The highly-anticipated special edition list of Latin America’s 50 Best Restaurants 2021: Pasado y Futuro was revealed in November 2021.
Eleven Mexican restaurants ranked in the top 50! The list includes the Mexico City usual suspects (Pujol, Quintonil, etc) and also some off-the-beaten-path restaurants from Toluca, Cancun and Valle de Guadalupe. Check out all the Mexican ranked restaurants and how to book your reservation below.
Style: Mexican contemporary cuisine
Concept: Amaranta reinterpret recipes, ingredients and gastronomic customs of the 125 municipalities of the State of Mexico
By growing organic herbs, vegetables and edible flowers and sourcing ingredients from around Estado de México state, chef Pablo Salas offers the region’s best culinary expression at Amaranta.
The contemporary seven-course tasting menu changes every two months and wine pairings are put together by sommelier Francisco Salas, who runs the restaurant alongside his chef brother.
Chef: Pablo Salas
Address: Calle Gral. Francisco Murguía 16 Pte. 401 (Toluca)
Insta: @restamaranta
Style: Mexican contemporary cuisine
Concept: according to the restaurant’s page on Google, Corazón de Tierra is permanently closed. We don’t know if it’s a temporary close due to the pandemic, so we decided to add it to this post as the restaurant ranked 40 in the World’s 50 List.
Chef: Diego Hernández Baquedano
Address: Rancho San Marcos Toros Pintos s/n km 88 (Guadalupe Valley, Baja California Norte)
Insta: @corazondtierra
Visit Corazón de Tierra’s website.
Style: Experimental modern cuisine
Concept: Le Chique features a gourmet, adult’s only restaurant as well as lavish lounge areas which are perfect for enjoying a glass of wine.
Part restaurant, part house of mirrors, Le Chique challenges diners on every level with its multi-sensory, experiential tasting menu.
Chef: Jonatán Gómea
Address: Azul Beach Resort Riviera Cancun (Cancun)
Insta: @lechiquerestaurant
Style: traditional Mexican cuisine
Concept: A much-loved institution, Nicos has been satisfying Mexicans’ stomachs for more than 60 years. Architect-turned-chef Gerardo Vázquez Lugo creates dishes that take diners on an odyssey through the country’s rich culinary heritage.
Chef: Gerardo Vázquez Lugo
Address: Av. Cuitláhuac 3102 (Mexico City)
Insta: @nicosmexico
Style: contemporary Mexican + European fusion
Concept: Opened in 2011 by chef Eduardo García and his wife, Gabriela Lopez, Máximo Bistrot celebrates seasonal, fresh and local ingredients. Making the most of sustainable gardens and crops in and around Mexico City, García has made a name for himself as a star of the city’s food scene
Chef: Eduardo Garcia
Address: Álvaro Obregón 65 (Mexico City)
Insta: @maximobistrot
Visit Maximo Bistrot’s website.
Style: down-to-earth regional mexican cuisine
Concept: Chef Francisco ‘Paco’ Ruano’s simple, ‘frank’ Mexican cooking in open kitchen style. The restaurant is stylish, welcoming in Guadalajara.
Chef: Francisco “Paco” Ruano
Address: Av. México 2903 (Guadalajara)
Insta: @restalcalde
Style: artisanal Mexican cuisine
Concept: Chef Elena Reygadas made her name specializing in exquisite hand-made pasta dishes. In recent years, the restaurant’s emphasis has shifted towards a deeper Mexican sensibility with reinterpretations of tamales and mole recipes, alongside the likes of quail served with faro, dates and mustard leaves.
Chef: Elena Reygadas
Address: Colima 166 (Mexico City)
Insta: @restauranterosetta
Style: contemporary Mexican cuisine
Concept: Chef Guillermo Gonzales and his team apply modern French cooking techniques to the region’s superb local produce, resulting in sophisticated and flavourful plates
Chef: Guillermo González Beristáin
Address: Bosques del Valle 110-b (San Pedro Garza García, Monterrey)
Insta: @restaurantepangea
Style: contemporary Mexican cuisine
Concept: Chef Edgar Nuñez toured the globe cooking at some of the world’s finest restaurants – including Noma and El Bulli – before returning home to join Sud 777, a restaurant which applies the techniques he learnt on his travels to Mexico’s humble, indigenous ingredients.
Chef: Edgar Nuñez
Address: Boulevard de la Luz 777 (Mexico City)
Insta: @sud777mx
Style: contemporary Mexican cuisine
Concept: Quintonil is the emblem for the gastronomical project headed by Alejandra Flores and Jorge Vallejo. The aim is to express Mexican flavors with a personal touch.
Chef: Jorge Vallejo
Address: Boulevard de la Luz 777 (Mexico City)
Insta: @rest_quintonil
Style: contemporary Mexican cuisine
Concept: Enrique Olvera opened Pujol in Mexico City in 2000. His cooking is always changing; it draws ideas from everywhere, always reinterpreting and evolving, but with the roots in Mexican ingredients and techniques of all times.
Chef: Enrique Olvera
Address: Tennyson 133 (Mexico City)
Insta: @pujolrestaurant
Mexicans on the list
12.- Sud 777 de Édgar Nuñez (Ciudad de México)
15.- Pangea de Guillermo Beristáin con la cocina de Eduardo Morali (Monterrey. nuevo León)
27.- Rosetta de elena Reygadas (Ciudad de México)
32.- Alcalde de Francisco Ruano (Guadalajara, Jalisco)
33.- Máximo Bistrot de Eduardo García (Ciudad de México)
35.- Nicos de Elena Lugo y Gerardo Vázquez Lugo (CDMX)
38.- Le Chique de Jonathan Gómez Luna (Cancún)
40.- Corazón de Tierra del chef Diego Baquedano (Baja California Norte)
Foto: FB Corazón de Tierra
44.- Amaranta de Pablo Salas (Toluca, Estado de México)
57.- La Docena de Tomás Bermúdez (Guadalajara, Jalisco)
62,. Manzanilla de Solange Muris y Benito Molina (Ensenada, Baja California)
63.- Casa Oaxaca de Álex Ruíz (Oaxaca)
72.- Merotoro de Jaír Téllez (CDMX)
79.- Laja de Jaír Téllez (Ensenada, Baja California)
85.- Dulce PAtria de Martha Ortíz (CDMX)
95.- Pitiona de Jose Manuel Baños (Oaxaca)
98.- Deckman´s en El Mogor (Valle de Guadalupe, Baja California)
A special award went to Eduardo García de Máximo, for reinventing himself in times of pandemic in a positive way, leaving a mark for the future, a prize awarded by the beer sponsoring the event. During the 18 months of health crisis, he demonstrated sustainable practices, fair trade as well as social programs where he fed those who needed it most.
