11 Jul 2025 5 min read

Tacos, churros and margaritas in Mexico City

On our way to Europe we had a 3-day layover in Ciudad de Mexico (Mexico City). We spent these 3 days eating tacos and churros - and then a fourth day doing the same after our original flight got cancelled.

Tacos y churros

Our only objective for Mexico City was to eat as much Mexican food as we could - and by god it did not disappoint.

Slow cooker spiced pork taco. From memory this was also one of the cheaper ones; about $2.50 NZD. — Slow cooked spiced pork taco. From memory this was also one of the cheaper ones; about $2.50 NZD.

Churros!!! These bad boys are $3 NZD for a 3-pack. Warm, fresh and sugary.

We stuck only to street vendors and it was some of the best food we’ve ever eaten.

Cheesy quesadilla from a roads-side stand. Tacos are always served with guacamole salsa and lime. — Cheesy quesadilla from a road-side stand. Tacos are always served with guacamole salsa and lime.

Honestly I would rate this as my top 3 taco. Cooked up on a mobile cart and also the cheapest taco at $1.50 NZD. I had chorizo, chicken and braised pork 😮‍💨 — Honestly I would rate this as a top-3 taco. Cooked up on a mobile cart and also the cheapest taco at $1.50 NZD. I had chorizo, chicken and braised pork 😮‍💨

Churros n dip. Chocolate and condensed milk. Don’t judge me, I had to replenish myself after 3 weeks of gastro…

After 3 days, the results are in:

And in case you were wondering, that is Max’s talley only. Safe to say his course of anti-parasitics went very well and he’s back to his normal self again.

One of my regular joints I visited for breakfast tacos. — One of the regular joints Max visited for breakfast tacos.

The unwritten rule of Mexico City is that if you pass a churro stand you must get churros.

We visited one of the more famous taco vendors which is open 24/7 and served Anthony Bourdain. They were for sure some of the best tacos.

the food in general was SO CHEAP in Mexico City. The most expensive taco we bought $4. Most were $1-$3.

The famous tacos. Laura squeezing some lime over the crispy pork tacos.

Because we were obsessed with churros, we also went to the oldest and original churro restaurant in Mexico City, setting the gold standard for churros since 1935. This establishment is also open 24/7 and the churros come out hot and fresh. Simply Devine.

HOT and FRESH straight out of thr fryer. The oldest churro establishment in Mexico City, setting the standard for churros since 1935 and open 24/7. — HOT and FRESH straight out of the fryer. The oldest churro establishment in Mexico City, setting the standard for churros since 1935 and open 24/7.

Other things besides eating

During our short time in Mexico City we spent a lot of time walking about the city. Our biggest day was 34,000 steps and our smallest day was still 21,000. I still don’t think this even came close to offsetting the clarifies from all the tacos and churros.

Mexico City is incredibly established, very modern and very clean. We were very impressed and genuinely just loved our time here.

Some of the beautiful architecture around the city.

We visited the anthropology museum which was a throwback to year 12 evolution studies and visited “the whale” library, which is the library that inspired Monsters Inc.

Centre stage of the anthropology museum.

Central library aka “the whale” which inspired Monsters Inc. do you see the resemblance?

Outside the anthropology museum was a tall tower - what looked like a cell-tower. Over the course of about 30min I watched 4 men climb to the top and spin around some 30-50m in the air. Once the fifth man climbed up, they threw themselves backward, upside down, rope tied around their waist (literally!) and spun around and around. I still have no idea what this was all about but I was very mesmerised and intrigued.

The 4 men swinging off the top with the rope tied hand over fist around their waist. Crazy.

Given we only had 2 full days and 2 half days in Mexico Cory we didn’t commit to visiting the temples. In hindsight we would have had time, as our original flight was cancelled the morning of our departure due to air traffic controller strikes in France. Oh well, our hands were tied…

Coffee was meh to be honest, but a nice photo. — Coffee was meh to be honest, but a nice photo of Laura.

All in all it was a lovely 3/4 days in Mexico City. A great way to finish our time in South America. We will eventually do a wee write up on our reflections from the last 3-months we spent in South America to share our peaks and pits. Laura also promised the Machu Picchu blog is coming… so is Christmas!

Next stop - Hamburg, Germany to visit family and decompress after 3-months on the road.