Every meal but one on our first trip to Mexico City was a homerun. Seriously.
By the time of our second visit to CDMX, our food satisfaction was near-perfect: we revisited our fave restaurants from our first trip and also ventured to other yummy restaurants!
Whether our family was eating tacos at the most casual or the fanciest of restaurants, we loved everything we ate. The facts that these restaurants are kid-friendly and affordable are just cherries on top!
Let us know what you think of our recs in the comments below.
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We acknowledge that the land in and around Mexico City is the stolen land of the Mēxihcah people.
Our Values
Our favorite kid-friendly restaurants share these characteristics:
- Outdoor seating or takeout available
- Our kid can enjoy at least a couple items on the menu
- Pescetarian-friendly (for Mama!)
- Is casual enough of an atmosphere for our family not to feel to constricted
- Locally owned, preferably by BIPOC folks
Our Favorite Family-Friendly Restaurants in Mexico City
Sorted by favorite; see below for by-neighborhood. All price ranges in USD.
Café Nin, Juárez
~$10-$20/person
My kid was living her best life at Café Nin, and so was I. It is a gorgeous space, which seems typical of Chef Elena Reygadas’ style (see Restaurante Rosetta and Panadería Rosetta), and I would love to embody it in my own dream cafe I hope to run one day: plants, brick, vintage and modern, a mix of outdoor space, and a loft, plus amazing food and drinks, to boot! It’s no wonder we’ve found every excuse to grab brunch or lunch there on each of our visits to Mexico City so far! On our recent trip with my extended family, some of the group ate breakfast here at least every other day! It helped that our hotel was only a couple blocks away (strategy, my friends!).
Since Café Nin is a sister restaurant of Panadería Rosetta, they get all the same yummy pastries (so yes, we bought our third rol de guayaba of the trip there). We also enjoyed the tamal and chilaquiles. The eggs benedict pastry was a cute presentation, but didn’t have the flavor to back it up. No changing tables in their tiny little restrooms, unfortunately.
Tacos de Canasta Los Especiales, various locations
~$1-$5/person
DROOL. The menu might be limited, but trust us, you will crave nothing more than the four types of tacos de canasta (basket tacos) they offer: papa (potato), frijoles refritos (refried beans), chicharrón en adobo (marinated pork), and chicharrón en salsa verde (pork in green sauce), all slathered in oil or butter. Bonus points that two of the four menu items are vegetarian! Our kid loved the bean tacos, and I was all about the potato. For every one of our visits to Mexico City, we have eaten at Tacos de Canasta Los Especiales at least twice!
Pay at the front in exchange for tokens you will use to order your food; we recommend their special, which is any combo of five tacos plus a drink for $2.50 USD. If you snake your way down their narrow restaurant, you’ll find bar seats and standing-room-only counters, as well as all the fixins to take your tacos from delicious to unforgettable. We went to their Centro location near Zocalo Square before and immediately after our #travelfail at Mercado Centro.
Contramar, Roma Norte
~$30-$40/person
My partner became a big fan and follower of Chef Gabriela Cámara because of her Masterclass on Mexican cooking, and I’m so glad he did because her food is bomb, and her restaurant is beautiful. Plus, service is quick. We were seated out on their sidewalk patio at 2 pm with no wait, even without a reservation! We all loved the tuna tostadas (our kid, surprisingly so!), the house special fish dish of pescado a la talla con chile rojo y perejil, but the quesadillas were just so-so. Our kid also loved the fluffy strawberry meringue cake for dessert.
La Casa de Toño, various locations
~$5-$15/person
If you’re looking for Mexican food favorites in a casual restaurant setting, look no further than La Casa de Toño. There are various locations throughout the city and some are even open 24 hours for anyone looking for a late-night fix. Everything we had was delicious: the vegetarian “pozole sin carne,” mushroom tostada, flautas, horchata, and their house michelada.
Panadería Rosetta, Roma Norte
~$10-$20/person
One of the most popular bakeries in Mexico City particularly among tourists is Chef Elena Reygadas’ cafe and bakery. She serves up delicious pastries, as well as brunch at their flagship location in Colima, which features a gorgeous patio and facade. Our favorite pastries were the rol de guayaba (guava cheese roll), mil hojas de frutos rojos (berry mille-feuille), and rol de ricotta y limón amarillo (lemon & ricotta roll). We recommend skipping the envuelto de estragon (tarragon roll) unless you’re really into the taste of licorice-y tarragon (which we realized we are not). Next time we hope to try the pastel de nata (egg tart), and hoja de higo (fig berliner). They seemed to offer only patio seating, which worked for me!
Terraza Cha Cha Cha, Tabacalera
~$20-$30/person
Outdoor dining with a view! As the name suggests, the trendy Terraza Cha Cha Cha has patio seating on two sides of its fifth floor restaurant with a view of the Monument to the Revolution. Service is awesome and the food comes out quickly in this airy and modern-styled space. This was where our kid tried chapulines (fried crickets) for the first time, and they were a hit! They also have changing tables in the bathroom—score!
Café Ruta de la Seda, Coyoacán
~$15-$25/person
Lovely roadside organic cafe with unique baked goods and breakfast/lunch. Even mid-week it took a while to be seated, but we eventually got a chance to enjoy our jamaica concha and their beautiful and tasty omelette de flores de calabaza y ricotta (zucchini flowers & ricotta omelette). No changing tables in the bathroom, though.
Milk Pizzeria, Roma Norte
~$20-$35/person
If you for some reason need a break from all the delicious Mexican food Mexico City has to offer, dining at Milk Pizzeria is a great alternative. Our whole family enjoyed the seasonal mushroom pizza (their pies range from $10-$20), as well as the burrata c. coles (crispy brussels sprouts with burrata, $20). The cocktails were fresh and artistic. The churro ice cream sandwich was good in theory, but can only be fully enjoyed fresh from the fryer/freezer, which is a tough ask. The space has both indoor and outdoor seating. No changing tables in the bathrooms, unfortunately.
El Pescadito, various locations
~$5-$15/person
A pescetarian’s dream! Order a variety of seafood tacos and a staff member will top them with your choice of any combination of sauces from their arsenal. A very easy grab-and-go or dine-in casual restaurant.
For the Sweet Tooth
Finca Don Porfirio, Centro
$5-$10/person
This café on the eighth floor of the Sears department store serves up pastries and coffee drinks galore for you to enjoy on the terrace overlooking Mexico City’s iconic Palacio de Bellas Artes. After a 20-minute wait to be seated, we ordered a brownie which our kid gobbled up, as well as the non-caffeinated rompolate (not sure what this was but we liked it!) and a coffee drink.
The bar seating faces the Palacio, but there are also tables against the wall. Based on the Google reviews, seating at the bar is first come first serve—so while we were seated at a table initially, we eventually moved to the bar stools once a couple spots opened up.
We could’ve easily spent a couple hours there enjoying the view. Hopefully next time we’ll budget more time for it.
Panadería Rosetta, Roma Norte
See above!
Bendita Paleta, Condesa
~$5-$10/person
You could find paletas for cheaper in Mexico City but we still enjoyed Bendita Paleta for their soft, gelato texture with a variety of flavors and toppings. They have a location conveniently adjacent to the playgrounds of Parque España, so we were one of a couple of families who ended up on their outdoor parklet following an afternoon at the park.
Churrería El Moro, various locations
~$2-$10/person
This churrería shop has been in business since 1935 and now has numerous locations to choose from. We enjoyed churros and coffee from our rocking chairs on the patio of their Roma Norte location, where their signature blue and white interior design is bright and airy. I find their churros are too toasty and crunchy for my tastes, but I guess I’m just used to Bay Area churros which are on the fluffier side. In any case, they have the cutest bathrooms with changing tables that I’ve seen!
Honorable Mentions
Casa Bruna, Roma Norte
$5-$10/person
This bright and airy zero-waste store doubles as a cafe with indoor seating among the bulk food bins and patio seating.
Organized by Neighborhood
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Various Locations
- Tacos de Canasta Los Especiales
- La Casa de Toño
- El Pescadito
- Churrería El Moro
Roma Norte
- Contramar
- Panadería Rosetta
- Milk Pizzeria
- Casa Bruna
Condesa
- Bendita Paleta
Juaréz
- Café Nin
Coyoacán
- Café Ruta de la Seda
Tabacalera
- Terraza Cha Cha Cha
Centro
- Finca Don Porfirio
Places You Can Skip
Wishlist for our Next Visit
I would love to venture out and try some pescetarian-friendly street food—any recs?
Tacos, tacos, and more tacos of the vegetarian variety
I can’t wait for our next opportunity to revisit these restaurants and try out some new ones. What else would you add to our list of essential kid-friendly restaurants in Mexico City?
Angelica (she/her) is of Cebuano(Pilipinx)-descent and was born and raised in Huchiun Ohlone territory (the East Bay Area--pay your Shuumi Land Tax!), where she also now resides with her partner and their toddler. She loves to spend her time sipping on boba and dirty chai lattes (sometimes together), and eating pescetarian goodies at BIPOC-owned cafes and restaurants.
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