1. Why Mexico City became the cocktail capital of North America
The story of how Mexico City built the most interesting bar scene in the Western Hemisphere is not complicated, but it is underreported. Three things came together in the 2010s: Mexican bartenders who trained in Europe and New York came home and built their own venues instead of staying abroad; Mexican ingredients — mezcal, pulque, tepache, tamarind, mamey, hierba santa, nanche, chile morita — began to be treated as serious cocktail components rather than novelties; and a restaurant culture emerged that treated drinks as food, not an afterthought.
The result is a city where the best bars are not just copying global trends but generating them. Handshake Speakeasy in Colonia Juárez created a reservation-only, 90-minute timed format years before it became a fine-dining-bar hybrid elsewhere. Licorería Limantour put Mexican spirits and local produce at the center of a cocktail menu in 2011, before 'terroir cocktails' became an international conversation. By 2026, the rest of the world noticed: 11 Mexican bars landed on North America's 50 Best Bars, with three in the top 10. No other city outside New York comes close. Most travelers still think of Mexico City primarily for mezcal poured from a clay cup. That is not wrong — but it is about fifteen years behind.
2. Handshake Speakeasy: the #1 bar in North America
Address: Calle Amberes 65, Colonia Juárez (ring the bell at door #13) The name comes from how 1920s speakeasies operated: no sign, no advertisement, entry by recognition. Handshake operates with that same logic applied to contemporary fine dining. You book a 90-minute reservation slot — currently through their website or OpenTable — and arrive to find a room of 40 seats, theatrical low lighting, and a menu that changes every few months around a central concept. The current menu leans into Japanese-Mexican crossover ingredients: mezcal with matcha, tequila with yuzu, dashi-forward broth structures applied to tequila highballs. The Butter Mushroom Old Fashioned is the drink most regulars order first — it converts people who claim not to like whiskey with alarming consistency. The Olive Oil Gimlet is the one to order second. Complimentary snacks arrive with the drinks; the pace is calibrated and unhurried. Drinks run 250–400 MXN each. Reservations open 30 days in advance, and Friday and Saturday slots disappear within hours of going live. The strategic move is a Tuesday or Wednesday visit: identical cocktails, half the crowd, and bartenders who have time to talk you through the menu. If you are visiting Mexico City once, this is the bar to prioritize.
3. Licorería Limantour: where the movement started
Address: Álvaro Obregón 106, Roma Norte (near Metro Insurgentes) Before CDMX had a cocktail scene, it had Limantour. José Luis León opened the bar in 2011 with a specific argument: Mexican ingredients could anchor world-class cocktails if the bartender was willing to treat them with the same rigor applied to European spirits and techniques. The results proved the argument so completely that the bar has appeared in the World's 50 Best Bars every year since 2014, reaching as high as #6 globally in 2021. The Margarita al Pastor is the bar's most-cited drink: tequila, chile morita, coriander, green pepper, pineapple, and lime — a cocktail built on the flavor profile of the trompo across the street. The Camote de Carrito is the other one to order: sweet potato foam, orange, and something smoky underneath that references the elote cart tradition. Both drinks taste exactly like Mexico City in a glass, which is what made them famous. The Roma Norte location is a two-story art deco space with an open terrace that fills up from 7 p.m. onward. Unlike every other bar on this list, no reservations required — which makes Limantour the best option for walk-in cocktails on a weeknight. It is also the most accessible price point on the list, with cocktails around 200–280 MXN. If you are only going to one bar in Mexico City, this is the one.
4. Kaito del Valle: the Japanese-Mexican speakeasy at #40
Neighborhood: Del Valle / Zona Rosa border Kaito del Valle ranked #40 on the 2026 North America's 50 Best Bars list, which undersells how different it is from everything else in the CDMX bar scene. The concept is Japanese izakaya applied to Mexican cocktail logic: sake and mezcal share equal billing on the menu, cocktails are built with dashi, yuzu, and Mexican chile in the same glass, and the snack menu lists edamame next to quesillo (Oaxacan string cheese) and tostadas with aguachile. The entrance requires a small act of commitment — the bar is located inside what appears to be a private building, marked by a placard and, on weekends, a short queue. Reservations release weekly via Instagram. The room itself is dark, small, and operates with the precision of a Japanese bar: drinks arrive correctly made, without improvisation, in the right glass. There is also a private karaoke room bookable for groups. The combination of karaoke and mezcal-yuzu cocktails is stranger and more appealing than it sounds.
5. Baltra Bar and the Condesa approach
Neighborhood: Condesa Baltra Bar takes its name from the Galápagos island where Darwin's ship made its first landing — the idea being that every cocktail represents a departure from something familiar. The nautical decor (wood paneling, rope details, maritime charts on the wall) gives the room a warmth that most CDMX cocktail bars sacrifice in favor of dark minimalism. Baltra is the most neighborhood-bar of the top cocktail spots in the city: the clientele skews local rather than tourist, the music stays at conversation-friendly volume, and the street terrace is one of the better outdoor seats in Condesa on a warm evening. This is the bar to go to when you want excellent cocktails without the formality or the reservation pressure. It pairs well with dinner beforehand at one of the restaurants along Ámsterdam or a Sunday morning walk around Parque México, followed by returning in the evening when the terrace fills up.
6. Cicatriz and the natural wine-cocktail crossover
A specific shift happened in Mexico City's bar scene around 2020: natural wine bars and cocktail bars began to merge. The two categories used to exist separately — wine bars served wine, cocktail bars served cocktails. Now a growing number of spots do both, with the natural wine list and the mezcal-forward cocktail menu treated with equal seriousness.Cicatriz in Roma Norte is the best example: a blackboard menu that rotates weekly, a wine list built almost entirely from small-production Mexican and South American bottles, and cocktails that treat mezcal as a spirit with terroir — something made from specific agave varieties in specific soil conditions — rather than a general category. Drinks are priced fairly for the quality. The room is small and fills quickly after 9 p.m.; arrive early or expect to wait for a seat.Loup Bar, also in Roma Norte near Álvaro Obregón, runs similar logic with a longer wine list and a louder room. Hugo and NIV, both in the Roma-Condesa corridor, are the spots for full natural wine immersion without the cocktail component. All of these bars represent a generation of beverage thinking that did not exist in Mexico City a decade ago and is now defining the neighborhood's character.
7. How to actually navigate Mexico City's bar scene
Reservations: Handshake and Kaito require advance reservations — Handshake books 30 days out via OpenTable or their website, Kaito releases slots weekly via Instagram. Limantour and Baltra are walk-in. Cicatriz is walk-in but fills by 9 p.m. on weekends.Payment: All of the bars listed here accept cards, unlike most street food and cantina culture in the city. The cantinas guide covers the cash-only, standing-room end of the bar spectrum — a completely different experience worth doing separately.Drinking and mezcal together: If your intention is to drink mezcal specifically — to understand it as a spirit with regional variation — the mezcalerias guide is the better starting point. Cocktail bars use mezcal as an ingredient; mezcalerias treat it as the subject.Neighborhood logistics: Roma Norte has the highest density of good cocktail bars per block — Limantour, Cicatriz, Loup, and several others are within a 15-minute walk of each other. Condesa (Baltra and nearby spots) is one Metro stop or a 20-minute walk south. Handshake is in Colonia Juárez, a 10-minute taxi from either. The standard Mexico City bar evening moves Roma Norte first, Handshake or Kaito second if you have a reservation.Language: English is spoken at all of the bars listed here. Spanish will make you more comfortable at Cicatriz and Loup, where the staff is less oriented toward tourists.
8. Prices, dress code, and what first-timers get wrong
How much does a cocktail cost? At Handshake: 250–400 MXN ($12–20 USD). At Limantour: 200–280 MXN ($10–14 USD). At Baltra and Cicatriz: 180–250 MXN ($9–12 USD). Budget 700–1,200 MXN per person ($35–60 USD) for a full night at one of the top bars, including tip. Tip 15–20% — bartenders at these venues are professionals and the service reflects it.Is there a dress code? Not strictly enforced anywhere on this list, but the rooms are designed to feel like occasions. Smart casual is the local standard — a dress, a collared shirt, clean shoes. Nobody will turn you away for jeans, but you will notice that most Mexican customers at these bars dress deliberately.What do first-timers get wrong? Two things. First: they try to walk in on a Friday night without a reservation and get turned away at Handshake, then conclude the bar scene is overhyped. It isn't — it just requires planning. Second: they conflate CDMX cocktail bars with mezcal bars and expect a rustic vibe. These are polished, technically precise venues. The mezcal is there, but it is in the same room as olive oil gimlets and yuzu tequila highballs. Adjust expectations accordingly and the night will exceed them.Is it safe? All bars listed here are in Roma Norte, Condesa, and Juárez — the three most traveled-in neighborhoods in the city, well-lit, with Ubers available throughout the night. Use Uber or InDriver for late-night returns rather than flagging street cabs after midnight.
Keep exploring
Want to explore Mexico City's bar and nightlife culture with the stories behind it?
TourMe turns the history of pulque, the geography of the trompo, and the neighborhood rhythms of Roma Norte into short interactive stories and collectible cards — so every bar you walk into comes with context. Explore the city like someone who actually knows why CDMX became a cocktail capital.
