Churrería El Moro (Eje Central)

El Moro is a churrería whose original shop on Eje Central Lázaro Cárdenas has been frying churros since 1935. The founder, Francisco Iriarte, arrived in Mexico from Spain in 1933 with a family recipe for churros, and he named the business after the churro maker of his home village. Since 2014 his grandchildren have opened further branches, but the Eje Central shop in the historic centre is still the one most visitors seek out.

The menu is short and focused. The churros are made by hand to the original 1935 recipe, and El Moro points out that they are fully vegan. They are served with cups of hot chocolate, which the company makes from pure organic cacao from the state of Tabasco, and dipping one in the other is the point of the visit. The website has a full menu page, so it is worth a look before you order if you are coming with a group.

It is an easy stop at almost any time of day: as a mid-morning break during sightseeing, an afternoon snack or a late treat after an evening at Bellas Artes, and it is an easy choice for families with children. Allow 20 to 30 minutes if you sit down.

The shop stands about 60 metres from San Juan de Letrán Metro station, and Calle de Gante is around the corner. The Torre Latinoamericana and the Palacio de Bellas Artes are both a short walk to the north, which makes El Moro a handy place to rest during a day in the centre.

If you are staying elsewhere, El Moro now has branches in the food halls of the Palacio de Hierro department stores in Polanco, Perisur and Santa Fe, at Mercado Roma, by Parque México in Condesa, on Avenida Álvaro Obregón in Roma and on Río Lerma in Colonia Cuauhtémoc. The original on Eje Central is where the story began. Wikipedia notes that the expansion into department store food halls and food markets began only in 2014, so for decades this single shop was El Moro, and it was included in Eater's 2018 list of the best places to eat in Mexico City.