6 Best Restaurants in Centro Histórico, Mexico City

An essential, if touristy, breakfast, lunch, dinner, or snack stop downtown, this Mexican classic opened in 1912 in a section of an old convent. At the entrance to the main dining room are huge 18th-century oil paintings depicting the invention of mole poblano, a complex sauce featuring a variety of chiles and chocolate that was created by the nuns in the Santa Rosa Convent in Puebla. A student group dressed in medieval capes and hats usually serenades diners Wednesday through Sunday afternoons.

Housed in a magnificent 17th-century building, Al Andaluz makes some of the best Lebanese food in the capital and is a landmark for the Lebanese immigrant community that has been present here since the late 19th century. Its proximity to La Merced means that the numerous menu options—from classic spreads like hummus and baba ghanoush to delicate plates of raw kibbeh nayeh—are made with the freshest ingredients. If you don't want to choose, order the mesa libanesa, a mixed platter with everything from hummus and kebbeh to lamb shawarmas.

An institution known for its classic Mexican cooking, today El Cardenal has locations all over the city, but the branch to try is on Calle Palma, in a three-story building in the florid style of the late 19th century. Inside, the atmosphere (think beige walls and white tablecloths) and food are old school; the best time to come is breakfast, when trays of pan dulces make for a pleasant prelude to eggs or chilaquiles. Other locations include the ground floor of the Hilton Alameda in San Angel (Avenida de la Paz 32) and Lomas de Chapultepec (Avenida Paseo de Las Palmas 215, near Colonia Polanco).

The oldest portions of this 16th-century mansion were built using stones torn down from the Templo Mayor, which lies just feet away. At lunchtime, you may want to reserve a table on the atmospheric second-floor terrace overlooking the Zócalo, cathedral, and national palace, or simply stop at the ground floor patio for a drink in the shade of the towering cathedral across the street. The menu is a mishmash of international (Cornish game hen) and Mexican (cilantro soup).

When Los Girasoles ("the sunflowers") opened more than 30 years ago in the Centro, it became the first in a wave of modern Mexican restaurants to take on a neighborhood dominated by century-old classics. Now it remains a good place to sip a cold beer and enjoy pre-Hispanic delicacies like escamoles (ant eggs), gusanos de maguey (agave worms), and chapulines (fried grasshoppers). Set in a restored colonial home, its front patio has the best view around of one of the city's most grandiose plazas, its edges lined by extravagant belle epoque giants.

In 1917, the Sanborn brothers took over the iconic Casa de los Azulejos building to expand their drugstore business and now the popular stores-cum-restaurants, owned by billionaire Carlos Slim, populate every major town in Mexico. The menu plays it safe with decent Mexican standards and international options like burgers, soups, and club sandwiches, but the long, winding counter is one of the best places around for a solo coffee and breakfast, while happy hour deals at the endearingly old-fashioned upstairs bar are hard to beat.