Downtown Bakeries and Coffee

The facade of Cafe X is painted a deep, matte blue that stands out against the pale, limestone buildings lining the street. This space functioned as a telegraph office in the nineteen twenties before a local family turned the ground floor…

The white-tiled facade of Pastelería Madrid stretches along the sidewalk, distinguished by its vintage, neon-lettered sign and rows of display windows filled with traditional Spanish pastries. Founded in nineteen thirty-two by Spanish…

The Pastelería Ideal occupies a corner on Avenida dieciséis de Septiembre with windows stacked high with tiered wedding cakes and trays of sugary confections. It began as a small shop in nineteen twenty-seven, but today it sprawls across…

Café El Popular features a facade covered in bright yellow tiles and a steady stream of people waiting on the sidewalk. Since nineteen forty-eight, this corner has served as a dining room for the neighborhood. When the original owners…

The Cafe de Tacuba occupies a seventeenth century building with heavy dark wood doors and vibrant talavera tiles covering the walls. Originally, this space served as a convent for the Order of Saint Clare. In nineteen twelve, Dionisio…

The blue and white decorative tiles climbing the walls mark the entrance to El Moro. Francisco Iriarte founded this spot in nineteen thirty-five after moving from Spain to Mexico City. He arrived with a churro cart, but he eventually…

The iron sign above Café Villarías features a silhouette of a coffee grinder, a mark of the shop’s century-long tenure on this corner. When it opened in nineteen twenty-four, the owner, Antonio Villarías, sourced beans from the Veracruz…