Pujol

Pujol is the flagship of the chef Enrique Olvera and one of the best-known modern Mexican restaurants, ranked as high as fifth in the world. Olvera opened it on 6 May 2000, and in 2017 it moved from its original address on Francisco Petrarca to a 1950s house on Tennyson Street in Polanco, which has a terrace and counter dining as well as the main dining room. It holds two stars in the Michelin Guide Mexico, which it has kept since the guide's first edition in 2024, and it has featured on The World's 50 Best Restaurants list for years, reaching fifth place in 2022.

There are two ways to eat here. The main dining room serves a seasonal tasting menu, while the counter offers a taco omakase: a set sequence of nine or ten courses chosen by the chefs that changes daily. Two dishes have become signatures. The first is the baby corn, served in a hollow gourd and dipped in a mayonnaise made with coffee, costeño chilli and chicatana ants, the oldest dish on the menu. The second is the mole madre, a dark mole made with chilhuacle chilli that has been aged and fed with fresh mole for years, served with fresh mole spooned over the aged one so you can taste the two together. The Michelin inspectors also mention dishes such as scallop ceviche and grilled Baja rockfish on recent menus.

The wine list leans heavily on Mexican producers, some of whom bottle wines exclusively for the restaurant. Pujol also runs its own corn mill, Molino El Pujol, and a shop, which shows how central heirloom maize is to its cooking.

Book as far ahead as you can through the reservation link on the restaurant's website, particularly if your travel dates are fixed. Allow at least two and a half hours for the full menu. It suits food lovers and special occasions rather than a quick meal, and it is priced accordingly. Card payments are accepted and there is a terrace. Tell the team about dietary needs when you book.

Pujol is in Polanco IV Sección, in the borough of Miguel Hidalgo. Quintonil, which shared the top Michelin rating in Mexico with Pujol when the guide launched, is also in Polanco, on Newton, so food-focused travellers can plan reservations at both during one stay.