Coyoacán and San Ángel have no shortages of excellent restaurants and bars, and that includes some of our favorites in all of Mexico City.
Because of all the walking you will do in either neighborhood, you will understandably want some downtime in a traditional restaurant.
But if you don’t mind eating outside, and perhaps even standing up, we strongly recommend the street food scene in Coyoacán, in particular.
This is an excerpt from our book, Eternal Spring: Our Guide to Mexico City.
Our rating system for restaurants and bars
⭐️ Must-see
Pricing for a meal for one person:
💲 MXN $200 or less (USD $10 or less)
💲💲 MXN $200 to $400 (USD $10 to $20)
💲💲💲 MXN $400+ (USD $20+)
Our favorite restaurants and bars in Coyoacán and San Ángel
🍸🍴 Bistro 83
💲💲💲 Mediterranean
San Ángel. Located in the rustic Grand San Ángel commune, Bistro 83 is the perfect spot to relax and enjoy a glass of wine after a long afternoon in the sun, browsing through the art for sale in 🌳Plaza san Jacinto and 🌳Plaza del Carmen.
This is an affluent, upscale experience with a gorgeous outdoor space. The menu is extensive, and it goes well beyond Mediterranean, with excellent breakfast/brunch, Mexican, snack, lunch, dinner and dessert options.
There’s something for everyone, and the view out back is what really puts this place over the top.
🍴 El Carmen
💲💲💲 Gastropub
San Ángel. A favorite of ours close to 🌳Plaza san Jacinto, El Carmen offers an elegant dining experience in a gorgeous indoor space with high ceilings, live music, and a private art collection.
But it’s not at all intimidating, with a welcoming staff and terrific breakfast/brunch and lunch/dinner menus, and an extensive wine list.
The food ranges from traditional Mexican fare to more international dishes like croquettes, grilled bone marrow, and several risottos. Amazing.
🍴 Cochinita Country Coyoacán
💲💲 Mexican
Coyoacán. This small Yucatan-style eatery is located on the same block as 🎨Museo Frida Kahlo. So it’s a good place to relax with some food or drink before or after visiting that site, with decent breakfast and lunch choices.
We recommend the cochinita pibil in taco or tamale form, but you can also get a full plate if you’re really hungry.
🍸🍴 La Coyoacana
💲💲Mexican
Coyoacán. This traditional cantina is a multi-room extravaganza with a bar, an indoor restaurant, and an outdoor but fully covered courtyard.
There are often mariachi serenading the diners, and the food is surprisingly good, with a diverse menu of offerings ranging from rib eye—rarely cooked this perfectly in Mexico City—to chilaquiquiles, molcajetes stuffed with meats, cheese, and onions, and other traditional Mexican fare.
This is a local go-to for us when we’re in Coyoacán, and we try to get in for a quick drink and snack even when we don’t have time for a big meal.
🍴 Oxa ⭐️
At a glance
💲💲💲 Upscale, creative Mexican
👍 Friendly staff, good vibe, quiet
💠 Indoor and outdoor seating
✨ Popular with locals and expats
📅 Open Sunday and Monday
📋 Reservation recommended
🗣️ English spoken, English menu
San Ángel. This unique indoor/outdoor space is located between luxury shops just north of 🌳Plaza san Jacinto, so you may have to fight your way through crowds of shoppers to find the entrance. (Hint: It’s on the south side of the restaurant to the left of the building’s main entrance.)
It’s open to the air, but covered, and there’s a large tree and a beautiful fountain contributing to its unique prettiness.
Oxa is a great place to sit and relax, but the dining experience is next level thanks to the setting, the service, and the quality of the food.
You can opt to get just drinks or snacks, but the breakfast/brunch and lunch/dinner menus are extensive, each with a wide range of terrific choices that deserve exploration and repeat visits.
We’ve visited Oxa repeatedly over the years and always look forward to seeing what’s new on the menu. It does change seasonally, but there are always inventive mole, molcajete, and tamal dishes, plus tacos, salads, and soups.
Oxa also offers a selection of large meals para compartir, or for sharing between two or more diners. Its iconic coliflor horneada (roasted cauliflower) can be had in a full portion that serves four or more, or a half portion for smaller groups.
It’s always a bit of a spectacle when served because it’s so large and looks like a dessert until you watch the waiters carve it up at the table. (Paul isn’t a fan of cauliflower, so we’ve never ordered it ourselves.)
🍴 San Angel Inn ⭐️
At a glance
💲💲💲 Traditional, fine dining
👍 Friendly staff, good vibe, quiet
💠 Indoor and outdoor seating
✨ Popular with locals and expats
📅 Open Sunday and Monday
📋 Reservation recommended
🗣️ English spoken, English menu
San Ángel. This historic property dates back to 1616. It started as a private estate with a hacienda and an apple orchard, and it expanded over time to include much more land in the area. Then it was acquired by the San Angel Land Company in 1906 and opened to the public as a hotel called the San Angel Inn in 1908.
With most of the land sold off to create the surrounding neighborhood, the restaurant we know and love opened in 1963 as a showcase for Mexican hospitality and cuisine.
It is all that and more. San Angel Inn is located in the former hacienda, and it offers opulent indoor and outdoor eating areas, attentive staff, and some of the best and most diverse food we’ve eaten in the city.
The menu is impressive, with breakfast/brunch and lunch/dinner offerings and an expansive wine list with excellent options from Mexico, Spain, and around the globe. There are traditional Mexican dishes, of course, with soups, salads moles, and terrific meat and seafood choices.
But San Angel Inn also offers many international selections, some of which surprised us. We’ve had French escargot and New England clam chowder here, plus an American-style rib eye steak, all unusual for Mexico City. There are pastas, oysters, and foie gras, and many desserts, including a flaming crêpe Suzette.
Given its history, San Angel Inn could easily be frumpy and old-fashioned. But it’s not, and it’s rightfully earned a spot on our list of the best restaurants in Mexico City. It’s a place we return to again and again. And it’s an excellent alternative to more expensive and exclusive fine dining experiences like 🍴Pujol. In fact, we prefer it.
Even if you don’t wish to eat at San Angel Inn, it’s worth visiting and touring its open courtyard, indoor and outdoor restaurant areas, and gardens. The property is gorgeous and well cared for. And you may change your mind about the food once you’ve walked by the happy diners.
🍴 Taquería Los Parados Coyoacán ⭐️
💲💲 Tacos
Coyoacán. This is the Coyoacán location for one of our favorite taco stands in Mexico City, 🍴Taquería los Parados. It offers everything we love about the original location in Roma Sur, meaning it offers some of the best tacos around. But it’s also a full restaurant with indoor seating.
We’d love to get your feedback as we build out our guidebook. Please ❤️ if you like what you see here or 💬 with any thoughts or suggestions.
Ojala