Mexico City is the biggest city in Mexico and one of its most delicious. If you travel to eat like we do, then you’ll be spoilt for choice with its sheer number of restaurants, bars, taquerias, street food stands, and markets. When it comes to food, Mexico City has it all.
But as much fun as it is to eat your way through Mexico City, its size and wealth of choices can be daunting. With so much good food spread out over so many interesting neighborhoods, how does a first-time visitor with limited time find the best local food in Mexico City?
Easy. Join a food tour.
No one knows Mexico City better than a local so what better way to experience the best and most authentic Mexican cuisine than by going on a food tour? Not only can a local guide take you to the most interesting restaurants, markets, and street food vendors in Mexico City, but they can explain all the dishes to you in more detail as well.
Like everything else in this massive city, you’ll be spoilt for choice with all the amazing Mexico City food tours you’ll find online. To help you decide, we’ve listed ten of the best in this guide.
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WHY SHOULD YOU BOOK A MEXICO CITY FOOD TOUR?
If you’re reading this article, then it’s safe to say that you’re interested in booking a Mexico City food tour. There are two primary reasons why you should book one – convenience and authenticity. You want a local to lead you to the best and most authentic food experiences in Mexico City so all you have to do is follow, listen, and eat.
As described, Mexico’s capital city is massive. It’s one of the biggest cities in the world so finding the best local food and navigating between restaurants and neighborhoods can be challenging. Unlike smaller cities like Guanajuato or San Miguel de Allende, it isn’t something you can fully experience in just a few days.
If you have plenty of time in Mexico City, then you can do your own research and explore one, maybe two neighborhoods a day to get a good feel for the local food scene. That’s what we did. But most people will only have a few days so time will be a factor.
If that’s the case, then you should definitely book one of the many Mexican food tours available online. It’s simply the fastest and easiest way to experience the local cuisine and culture, especially in a destination as big and with as much to offer as Mexico City.
10 OF THE TASTIEST MEXICO CITY FOOD TOURS
You’ll have plenty of choices for food tours in Mexico City. To help you decide, we collaborated with our friends at Cookly and compiled this list of ten of the best food tours in key parts of the city like Roma-Condesa, Centro Historico, and Polanco. If it’s your first time in Mexico City, then I suggest choosing a tour in Colonia Roma or Centro Historico.
All tours featured in this article are small group tours. If you’d rather go on a private tour, then you can try requesting for a private booking via the link provided under each tour. Just click on the “Support” button in the lower right corner of the tour description page.
We’ll describe each tour in more detail but we’ve created the quick comparison chart below for your convenience. Click on a link to go to the tour booking page. All food tours featured here offer free cancellation as long as the booking is canceled at least 48 hours prior to the activity.
| Name of Tour | Price (USD) | Start Time | Length of Tour |
| 1. Taste Colonia Roma with Local Foodies | $75 | 12NN | 4 hrs |
| 2. Centro Histórico Food Tour | $69 | 11AM, 5PM | 3 hrs |
| 3. Mexico City Street Food Scene | $35 | 2PM | 2.5 hrs |
| 4. Ultimate Market Experience in Mexico City | $50 | 9AM | 4 hrs |
| 5. Daily Food Tour in Polanco | $69 | 11AM, 5PM | 3 hrs |
| 6. Colonia Narvarte at Night: Tacos, Chelas, and Mezcal! | $98 | 7:30PM, 8PM | 3.5 hrs |
| 7. Mexico’s Flavors Bike Tour | $65 | 10AM | 4 hrs |
| 8. Mexico’s Spirits: Pulque, Mezcal, Bacanora, and Tequila | $50 | 3:30PM | 2 hrs |
| 9. Mezcal Tasting + Lucha Libre Experience | $48 | 3PM, 5:30PM, 6:30PM | 4 hrs |
| 10. Gastronomic Tour Along the Canals of Xochimilco | $203 | 11AM | 3 hrs |
1. Taste Colonia Roma with Local Foodies
If you were to go on just one Mexico City food tour, then I’d recommend going on this one. It takes you through the Colonia Roma neighborhood which is one of the coolest areas in Mexico City.
Colonia Roma, along with neighboring La Condesa, is a trendy upscale area with many of the city’s best restaurants, bars, cafes, and street food vendors. It’s one of our favorite neighborhoods in Mexico City and an area that food lovers should definitely explore.
The beautiful salad pictured below is made with Mexican vegetables, herbs, and nopales or edible cacti. It’s one of the many interesting and tasty examples of elevated Mexican cuisine you’ll get on this Colonia Roma tour.
If I remember correctly, this beautifully plated dish is a mole taco served on a lettuce leaf. As you already know, the humble taco is one of the most iconic examples of Mexican food. You’ll experience it in many forms on any Mexico City food tour.
If you’re a fan of tacos, then be sure to check out our guide on the best tacos in Mexico City.
This was one of my favorite dishes from this Colonia Roma tour. It consists of a grilled shrimp served on a bed of huitlacoche risotto. Huitlacoche or “corn smut” is a type of fungus that grows on maize. It’s a tasty mushroom-like ingredient that’s commonly used in Mexican cuisine.
As previously described, Colonia Roma is one of the trendiest areas in Mexico City so this tour features more elevated examples of Mexican food and drinks. If you’re interested in the finer aspects of Mexican gastronomy, then you should definitely book this tour.
Taste Colonia Roma with Local Foodies
Schedule: Sunday-Friday
Start Time: 12NN
Duration: 4 hours
Capacity: 10 people
Food Tastings: 13+
Cost: USD 75 per person
Book This Tour: CLICK HERE for more information and to book this food tour.
2. Centro Histórico Food Tour
Most if not all major cities in Mexico will have a central zocalo or public square. It’s the heart of the city and where you’ll find many of its most important historical attractions, including its biggest church. In Mexico City, the historic center is classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
They say that any first-time visit to Mexico City should begin in its historic center, and so should your quest for the best local food. There are many food tours in Mexico City that focus on the zocalo so if you’d like to get an insider’s look at the city’s local culture, then this is the tour for you.
This Centro Histórico tour is a 3-hr walking tour that takes you to San Juan Mercado de Especialidades and Mercado de Artesanías La Ciudadela. San Juan Market is one of my favorite markets in Mexico City and where you’ll find some of the city’s best produce and food stalls.
On this walking tour, you’ll interact with market vendors and sample different regional offerings like cheeses, seafood, and edible flowers. You’ll get to try some of the very best Mexican coffee as well.
If you’re interested in traditional Mexican souvenirs, then La Ciudadela is one of the best places you can go to in Mexico City. It’s a large market that’s home to dozens of vendors selling Mexican textiles, calaveras (skulls), dolls, and handcrafted jewelry.
A market visit is high on many people’s list of priorities. If you’d like to go on a Mexico City food tour that includes a market visit, then this is one to consider. I went to both of these markets on my own and enjoyed them tremendously.
Centro Histórico Food Tour
Schedule: Monday-Sunday
Start Time: 11AM, 5PM
Duration: 3 hours
Capacity: 1-8 people
Food Tastings: Not specified
Cost: USD 69 per person
Book This Tour: CLICK HERE for more information and to book this food tour.
3. Mexico City Street Food Scene
If you enjoy tacos and Mexican street food as much as we do, then you’ll probably want to go on this tour. It’s a small group walking tour that takes you to some of the best local street food stalls in the Centro Histórico area. You’ll sample different types of tacos, antojitos (snacks), and traditional Mexican drinks.
Pictured below is a street food vendor making tlacoyos, a pre-Hispanic Mexican dish made with fried or toasted corn tortillas stuffed with a variety of ingredients like cheese, beans, and chicharron (fried pork skin). It’s delicious and interesting and one of our favorite street foods in Mexico.
We could honestly survive on tacos alone in Mexico City. It’s the taco capital of Mexico, which pretty much makes it the taco capital of the world. The tacos here are seriously delicious and there are so many you can try like tacos al pastor, tacos de suadero, tacos de canasta, and tacos de guisado.
Some of our favorite food stalls are in the historic center so you know you’ll be in good hands when you join this tour.
Tacos are terrific, but so are quesadillas. Pictured below are quesadillas which are basically larger versions of tacos made with flour tortillas and the addition of quesillo or Mexican cheese. If street food like tacos, tlacoyos, and quesadillas is your priority, then this is definitely the tour for you.
Mexico City Street Food Scene
Schedule: Monday-Sunday
Start Time: 2PM
Duration: 2.5 hours
Capacity: 1-5 people
Food Tastings: 10+
Cost: USD 35 per person
Book This Tour: CLICK HERE for more information and to book this food tour.
4. Ultimate Market Experience in Mexico City
As previously mentioned, a local market visit is high on many people’s list of priorities in Mexico City. If you’re one of those people, then you’ll probably want to join this small group tour. It’ll take you to La Merced Market, Sonora Market, and San Juan Market which are three of the best and most popular local markets in Mexico City.
Mexican markets provide a gritty and unfiltered look at local culture. It’s a fantastic experience though some mercados like La Merced Market have a reputation for being chaotic, dirty, and even unsafe (pickpockets). I had no reservations about visiting San Juan Market on my own but I skipped La Merced Market because of those negative reviews.
If you have the same reservations, then joining small-group food tours like this one is a great way to experience a market in Mexico City. Not only will you feel safer, but you’ll also learn about the market’s history and be taken to the best market stalls.
Aside from more conventional fare like tacos and quesadillas, you’ll also get to sample exotic dishes like chapulines (grasshoppers), huitlacoche (corn smut), and sesos (cow brains). Try to keep an open mind on this tour because the most memorable experiences often happen outside of your comfort zone!
You’ll also get the opportunity to buy some of the best and freshest fruits, vegetables, snacks, and spices in Mexico City.
If visiting a local market is a top priority for you, then I highly recommend booking one of these market food tours. Not only will you feel safer and more comfortable, but you’ll learn a lot more as well. There’s no better guide than a local who buys produce from these markets on a regular basis.
Ultimate Market Experience in Mexico City
Schedule: Monday-Sunday
Start Time: 9AM
Duration: 4 hours
Capacity: 1-6 people
Food Tastings: Not specified
Cost: USD 50 per person
Book This Tour: CLICK HERE for more information and to book this food tour.
5. Daily Food Tour in Polanco
Polanco is often referred to as the “Beverly Hills of Mexico City”. It’s a swanky area that’s home to luxury boutiques and some of the city’s best restaurants. It isn’t exactly the first neighborhood that comes to mind when you’re choosing between food tours but you’ll be surprised by how much good street food you can find here.
We explored Polanco on our own and were genuinely surprised by the number of taquerias and street stalls we found in the area. Like any other neighborhood in Mexico City, Polanco is a food lover’s paradise that caters to any budget.
On this Polanco tour, you’ll get to try regional favorites like mole, tlayudas, Mexican chocolate, and mezcal. Many are specialties from known food destinations in Mexico like Oaxaca and the Yucatan peninsula.
Not as many Mexico City food tours take you to Polanco which is what makes this one so interesting. If you’d like to experience traditional Mexican cuisine in one of the city’s most beautiful neighborhoods, then this Polanco tour is for you.
Pictured below is a hearty bowl of pozole rojo de pollo, another dish that pre-dates the Hispanic period. They say you can get a glimpse of Mexico’s history through its food and traditional dishes like pozole, tamales, tlacoyo, mole, and chapulines are proof of that.
Daily Food Tour in Polanco
Schedule: Monday-Sunday
Start Time: 11AM, 5PM
Duration: 3 hours
Capacity: 1-9+ people
Food Tastings: Not specified
Cost: USD 69 per person
Book This Tour: CLICK HERE for more information and to book this food tour.
6. Colonia Narvarte at Night: Tacos, Chelas, and Mezcal!
People looking to eat their way through a more local and less touristy part of Mexico City may be interested in this tour. It takes you to Colonia Navarte, a middle-class residential neighborhood with dozens of family-style taquerias and local gems.
Not only does this tour take you to a less-visited part of Mexico City with many hidden gems, but it’s also a night tour that starts at 7:30PM or 8PM. From our experience, the best tacos come out only at night in Mexico so going on one of these night tours is a great way to experience some of the best local food in the city.
Aside from feasting on street food favorites like tacos al pastor and tacos de suadero, you’ll also experience traditional cantina culture and try Mexican drinks like mezcal and chela (slang for cold beer).
There are many Mexico City food tours that take you to Roma-Condesa or Centro Histórico, but not nearly as many take you to neighborhoods like Colonia Narvarte.
When Cookly offered to send me on their food tours, this was one of my top choices. However, walking around at night may not be a comfortable experience for many first-time visitors to Mexico City so I chose other tours instead.
But if you’re interested in getting a taste of Mexican culture and food in an area rarely seen by tourists, then this Colonia Narvarte walking tour is an excellent choice.
Colonia Narvarte at Night
Schedule: Monday-Friday
Start Time: 7:30PM, 8PM
Duration: 3.5 hours
Capacity: 2-8 people
Food Tastings: Not specified
Cost: USD 98 per person
Book This Tour: CLICK HERE for more information and to book this food tour.
7. Mexico’s Flavors Bike Tour
Walking tours are fun. So are bike tours. We haven’t done it in Mexico City but we’ve gone on many biking tours in different cities around the world. And when you get to combine biking with some of the best local food a city has to offer, then you’ve got a perfect combination.
This Mexico City bike tour includes stops at a tortilla shop, a chocolate museum shop, a centuries-old candy shop, and San Juan Market. You’ll work up an appetite after all that pedaling so you’ll be fed tasty Mexican dishes like tamales, atole (corn and masa drink), dulces (sweets), tacos, and tostadas.
Some vendors at San Juan Market sell an assortment of edible insects like scorpions, Madagascar hissing cockroaches, leaf-cutter ants, and grasshoppers. I visited San Juan Market on my own and enjoyed a chocolate- and sesame-covered scorpion on a stick. Try some if you dare!
If you enjoy exploring a new city on a bicycle, especially one as big as Mexico City, then this bike tour is for you. You’ll cover more ground and you’ll work up an appetite while doing so.
Just be sure to get travel insurance if you do. Safety measures will be enforced but you never know what can happen. Best to be safe than sorry!
Mexico’s Flavors Bike Tour
Schedule: Monday-Sunday
Start Time: 10AM
Duration: 4 hours
Capacity: 2-8 people
Food Tastings: 5+
Cost: USD 65 per person
Book This Tour: CLICK HERE for more information and to book this food tour.
8. Mexico’s Spirits: Pulque, Mezcal, Bacanora, and Tequila
Mexican spirits are just as interesting as Mexican food. If you enjoy a good drink as much as a tasty taco, then I’m pretty sure you’ll want to go on this drinking tour. It’ll take you to several local spots where you’ll have multiple tastings of traditional Mexican spirits made from the agave plant like mezcal, tequila, pulque, and bacanora.
We didn’t go on this tour but I did do a food and drinking tour in Puerto Vallarta where I got to try traditional spirits like tequila, raicilla, mezcal, and pulque. Aside from being fun to drink, it was interesting to learn (and taste) the differences between the different spirits derived from the agave plant.
This 2-hr drinking tour ends before nightfall, at 5:30PM. I’m pretty sure they do this as part of their safety measures. You won’t get to experience Mexico City nightlife on this tour but at least you won’t have to stumble back to your hotel after dark.
Mexico’s Spirits: Pulque, Mezcal, Bacanora, and Tequila
Schedule: Monday-Sunday
Start Time: 3:30PM
Duration: 2 hours
Capacity: 1-6 people
Number of Drinks: 10
Cost: USD 50 per person
Book This Tour: CLICK HERE for more information and to book this food tour.
9. Mezcal Tasting + Lucha Libre Experience
This was another tour that I really, REALLY wanted to do. I’m fascinated with lucha libre but this isn’t your typical food tour so I chose other tours instead. If you’re a fan or at least curious about the colorful world of Mexican wrestling, then you need to book this tour.
This lucha libre experience will load you up with shots of mezcal before taking you to Arena Mexico to root for your favorite wrestlers. You’ll be hiding behind your own souvenir mask so feel free to cheer (or heckle) as loudly as you want!
I have no interest in American pro wrestling but like many people, I find lucha libre to be incredibly fascinating. It’s hugely popular in Mexico so you’ll often find entire families in attendance, cheering for their favorite wrestlers. Based on people’s reviews, the energy in the stadium is through the roof.
If you’d like to catch a lucha libre event in Mexico City and don’t mind going with a bunch of like-minded strangers, then you may want to book this tour. Just look at these guys below. Don’t they look like they’re having a blast?!
Mezcal Tasting + Lucha Libre Experience
Schedule: Monday, Thursday, Saturday
Start Time: 3PM, 5:30PM, 6:30PM
Duration: 4 hours
Capacity: 1-9+ people
Number of Drinks: Not specified
Cost: USD 48 for adults, USD 37 for children ages 3-10
Book This Tour: CLICK HERE for more information and to book this food tour.
10. Gastronomic Tour Along the Canals of Xochimilco
Xochimilco refers to a network of canals in southern Mexico City. Designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, it’s what’s left of an ancient water transport system that was built by the Aztecs. Today, it’s a popular attraction famous for its colorful gondola-like boats called trajineras that tourists can ride to explore the canals.
You can visit Xochimilco on your own but on this tour, you’ll be served a traditional Mexican lunch while exploring the canals.
Lunch menus may vary but expect to be fed traditional Mexican dishes like tamales Oaxaqueños, salad with chinampa vegetables, Mexican cheeses, guacamole, totopas (tortilla chips), and Mexican coffee.
Aside from lunch and a boat ride through the canal system, you’ll also learn about chinampas. Sometimes referred to as “floating gardens”, chinampas are small, rectangular areas of arable land that are built up on wetlands to grow crops like lettuce, cilantro, squash, chard, and cauliflower. It’s an ancient agricultural technique that predates the Hispanic period.
The canals of Xochimilco are among the most popular tourist attractions in Mexico City. If you have an interest in the canals, then you may want to book this tour.
Gastronomic Tour Along the Canals of Xochimilco
Schedule: Tuesday, Thursday-Sunday
Start Time: 11AM
Duration: 3 hours
Capacity: 1-9 people
Food Tastings: 8+
Cost: USD 203 per person
Book This Tour: CLICK HERE for more information and to book this food tour.
FINAL THOUGHTS ON MEXICO CITY FOOD TOURS
As previously described, going on a food tour is one of the easiest ways to find the best local food in an unfamiliar city. We do it in almost every new destination we visit and Mexico City was no exception.
In fact, I think it’s almost a necessity in Mexico City if you have a keen interest in food and don’t have much time. This city is massive and a little daunting so going on a highly-rated tour assures that you’ll be getting great food in a safe, structured environment. Plus, there are simply some things that you cannot find or learn about on Google.
All the tours featured in this guide are small group tours so you’ll be breaking bread with no more than 5-10 people. If you’d rather book a private tour, then you can make an inquiry via the links posted under each description.
And with that, I’ll wrap up this guide on the best Mexico City food tours. If you have any questions, then feel free to let us know in the comment section below.
Thanks for reading and have an amazing time eating your way through Mexico City!
Disclosure
This article was written in partnership with Cookly. They offered me complimentary tours in exchange for an honest account of the experience. As always, all words, thought, and opinions expressed in this post are mine and mine alone.
Some of the links in this aticle are affiliate links, meaning we’ll get a small commission if you make a booking or purchase at no extra cost to you. As always, we only recommend products and services that we use ourselves. We truly appreciate your support as it helps us make more of these free travel guides. Thank you!
Photos from tours 2-10 provided by Cookly.
DJ
Sunday 28th of January 2024
Thank you for the guide, however, the links you provided don’t appear to be working for me. Are you able to check for me? Thank you
JB & Renée
Sunday 28th of January 2024
Hi DJ, I just checked the tour links and they seem to be working fine. Which links aren't working for you?
I suggest trying to clear your cache or using a browser you don't normally use. Hope that helps!