Hi, hello + welcome back to Shortlisted!
I’m sending this from the middle of le SUD’s US book tour — hello from NYC (currently), Chicago (shortly), followed by Wisconsin and Seattle and so many more! I have a very fun Shortlisted planned for you in June centered around my favorite stops on tour but THIS month we’re heading to Mexico City. It’s one of my favorite places in the world (and not just because my partner Laila was born there).
We’re back for a few months each year and while I am lucky enough to travel a lot, it’s always one of the trips I look forward to the most. Not least because CDMX historically has and continues to have one of the best food scenes out there. Every time we go there's a new favorite (or six) to add to the list of forever favorites (see Masala y Maíz, Contramar, Comal Oculto, and Sushi Iwashi) below. I’ve broken the list into restaurants + wine bars // coffee + bread + sweet // an ample bonus shop section (+ markets + stays + visits) because, while I do live in Paris, I find clothing (and house/tableware!) shopping in CDMX to be a real treat. Plus a drink to make anywhere in the world.
xRebekah
*updated a/o March 2025!
[restaurants | wine bars]
Masala y Maíz Norma Listman and Saqib Keval’s Masala y Maíz is consistently one of my favorite places to eat in CDMX. The wine list, the playlist, the menu, the team: all tops. Make it a late lunch res (they close at 6p) + order the head on shrimp—it remains one of the most memorable dishes I’ve had in the last five years. *Update a/o March 2025: they recently moved to a new, larger, stunning location in the Historic Center and the kitchen and service and experience is still some of the best I’ve ever experienced
Mari Gold sister café to the above Masala y Maíz. Go for breakfast + lunch, get the michelada (with housemade chamoy), chilaquiles, jugo verde, the salad with preserved-lemon vinaigrette, the dosa (and whatever else calls you — really, you can't go wrong)
Comal Oculto small, perfect, communal outdoor table in San Miguel Chapultepec (a block away from Mari Gold) with a focus on breakfast + lunch. Don't miss the flautas (I like the cheese version and pair it with their fresh green salsa on the side, not to be confused with the ahogadas which serve the flautas with a cooked salsa), chamorro tacos or gorditas, the daily agua fresca, and the café de olla. (No reservations)