Pujol

In Pujol, we had the 9-course tasting menu, which was largely fish and seafood, but also included Pujol’s famous mole! We also had two cocktails each, and paid 5,000 pesos (250 US dollars) per person, which was worth it! We had made a reservation a few weeks earlier (we had put our name on the waiting list, as it was initially fully booked for all the days we checked).

Rosetta

In Rosetta, we had dinner twice. The first time, we shared a salad, and also had a starter, a main and a cocktail each. I had the white mole with carrots as a starter and a sweet potato tamal as a main. We paid 1350 pesos (67 US dollars) each. Rosetta is located in Roma Norte, very close to Licorería Limantour.

There are three more restaurants in Mexico among the world’s 100 best. These include Guadalajara’s Alcalde (number 67), Mexico City’s Sud 777 (number 82) and Fauna (number 100). The latter is located in Valle De Guadalupe, in Baja California.

Further reading

To better prepare for my trip, I used the Lonely Planet Mexico Travel Guide.

Alex

(the Traveling Psychiatrist)