Mercado Mania: The Best Markets in Mexico City

Each Mexico City market is a universe unto itself – a bustling hub of neighborhood activity and a feast for the senses that borders on the overwhelming. From food stalls serving up just about any dish from around the Republic to entire city blocks of plants and cut flowers to fresh produce and meat, the many local markets are a can’t-miss stop on every visit to the Mexican capital. Each one has its own specialties, its own rhythm and its own tricks of the trade. Our local guides have broken down a few of their favorite markets and here we dive into what makes each one unique.

Mercado San Juan (de Pugibet)

A mecca for the capital’s culinary explorers, San Juan Pugibet is likely the only market on the planet where you can pick up tofu (at Productos Orientales), ostrich meat (at Los Coyotes), and chicatana salsa (at Productos Oaxaqueños, made from Oaxacan flying ants!) on any given day. To top it off, this downtown market is positively dripping in centuries of history. Take La Jersey, a 90-year-old stand that went from selling basic cheeses, to numerous other stalls with artisanal dairy and gourmet products.

Mercado Coyoacán

This market distinguishes itself with a down-to-earth charm, offering a wide range of eats – from the cheese and squash blossom quesadillas at its entrance to tasty tostadas to the locally famed pozole rojo at Pozole Estilo Michoacán. Compact yet diverse, its stalls are a parade of fresh, regional flavors, while nearby squares provide a chill backdrop for savoring the neighborhood vibe. It’s a welcoming spot for a leisurely stroll, a quick bite and a taste of local life without the usual tourist bustle.

Mercado de Medellín

Of all the markets in CDMX, we’re often most excited to return to this one. Notable among the vendors is La Sorpresa butchery, a 30-year family business with a diverse meat selection. Other standouts are La Morenita juice stand, where owner Lety crafts refreshing drinks with natural ingredients, and Señor Carlos’s Cremería Lupita, which offers dairy products from local Mexican producers. We always end a trip with seafood at La Morenita and ice cream from our favorite market ice cream man.

Mercado Jamaica

A jumble of produce vendors and flower sellers, this is not a place you would expect to find a gourmet establishment. That’s what makes this market so appealing. Hidden in this massive complex are several outstanding food spots, ranging in size and scope from a nondescript green chorizo taquería (Las Mas Altas Montañas) to an elevated seafood spot (the unpretentious Mariscos El Paisa). Other favorites: El Profe for barbacoa, Huaraches Rossy and Quesadillas La Chaparrita.

Mercado La Nueva Viga

For those of us who love fish markets, La Viga is a dreamscape – rows of gray slippery octopus, red snapper heads staring up in shock, blue crabs tied tightly with bright green grass and fishmongers whose razor-sharp knives filet fish after fish with the swiftness of blade masters. La Viga is one of the world’s largest fish markets, handling 60 percent of seafood sales in Mexico. There are also a few dozen restaurants with flaky fish-filled empanadas, fried filets and sticky sweet shrimp cocktails.

Mercado de la Merced

Sprawling across 12 blocks, this market houses – among many other things – a 70-year-old association of 154 dulcerías, candy stands offering artisanal sweets like alegrías, a blend of amaranth, nuts and honey. Navigating its colorful corridors requires a strategic approach to spot the best deals, especially in the traditional sweets section (our favorite) accessed via a tunnel. In the heart of the tunnel, check out Local 17 Dulcería EMI, a great spot for bargains. Visit during daylight hours for the best experience.

Mercado de Xochimilco

While many are familiar with boating the waterways of this southern borough, a visit to the colorful mercado in downtown Xochimilco is a completely different experience. There is a flower market and a main market, with some of the best banana-leaf tamales right outside and an aisle lined with delicious tlacoyos. The market showcases local produce grown on the city’s ancient chinampas, including rare frog and charal tamales, sold by vendors who fear these delicacies might one day vanish.

La Central de Abasto

The world’s largest wholesale market blends modern commerce with a fantasy world. It’s a sensory overload, with conveyor belts of produce and stands stacked with colorful pyramids of produce, all competing for attention. The market’s outdoor bit, with its football-field-sized plots, are remnants of farmland that an expanding Mexico City gobbled up long ago. It offers seasonal goodies and a sea of flowers, while back inside clowns and musicians entertain customers and food stands hawk their wares.

Published on December 04, 2024

Related stories

November 21, 2024

Quekas San Cosme: Reinventing the Quesadilla

Mexico City | By Ben Herrera

Mexico CityOne of the staples of Mexican cuisine (and of bar menus everywhere), the quesadilla can be found on almost every street corner and in every neighborhood market in Mexico City. Those served at Mercado San Cosme in Colonia San Rafael, however, redefine the quesadilla. Indeed, while this neighborhood market is far from being the city’s…

September 24, 2024

Cafe Tsumugi: Buddhist-Inspired Breakfast

Tokyo | By Phoebe Amoroso

TokyoThose arriving at Tsukiji Station on an early morning food hunt are most likely in pursuit of some breakfast sushi. Although Japan’s world-famous Tsukiji fish market relocated to Toyosu in October 2018, the ramshackle outer market remained, with its eclectic mix of household goods, tea and dried goods, and seafood donburi shops. Those in the…

Sample some of Porto’s seafood delicacies on our walk!

August 6, 2024

Matosinhos: Song of the Sea

Porto | By Francesca Savoldi and Syma Tariq

PortoMatosinhos, a small city just north of Porto, is used to change. It has an industrial air to it, due to its 19th-century harbor, and its past prosperity was connected to the fish-canning sector, which peaked during World War II and declined from the beginning of the 70s. The numerous abandoned warehouses attracted nightlife during…