17 November 2025
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When Máximo in Mexico City earned One MICHELIN Star earlier this year, chef and owner Lalo García cemented his place on the Mount Rushmore of the city’s exceptional dining scene.
Set on the broad avenue that’s the main artery of Roma Norte – the neighborhood with the capital’s highest concentration of MICHELIN recognition – the restaurant is never without a waitlist, a perennial go-to for well-heeled locals and tourists in-the-know. García’s cooking and sense of style are why.
The bistro is at once cool and elegant, with a vaulted industrial ceiling (the space once held an auto repair shop) and blond wood furnishings. There’s a can’t-miss fried chicken that’s always on the menu, but also a selection of creative dishes that change daily, pulling inspiration from local purveyors and refined French technique.
If Mexico City has an international reputation as a good place to eat, García deserves his share of credit.
While – understandably – he prefers to eat at his own restaurants in the city (among them Lalo!, a colorful brunch spot), the chef has his go-tos around town, including a no-frills cafeteria known for a stick-to-your-ribs breakfast.
Read on for this local icon’s favorite spots in Mexico City.
Which restaurants in the city are doing things better and differently than others right now?
Honestly, we don't go out much. When we're in Mexico, we're always at our restaurants. But the ones we think are doing things differently are: Lina, Masala y Maíz (One MICHELIN Star), Baldío and Expendio de Maíz (One MICHELIN Star).
MICHELIN Inspector notes: Lina’s cooking is straightforward but skillful, perhaps best seen in a plate of beautifully charred squash sided by a smoky pine nut sauce. Chicken with crispy skin is set with roasted peaches and a mushroom medley, but it's the rich mole coloradito that makes the dish especially memorable. Close out with a fruit-layered tres leches for a real treat.
What are your all-time favorite restaurants in the city, the places that have been your go-to for years?
Hacienda San Ángel Inn, Contramar (Bib Gourmand), El Cardenal and Fonda Margarita.
MICHELIN Inspector notes: At Contramar, kick off the meal with a tostada, perhaps one topped with diced, raw scallop tossed in a salsa macha, before savoring pulpo a la Gallega, a simple dish of tender octopus and potato cubes dressed with olive oil, flaky sea salt, and a healthy dose of paprika. Pescado a talla, with red and green rubs on each side, is their signature dish.
And for tacos?
We don't eat much meat anymore, but we do like the nopal tacos at Taquería El Califa.
What's your favorite market?
The auction at the Central de Abasto.
Where do you go for a drink or a night out?
Vigneron (Bib Gourmand), Café de Nadie for a cocktail and Café Arixi for a martini.MICHELIN Inspector notes: It's just a sliver of a space in Roma Norte, but Vigneron makes a big impression. It's dark and moody with just a sprinkling of tables (plus a communal table). While the menu is concise, the mostly European wine list is surprisingly extensive.
What cultural sites would you recommend to a visiting friend?
OMR Gallery, which is around the corner from Máximo, the Museo Anahuacalli, and the sunrise over the chinampas of Xochimilco.
What’s your favorite neighborhood to walk around in?
La Roma and La Juárez.
Address Book
Máximo
Av. Álvaro Obregón 65 Bis, Roma Nte., Cuauhtémoc, 06700 Ciudad de México, CDMX
Lalo!
Zacatecas 173, Roma Nte., Cuauhtémoc, 06700 Ciudad de México, CDMX
Lina
Av. Yucatán 147, Roma Nte., Cuauhtémoc, 06700 Ciudad de México, CDMX
Masala y Maíz
C. Artículo 123 116, Colonia Centro, Centro, Cuauhtémoc, 06040 Cuauhtémoc, CDMX
Baldío
Antonio Sola 26, Colonia Condesa, Cuauhtémoc, 06140 Ciudad de México, CDMX
Expendio de Maíz
Av. Yucatán 84, Roma Nte., Cuauhtémoc, 06700 Ciudad de México, CDMX
San Ángel Inn
Diego Rivera 50, San Ángel Inn, Álvaro Obregón, 01060 Ciudad de México, CDMX
Contramar
Durango 200, Roma Nte., Cuauhtémoc, 06700 Ciudad de México, CDMX
El Cardenal
Multiple locations
Fonda Margarita
Adolfo Prieto 1364 B, Tlacoquemecatl del Valle, Benito Juárez, 03100 Ciudad de México, CDMX
Taquería El Califa
Multiple locations
Central de Abasto
Av. Río Churubusco s/n, CEDA, Iztapalapa, 09819 Ciudad de México, CDMX
Vigneron
Jalapa 181, Roma Nte., Cuauhtémoc, 06700 Ciudad de México, CDMX
Café de Nadie
Chihuahua 135, Roma Nte., Cuauhtémoc, 06700 Ciudad de México, CDMX
Café Arixi
Zacatecas 87, Roma Nte., Cuauhtémoc, 06700 Ciudad de México, CDMX
OMR
Córdoba 100, Roma Nte., Cuauhtémoc, 06700 Ciudad de México, CDMX
Museo Anahuacalli
Museo 150, San Pablo Tepetlapa, Coyoacán, 04620 Ciudad de México, CDMX
Hero image: ©Save the Children/Eduardo Garcia
Thumb image: ©Alejandro Yanes/Eduardo Garcia
