Mexico City, February 5-9, 2026

Written By Gary Wong

#CDMXTacoTrip

Between my annual turns on the Delta Medallion hamster wheel and my Amex Delta credit cards (which some would say is the actual business Delta is in these days), I have it pretty good. Upgrades automatically to Comfort+, occasionally to First and domestic Delta One, access to Delta Sky Clubs? Can’t complain. But one of the benefits of an Amex Delta Platinum or Reserve is a companion certificate and, as someone without a ready-made companion, that’s a benefit I’ve left on the table some years.

(Yes, I am aware that this is, as per usual, a very first-world problem.)

Thankfully, there are friends for that. During a dismal June 2025, I’m thankful that Genevieve was down for a trip to Mexico City the following February, thus allowing me to actually utilize an oft-burned benefit.

The City

I’ll get to the places we visited and explored in a bit but I feel like I need to start off by lavishing praise on their public transit. There’s a vast metro system, the Mexico City Metro, that we didn’t take advantage of as much as we could have. And why would we when they have an equally vast bus rapid transit system, the Mexico City Metrobús, which tend to move in their own lanes on the street with island platforms with fare gates like you’d see on a metro line. Then there’s the multi modal stations where BRT and metro intersect without having to navigate car traffic to transfer. Just incredible stuff. You get the feeling they place greater value on BRT when they charge MX$6 for it versus MX$5 for the metro.

What struck me the most was how utilized public transit is here - it seemed like the train cars and buses were full most times of the day, every day. When you take a rideshare to get around town instead, you understand why, as the traffic on local streets was horrendous. Buses aren’t glamorous or as comfortable as a private car but give them their own private lanes? They move.

The omnipresence of cars on the streets of CDMX was never more stark when their presence was not. Paseo de la Reforma, one of the city’s main thoroughfares, closes to vehicular traffic every Sunday from 8 am to 2 pm. This nearly 15 kilometer stretch of road becomes an incredibly wide-open playground for walkers, runners, and cyclists with staffing to manage flow and programming throughout. It’s like NYC’s Summer Streets but, ya know, not just in the summer. This was a great way to get a long run in and see more of the city, unencumbered by and without having to dodge car traffic.

Homes, Royal and Otherwise

Chapultepec Castle, formerly the home of Mexico’s imperial leadership, is now the home of Mexico’s national museum. There’s a number of historical artifacts and exhibits, as well as artwork housed here and it’s all worth checking out. Really, though, you’re there because this is a fucking castle and that and the grounds it sits on is the real attraction here.

Some of the rooms throughout the castle, staged as they would appear back in the 1800s, are just magnificent and ornate. Hell, the stairways, primitive elevators, hallways, doors, and windows hold incredible visual appeal. And then you walk around the grounds, go through another end of the castle, go up some stairs and you end up with some of the best views of the city you’ll get.

Museo Frida Kahlo, while not a castle, was an actual home and you get that sense of it having truly been lived in as you walk through it. Home to famed Mexican artist Frida Kahlo and, eventually, her husband Diego Rivera (also an artist), there are nods to their lives throughout, nowhere more obvious than in the kitchen with both their names preserved in opposite corners of a wall (hilariously, this did not exist in her lifetime). The real treats here are, of course, the various paintings and artworks by Kahlo housed within.

Taco Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday

Over the course of four days on the ground, guess how many tacos I had. If your guess is 10, 12, maybe even 15, then, wow, you must think I’m a normal person.

I am not a normal person.

During my time in Mexico City, across four days where I had the chance to have non-breakfast meals? I had 27 tacos. Twenty Seven. TWENTY SEVEN. Honestly, if it hadn’t been for want of foods other than tacos or the free hotel breakfast, I probably coulda woulda cracked 30. Heck, I had NINE at dinner the first night in town!

(Yes, I am ashamed that I peaked so soon.)

My CDMX tour de taco ran the spectrum from a small up-and-comer to well-regarded spots to a streetside stand. There was even a Michelin-starred joint in the mix and with that pedigree, you’d assume that would be the best of the lot.

It wasn’t - we’ll get to the winner later but let’s first talk about El Califa de León. It’s fine. I think it had the purest presentation where it was simply a cut of meat atop a tortilla. No points for creativity here but they were working with well-seasoned meat cooked perfectly and fresh tortillas. When I say fresh, I’m talking them making the tortillas while I watched. Is it worthy of a Michelin star, though? That’s debatable.

Based on my research going into this trip, I would’ve laid odds on Tacos del Valle being the winner (non-Michelin division) and, well, they came close! I had the aforementioned nine tacos for dinner here - three kinds, three of each - and they were all so very good. Honestly, if I hadn’t gotten tacos the next day for lunch, this probably wins out.

So, of the six taco spots I hit on this trip, what hit best? This one was not on my list ahead of the trip but when realizing we’d be hitting Chapultepec Castle our first morning and seeing just how (relatively) far from where we were staying it was, I started looking for taco spots within a short walk from it. Enter Castacán, a tribute to all things porcine. All six tacos (no repeats) here had some form of pork in it, whether it be braised, roasted, or fried. They were all just so delicious but if you had to put a gun to my head, the one marinated in sour orange juice was the best one though the one with suckling pig topped with crispy pork belly was a very close second cuz, crispy pork belly.

The (Other) Food and Drinks

But man cannot subsist on tacos alone, right? To be honest, that’s kinda how I rolled on this trip but made it out to a veritable dining institution in this city, El Cardenal. A solid lunch where I did have taco-adjacent food in the form of a torta, but I did also have a braised beef shank which was very much delectable. The only other non-taco meal on this trip? Well, that would be dinner at the Michelin-starred Máximo which included indulging with some incredibly tender Wagyu.

We managed to visit five breweries/taprooms this time and, of the five, the best combination of beer and experience would be Falling Piano Brewing Co. I wouldn’t say any of their beers were spectacular but they had a vast selection and variety, with a great vibe in the taproom. We had such a good time and, seeing they were taking reservations for the Super Bowl two nights later, we made a booking just so we’d have somewhere to watch the game besides the hotel bar (or room).

Four of North America's 50 Best Bars

If there’s one thing that Mexico City excels in (besides tacos, of course), it’s cocktail, particularly cocktail bars. All four on this trip have been on some recent edition of the 50 Best’s North America’s 50 Best Bars list with all four placing in the 2026 edition. I’ll get to the absolute, hands-down winner in a sec but absolutely want to give the other two their due praise. Licorería Limantour looked dead when we walked in a little after 6 pm on a Thursday night which was absolutely our speed on a long day of travel. We grabbed two seats at the bar and had a few creative drinks before moving on an hour or so later. By the time we left, it was definitely hopping (and lout).

Tlecan was an absolutely busy, cramped experience which is kinda what you would expect for just after 6 pm on a Saturday night. We got in a little after 6:20 pm when some people finished up and left which is impressive when they had just opened at 6 pm. Their focus as a mezcaleria is, obviously, mezcal which is perfect for me as I love smokey cocktails. Of particular note was the MARGARITA KAUIL which was just an incredible take on a spicy margarita.

Baltra Bar was also busy and cramped but in the best way as it felt like a very comfortable neighbourhood bar that wouldn’t be out of place in the East Village of the late 90s. It was the perfect place for a nightcap even if I actually closed the night out with a cocktail containing cold brew.

That leaves us with the best bar of the trip - Handshake Speakeasy. This one required a reservation (or risk waiting in line forever or in vain) and I scanned Open Table every now and then and then every day while we were in town, to no avail. I resigned myself to not being able to visit what was, at the time, the top bar on the 50’s Best (North America) list.

I owe this entire experience being possible to there not being a full menu at Falling Piano during the Super Bowl. With a limited menu and the next door BBQ joint not doing take away, I left at halftime in search of tacos to satiate my tapeworm. While walking toward Taquería Orinoco, I opened up Open Table, went to the Handshake Speakeasy page, and, there it was, an opening for one at 7:30 pm. Great, awesome… except it was already 7:12 pm and I was over a mile out from there on foot so I had to haul ass.

Boy am I glad I did.

The cocktails here were absolutely on point. I’m not sure they were necessarily better than those at Tlecan (it’s neck and neck, to be fair to both) but what put Handshake Speakeasy on top was its chill vibe. Both places had long lines of people wanting to get in but while you were always aware of the line’s presence at Tlecan (the door was open so the line was into the bar), that wasn’t the case here as it’s set inside what are essentially hermetically sealed spaces inside a hotel so the line is out of sight and very much out of mind.

With a seat at the bar, I was able to watch the cocktails being made, for myself and for the entire room. That bit of live theater was especially nice as I was missing out on the second half of the Super Bowl for this (I got over it pretty quick). All told, this was well-deserving of top bar of the trip.

Oh, and I did get those tacos at Taquería Orinoco afterwards before turning in for the night.

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Gary Wong
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