A few years back I would have said that I hated Mexico City’s bar scene. It was full of super pretentious places that either shook with techno and house, or were full of rich kids trying to see and be seen. But I have changed my mind. And I think what has done it for me is not only branching out from what I knew but also the newest crop of cool bars and speakeasies that have a more intimate, local, and sometimes even clandestine vibe that I really like. Makes you feel like you are back in the days of neighborhood bars. Plus the Mexican cocktail scene is bonkers right now with a million great places to get an expertly crafted concoction.
What I would say I dislike about the current cocktails bars in Mexico City is that now you have to make a reservation everywhere, way in advance (sometimes weeks), and sometimes you’re even asked for a deposit. It sucks. In this list, I am going to try to keep off the most egregious of those kinds of bars (Hello Midnight Monkey — that requires a reservation and a per-person deposit so that if you have a party of four or more you could end up paying $50+ before you even get in the door), but MANY of the places listed here require a reservation because, unfortunately, that is just the post-pandemic world we live it. So here we go, these are the Cocktail bars in Mexico City that I love. (IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER)
Cafe Taco Bar – Oaxaca 12, Roma
After that rant above, the Cafe Taco Bar is one of the few where I haven’t had to make a reservation, although the spaces are small and can be full if you get there on a weekend or busy weekday night. I love the vibe, kinda like someone’s tiki bar in their parents’ basement — stuffed parrots, old sepia photographs, memorabilia. The drinks pack a punch. This is one place where my most demanding cocktail friend who likes his drinks strong, is satisfied. Plus, they are well done, interesting, lots of house-made bitters, mixers, and fermentations, and they also serve food, which I haven’t been able to taste yet because I always show up too late. Cafe Taco bar, created by Khristian de la Torre who also worked as a bartender at Maison Artemisia and Jules Basement, now has two locations in Roma, the original on Oaxaca Street and the new del sur location on Campeche across from the Mercado Medellin. The Vermutcito and the Salmoncito are two of my favorites.
Brooklyn Speakeasy – Liverpool 10, Juarez
This speakeasy became one of my favorites a year or so ago when I visited for the first time, and with each subsequent visit, I haven’t been disappointed. The cocktail menu is a mix of house creations plus versions of classics and they always have a few specials of the month. The bar is tiny, a former outdoor patio from the looks of it, behind Enrico’s Trattoria in Colonia Juarez. This means great Italian food like their lasagna, pizzas, or the provolone cheese, pesto, and serrano ham, inside what I can only describe as a deliciously fried homemade hot pocket. I love how intimate this place is without the pretension of some of the other Mexico City speakeasies on the circuit. There’s a super intimate, laidback ambiance with couches and low antique coffee tables, four bar stools at the pint-sized bar
and a single high-top table. My recent favorites on the cocktails menu are the Golden Boy with Vodka, vanilla syrup, lime juice, passionfruit, and prosecco, or the Martinez sour (pictured to the left) with tequila, mango liqueur, lime, egg white, red wine, and bitters.
Bacal – Baja California 158, Roma
I loved this place from the moment I stepped through the door the first time. It’s in a completely unassuming location on Baja California Avenue in what I think used to be an old pharmacy. There is a minuscule bar and only half a dozen tables between the ones inside and outside on the sidewalk. The bartenders are great at suggesting a cocktail to please you, and there is a long list of wines, including tons of natural and oranges, and the best part is that the kitchen is taken over by different local cooks and chefs on Fridays and Saturdays and they make a big family meal that’s a set price and everyone partakes. It’s like the best dinner party with strangers you’ve never been too. I plan to do my own little pop-up there one day.
Hanky Panky – Turin 52, Juarez
The pioneer of Mexico City’s speakeasy movement within the last ten years, Hanky Panky is hidden behind several layers of doors and inside a tiny restaurant in Colonia Juarez. The vibe is truly 1920s speakeasy, with amber light, cozy corners, and a space small enough that most of the patrons know each other before the night is over. I haven’t been in awhile, so I can’t recommend a specific drink but I know they have been recognized internationally for their mixologist so nothing you order will be a disappointment. This is one of the places that require a reservation and can be hard to get into, so make your plans far ahead of time.
Handshake – Amberes 65, Juarez
I love this speakeasy with its Art Deco interior and dark corners. The cocktail menu is small but packs a punch, with options like the butter-mushroom old-fashioned and the Fig Martini (almost all their drinks are versions of classics, without many much mexicanidad about them). They also have half-drink options like a mini dry martini, a mini espresso martini, a mini vesper, and a mini mezcal negroni for half the price. Even though the 50 Best Bars of North America list is not always a good measure of the best bars in the city, Handshake has been named number 2 two years running, and it’s not for nothing. Reservations are a must and the entrance is a whole cloak-and-dagger affair that you have to get instructions for. I have not tried the food here and have heard nothing about it.
Gypsy – Cordoba 49, Roma
A little more under-the-radar than some on this list, the newish Gypsy bar is by far one of the best. The ambiance is cool and mellow, with industrial chic interiors and a giant “Gypsy” painted on the garage door that serves as its entrance. I thought the cocktails were excellent, and interesting, without being totally off the wall. The menu is concise and thoughtful, with a real focus on Mexican ingredients — Valle de Guadalupe wines, Mexican amaro, mezcal, whiskey from Oaxaca. The Black Roses with strawberry balsamic and sparkling wine is deliciously effervescence and tangy, and the Kuko Suo with white wine, vermouth, and whiskey is probably my fav of what they serve. I’ve only tried the charcuterie board from the food menu but was highly underwhelmed by it.
Las Brujas – Rio de Janeiro 56, Roma
One of the few famous bars in the city that remains down to earth. Las Brujas even with its many accolades retains a kind of neighborhood quality — the music is at a level that encourages conversation, the servers are chill, and the polished wooden bar that takes up most of their space harkens back to another era of bars and drinking. Owned and operated by an all-female staff, the drinks are also named in homage to famous female activists. My go-to is the Dolores Vesper – Xila liqueur (an agave spirit made by a female-owned CDMX distillery), purple grape shrub, red prickly pear, and bougainvillea soda. I have heard rumors that the place isn’t as good as it was when I first opened, but for someone with no basis for comparison, I liked the vibe and about half of the drinks I tried there — the half weren’t bad they were just missing some punch.
Fifty Mills – Reforma 500, Juarez
I know, I know, a bar inside the Four Seasons sounds lame. And while you might think that their library-lodge-British pub decor is cheesy, I admit to kind of liking it. I haven’t been here as much as some of the other places on the list because, well, it’s in the Four Seasons, and when are you like, let’s go to the Four Seasons and get a drink. Still, I love this for a professional meet-up or if I want to feel like a visitor in my own city for a night. They have won all kinds of awards for their mixology, so it’s not just its fancy location and the presentation of its drinks that has given it a reputation. They have this super famous Ant Man Cocktail when the chicatana ants are in season, but I am fond of the Bugs Bunny with gin, carrot juice lemongrass syrup, three chiles bitter, and fernet — it feels healthy going down.
Rayo – Salamanca 85, Roma
A new opening in 2023 Rayo is making some of the most interesting cocktails I have imbibed in this city yet. I love the presentation too — they bring over 10 little stopper bottles and a spoon and you can try a sample of each of the house cocktails before you order. I admit to only liking (FOR ME) about half of them, but every single one was complex and fascinating, and is sure to be someone’s favorite drink. The place itself is in a 1900s building with an epic elevator (where the host will serve you a drink on your way up) and a semi-open rooftop with the city lights beyond. The crowd (lots of rich kids and tourists) is not totally my vibe and the music, which got progressively more clubbier, also no my fav. But I keep going back for cocktails over and over again because I just love them. Since they won a spot on the 50 Best list in 2023 it’s been harder and harder to get in, so you know the drill… reserve in advance.
Baltra, Iztaccihuatl 36D, Condesa
One of the first bars that I loved in Mexico City, they have been around close to a decade. They opened around 2015 and were one of the first bars in the city (along with Limantour whose owners are also partners here) to have really great cocktails as their focus — making their own mixers and bitters and just generally creating thoughtful versions of new and classic recipes. Their teeny, tiny space was helped by the pandemic and the addition of a parklet outside and so now it’s a tad roomier. The whole vibe is based on Charles Darwin’s trip through the Galapogas islands, one of which is named Baltra and there’s a nautical theme that is more Hemingway than Gilligan’s Island. I love the Old George Sour with Abinsthe, cucumber, and cardamom, but also try the Opium with San Cosme mezcal, celery bitters and lime.
Cafe de Nadie – Chihuahua 135, Roma
While the ultra-hip evening vibe of this place is not really my jam, I do think the cocktails have something to say for themselves, and earlier hours are much more mellow. Another place where you can get them strong and powerful. They have a lot of traditional Mexican spirits on their list as well as classic cocktails and have been voted one of the 50 best bars in North America for two years running. They have these drinks that deny categorization like mezcal, beet chutney with allspice, and chile poblano liqueur. Or Californias Native gin with rhubarb liqueur, bolted cilantro bitters, and soda. It’s insane. I also know they buy a lot of their ingredients locally from the chinampa farmers in the southern canals and I love that. I recently tasted their new menu and I loved everything I tried, which makes sense, it’s a colab with Lalo Garcia from Maximo Bistro. Also even when I have been there on a weekend with a rowdy, mom-jean-wearing crowd of hipsters, I still felt like we got really good service, so I guess I am highly recommending this place.
Cicatriz – Dinamarca 44, Juarez
Started by a brother and sister team from the U.S. Cicatriz became famous for their fried chicken sandwich and big salads (not easy to find in CDMX). They still have a super lunch and dinner crowd, but they also shine for their cocktail selection and are one of the few spots that DOESN’T TAKE RESERVATIONS!!!! Maybe you have to sit outside or not sit at all immediately but at least there’s not some bouncer telling you there is no room in the Inn. I love their Last Look with Wild Turkey, vermouth and yellow chartreuse, and also the Yoko with mezcal, grapefruit, vermouth, and sparkling wine.
Casa Franca – Merida 109, Roma
A vintage swanky vibe inside Casa Franca which doubles as a jazz club, hosting live music every night of the week. There are half a dozen little rooms to hide away in as well as a cool bar on the rooftop terrace when the weather is nice. While I don’t think their cocktail menu is in any way wild or innovative, they were well-made, and fun.
San Fernando Hotel – Iztaccihuatl 54, Condesa
The menus are all in English here so you can assume who the majority of this bar’s patrons are, par for the course as a hotel bar, but it’s also more than that — super cute and cozy on one of Condesa’s most lovely streets off of Parque Mexico. This is the bar and lounge of the newly remodeled San Fernando Hotel and the vibe is 1940s, Art Deco, and funky. It’s not the most happening scene yet, but I think it’s going to get there. The food is good — tuna toast, steak sandwich, charcuterie board — but the cocktails are better. Try the house cocktail — The San Fernando — which a friend described (and I agreed) as both medicinal and delicious. It’s kind of like Christmas and an Ayurvedic session all in one. Also, the Rosa Mexicana and Quetzal (both made with pox from Chiapas) are delicious.
Santo Hand Roll Bar – Colima 161, Roma
One of my new favorite sushi bars in the city, with great sashimi, nigiri, and rolls, but also with a great cocktail menu. On the food menu, I loved the tempura shrimp with the spicy peanut sauce, the eel with foie gras — kind of musky and sweet at the same time–, and the double dragon roll with a mango and black truffle sauce. For cocktails, the Toyko to Roma with Japanese whiskey, rosemary infusion, and angostura bitters is particularly good, as well as the Shiso Sour (tequila, lillet, shiso, ginger infusion, bitters, and egg white) which is simultaneously tangy and creamy like an orange sherbet.
Maison Artemisia – Tonala 23, Roma
A lot of today’s Mexico City cocktail stars have been found at one time or another behind the bar at Maison Artemisia. This is another one of those places that led the pack even before the 50 best list started naming names. I’ve always liked the 1930s vibe of this place upstairs above the Loup natural wine bar. There are lots of dark corners for smooching and sometimes live music. This is not a place to go if you want to try out some particularly Mexican spirits or creations, but they do serve excellent all-around cocktails, both classics and house-created. The Je Ne Sais Quoi is great with gin, chartreuse, and verbena cordial, and fig tincture.
Bars to skip
Scotch- Polanco
This place is a “speakeasy” style – aka reservations and a hidden entrance behind Restaurante Porter Polanco. But the vibe is very much like an anthro/club with forced bottle service, weak mixology, and a booming stereo system that won’t allow you to think straight. The pre-cocktail I had waiting out front at Porter Polanco, was much better than the experience at Scotch.
Kaito del Valle – Del Valle
I was underwhelmed by their food, drinks, and ambiance, with nothing sticking out much in my memory except for the very cutesy presentation of the cocktails.
El Tigre Silencioso – Roma
The drinks are fine, but not wow and the ambiance outside is patio furniture and office workers coming for a post-working happy hour. Inside is better with the beautiful interiors of an old Roma mansion and the open kitchen, but again, no food or drink really stood out as excellent to me.
Limantour – Roma
I hate to put this place here. They were one of the pioneers of great cocktails in the city and focus a lot on mezcal and tequila which I like. But the place (in Roma, I have no idea how the Polanco location is) is always super crowded, loud, and full of tourists now. And I hear that the service leaves something to be desired. I still like their cocktails, but for a better overall experience I would go somewhere else.
Xaman – Juarez
Granted I did go to this place on the night of an event, but I never went back so that says something. The place was way too packed, way too loud, and way too young of a crowd for me. If you are 22 you might want to try it out. And I don’t remember being particularly impressed with their drinks either. So fine.
686 – Roma
This is another case of liking the drinks a lot but feeling underwhelmed by the place. You are forced to make a reservation, but then show up and there are only about seven seats, so no matter what the place feels empty. The food was just ok, but nothing wow. This is really just the holding room for folks who are eating at Em downstairs and need to wait for their table. That said, I did love their version of Naked and Famous, and their Spicy Marg.