Guide · Mexico City
Where should you book a birthday, an anniversary or a dinner that has to be right? These ten, from my own top three to a skyline table on Reforma, every one of them eaten at and filmed on my own visit.
Updated October 10, 2026 · By Jane Novikova
The short answer · my top picks
La Belle Epoque, URSO and Lotti are my own top three. The rest are ranked by the kind of evening you want, from a tasting menu to a view.
For my top pick
Contemporary French fine dining from chef Max Righi, a Culinary Institute of America graduate and certified sommelier who cooked at Pujol, Per Se and Eleven Madison Park. Opened in April 2026 with a 480-bottle cellar and a private dining room, and the chef runs the room himself and greets every table.
The beef Wellington is priced for two. Book on OpenTable, and ask for the private room for a celebration.
For a group
A Mediterranean sea-and-fire restaurant by Fuente de Cibeles: three floors of jungle interiors, a walkable net over the lounge, and a menu built to share, with whole fish and cuts by the kilo. About 1,500 to 2,000 pesos a person with drinks.
Come with a group, since the mains are whole fish and chuletón by weight. Valet parking at the door.
For two
Swiss chef Luc Liebster, from Pujol and Steirereck in Vienna, opened his first own restaurant in a 1915 mansion, now in the Michelin Guide Mexico 2026 selection. A Nordic-minimal room with a cosy terrace, a seasonal menu, a big wine list and non-alcoholic pairings, at prices that are pleasant for this level.
It is small and reservations are essential. Dinner Wednesday to Friday, and from 2pm at the weekend.
For the tasting menu
Contemporary Mexican inside Hotel Casa Izel, listed in the Michelin Guide Mexico 2026, from culinary director Jonatán Gómez Luna, whose restaurant Le Chique holds the star. The six-course Nuestra Tradición menu is 1,500 pesos, with theatrical plating you will photograph course by course.
Fourteen and sixteen-course versions exist for a bigger night. Book on OpenTable.
For meat
A fire restaurant in the old Club Petanca space from Bernardo Galindo and chef David Castro Hussong of Fauna. You choose a protein and it arrives with eight sides for building tacos: short rib from 600 pesos, wagyu cross ribeye at 4,200 a kilo.
Half a kilo feeds two comfortably. Open until midnight Tuesday to Saturday.
For the world on a plate
A Michelin Guide Mexico Selected Restaurant where every plate is a different country reborn as Mexican food: butter with Japanese wasabi, Spanish croquetas with French foie gras, scallop ceviche, melting lamb. The Tornaviaje menu is 2,100 pesos and the Meridiano 3,000.
Portions are bigger than you expect. Book ahead for weekends.
For the view and the fire
Edo Kobayashi's eighth-floor wooden bistro and terrace on Reforma, facing the Angel of Independence. Chef Ricardo Galván, formerly of Máximo Bistrot, cooks a one-page menu over wood and charcoal: warm brioche, baby corn with jocoque, a whole Veracruz red snapper.
Ask for a view table when you book, and take the lift from the office lobby at Reforma 333.
For the classic
High above Paseo de la Reforma inside the Ritz-Carlton, with one of the best dining views in the city, classic Italian cooking and polished white-tablecloth service. About 1,000 to 1,500 pesos a person before drinks.
It is built for occasions. The bar runs until two, so the evening can continue upstairs.
For the scene
The New York seafood, sushi and steak brand inside one of the last original mansions on Reforma, with a gorgeous terrace. Sashimi, rolls and tableside hot-rock wagyu, at about 100 dollars a person.
Book the terrace. There is a salon upstairs for private events.
For the Italian
Big Mamma Group's first restaurant in Latin America: a maximalist main room, an Italian garden with mirrors, a secret bar behind a curtain and library nooks for private dinners. Handmade pasta and Neapolitan pizza, 750 to 1,500 pesos a person.
Ask for a library nook for a celebration. It is the hotspot of the season, so book well ahead.
How I picked
A special occasion is the one dinner where a wrong choice costs more than the bill. These ten are rooms I ate at and filmed, and I would send someone to any of them for an anniversary.
The first three are my own top picks. After that they are ordered by the kind of evening: a tasting menu, a fire grill, the world on a plate, a skyline, a classic, a scene and an Italian garden.
Questions
La Belle Epoque in Roma Norte, chef Max Righi's French dining room with a 480-bottle cellar and a private dining room, where the chef greets every table himself. For a group, URSO; for two, Lotti.
Three: Xuna, Migrante and Lotti are all in the Michelin Guide Mexico 2026 selection. None holds a star; Xuna's culinary director holds one at his other restaurant, Le Chique. The others are not in the Guide, which says more about the Guide's reach than about the cooking.
Salazar, an eighth-floor terrace facing the Angel of Independence, and Cipriani, high above Reforma inside the Ritz-Carlton. Ask for a view table when you book either one.
URSO, where the menu is whole fish and cuts by the kilo built for sharing, across three floors. La Pantera Asador also works, since every protein comes with eight sides for the table.
On this list, from about 750 pesos a person at La Bellezza to 3,000 for Migrante's longer menu, before drinks. URSO runs 1,500 to 2,000 with drinks and Catch about 100 dollars a person. Figures were current when I filmed and they move.
La Belle Epoque has a private dining room, La Bellezza has library nooks for private dinners, and Catch has a salon upstairs for events. Ask when you book.
For all ten, yes, especially at weekends. Lotti and La Bellezza fill first. Most book on OpenTable, and URSO and La Pantera also take WhatsApp.
Foodie map · Mexico City