Mexico City is one of my favorite cities in the world, it has something for every kind of traveler; one of the highest concentrations of museums in the world, world-renowned restaurants, European-like neighborhoods, ancient Aztec ruins, and so much more. With so much to do and explore, you will need some fuel to get you through, so here are the best coffee shops in Mexico City to fuel your adventures in this exciting metropolis.
Coffee is the first thing I look for in every city that I visit, way before I land, way before I get on a plane, and weeks before I arrive at a destination I will have pinned a very decent amount of specialty coffee shops and coffee roasteries on my Google maps. All ready for me to hit the ground running.
While researching in advance for the best coffee shops in Mexico City there was a pattern that was easy to see, the highest concentration of specialty coffee shops are in the trendy Roma and Condesa neighborhoods, which makes sense, given that these areas are more pedestrian-friendly, and give space for people to just wander in and have a coffee, compared to the rest of this immense city.
However, I do have to start this post with a bit of honesty in saying that I was quite disappointed with the coffee scene in Mexico City, Mexico is a coffee country, we produce coffee and we love coffee, however, the issue that I encountered most often was the lack of consistency in milk frothing, some lattes and flat whites tasted great when it came to the espresso itself, but the milk was most often than not disappointing.
Then again, this is me drinking mostly espresso and milk drinks, if you prefer method or espresso alone, you might disagree with me, but as a latte and flat white drinker, most Mexico City coffee shops were just okay.
However, I did visit plenty of coffee shops and all the ones on this list are some of the highest-rated coffee shops in the city, so I just wanted to be honest in the sense that none of them blew me away, except for one clear winner, which I will leave it to the end, but these are the best coffee shops in Mexico City according to reviews.
Dosis Cafe:
Dosis Cafe is an all-time favorite of mine and one I used to visit a lot when I lived in Mexico City a few times for a couple of months. The baristas know what they are doing and the coffee is consistently good, so I would say that this place is a safe bet for a good milky coffee drink.
I didn’t get a chance to visit this time around, but in the last years that I have visited I have always enjoyed their drinks and their pastries. The tables outside facing Avenida Alvaro Obregon are perfect for people-watching.
Brew Brew:
Brew Brew Cafe was recommended to me by a local friend and chef, the place calls itself an espresso bar, so you know that they are passionate about coffee.
While visiting I didn’t try a milky coffee drink since it was early in the evening and I had already had two coffees before, so we opted for an evening coffee option, a carajillo, and it was delicious.
Carajillo is a digestive drink that consists of an espresso over rocks with cinnamon and sweet-tasting Liquor 43. A perfect slightly boozy late afternoon pick me up, and one I would recommend you to try while visiting Mexico City.
Brew Brew Cafe is located in the beautiful La Roma neighborhood, in a corner where you can sit outside, enjoy the sun, and watch the peaceful neighborhood go about its day.
Postales de Café:
Postales de Cafe is a new addition to the Mexico City coffee scene and one that is quickly gaining popularity based on its high reviews.
The location is beautiful, clean, and modern, with lots of light coming in. It offers all the things that a specialty coffee shop would offer, different methods, bean bags for sale, some merch, and even a coffee passport to write your reviews of the different Mexico City coffee shops.
The flat white here was good, a strong-tasting espresso, but the milk was a little bit overheated.
Qūentin Café:
Qūentin Cafe is a popular Mexico City coffee shop that offers four different locations around the city, all in the trendiest of neighborhoods of course.
This local coffee shop is definitely on the list of contenders for one of the best coffee shops in Mexico City.
Again, as I mentioned at the beginning of this blog post, almost all the coffee shops I went to were a bit disappointing when it came to the milk preparation of the drink, but Quinten was one of the most decent ones and I specifically remember being very surprised by how delicious the espresso tasted.
So I would put Qūentin on the list of one of the best coffee shops in Mexico City not just because they are highly rated, but because it was pretty good.
Compay Café de Especialidad:
Compay is the tiniest coffee shop tucked away on a tree-lined street in La Roma with limited outdoor sitting space, but a great place to grab a coffee and slow down for a little bit while exploring the neighborhood.
The service was really friendly, and while drinking my coffee there were lots of people walking by with their dogs on their way to a dog park nearby, so that was a big plus.
CUMBÉ Coffee Roasters:
Cumbé Coffee Roasters is a place I wanted to love, but sadly I only liked it. The place is gorgeous, everything you want a coffee shop to be, brick walls lots of plants, very cozy and inviting.
I had high expectations for their coffee because of their logo saying “Melbourne special coffee roasters” underneath, but the coffee was just okay, the milk was overheated and too flat.
However, if what you need is just a coffee and a place to work for a while, this place might still be right for you, there is lots of seating space, wifi, and natural light coming in. So is not a bad place, it just depends on your priorities.
Blend Station:
Blend is another coffee shop I wanted to love, but that didn’t happen, because of the same thing, the milk was overheated and too flat.
However, this might be one of the best coffee shops in Mexico City to work from, as it is one of the most spacious coffee shops I have seen in the area.
Cucurucho Roma:
And finally, the winner of it all, Cucurucho Roma, this was the first coffee I had during this trip and I think it was what ruined me for the rest of the trip because their latte was just perfect, the espresso was delicious and the milk was frothed to perfection.
Cucurucho Roma offers some indoor sitting space in the form of a long communal tall table, good for working on the laptop, and a small outdoor seating space on the sidewalk surrounded by greenery.
You can also buy some of their beans, which I did to bring to the coffee lovers in my family as a little souvenir, as this was my favorite coffee shop in the city and my winner as the best coffee shop in Mexico City.
As I mentioned at the beginning, most of these places didn’t blow me away, but I think I have also become a tough crowd after being in Japan for almost a year, where the consistency in coffee shops was truly unmatchable.
So after visiting plenty of coffee shops during my trip to Mexico City, these are the ones that I believe are worth mentioning, I am not including a couple of others I visited since I don’t think is necessary, neither for the coffee nor the space.
I hope this guide on the best coffee shops in Mexico City helps you navigate the coffee scene in this enormous city, and hope you have better luck than me, when in doubt, definitely visit one of the Cucurucho locations.
If you love travel and coffee here are some other coffee guides we have from around the world: