Bars

Ensenada, Baja California

Bodegas de Santo Tomás is Mexico's oldest winery — an Ensenada institution founded in 1888 that produces outstanding Baja California wines from one of the most promising wine regions in North America. The Valle de Guadalupe wine region's extraordinary emergence as a world-class wine destination (it has been called the "Napa Valley of Mexico") and Bodegas de Santo Tomás's remarkable 135+ year heritage create a winery bar of genuine Mexican wine cultural significance.

Av. Miramar 666, Ensenada, BC 22800

Mexico City, Ciudad de México

Café de Tacuba is Mexico City's most historically significant restaurant and cantina — an establishment operating since 1912 in the heart of the Centro Histórico, serving traditional Mexican cuisine in surroundings of extraordinary colonial-era significance. Café de Tacuba's remarkable 110+ year history and its extraordinary preservation of traditional Mexican culinary and drinking culture create a cantina of genuine Mexican cultural heritage significance.

Calle Tacuba 28, Centro Historico, CDMX 06010

Mexico City, Ciudad de México

La Clandestina is Mexico City's most beloved mezcal bar — a Roma Norte institution serving outstanding artisanal mezcal in a casual setting that reflects Mexico City's extraordinary creative community. Mexico City's remarkable mezcal culture (it has become one of the world's most important destinations for serious mezcal enthusiasts) and La Clandestina's exceptional curated selection create a bar of genuine Mexican agave culture community significance.

Av. Álvaro Obregón 298, Roma, CDMX 06700

Mexico City, Ciudad de México

La Polar is Mexico City's most beloved pulquería — a cantina presenting the most ancient alcoholic beverage in the Americas, pulque (fermented maguey sap), in an authentic working-class environment of genuine Mexico City community character. Pulque's extraordinary pre-Columbian heritage (it was the sacred drink of the Aztec gods) and La Polar's remarkable preservation of this ancient drinking tradition create a bar of genuine Mexican indigenous cultural heritage significance.

Guillermo Prieto 129, San Rafael, CDMX 06470

Mexico City, Ciudad de México

Limantour is Latin America's most acclaimed cocktail bar — consistently ranked among the best bars in the world (Top 50 World's Best Bars multiple years). Limantour's extraordinary cocktail innovation, its remarkable incorporation of Mexican ingredients (mezcal, tepache, chilhuacle), and its transformative influence on the Mexico City cocktail scene create a bar of singular Latin American cocktail culture significance.

Av. Álvaro Obregón 106, Roma Norte, CDMX 06700

Mexico City, Ciudad de México

Mexico City's rooftop bar scene in the Centro Histórico serves one of the world's most remarkable UNESCO World Heritage urban centers — a colonial city center where the extraordinary Aztec ruins beneath the Templo Mayor, outstanding 16th-century Spanish colonial architecture, and vibrant contemporary culture create a bar environment of unique American civilizational heritage significance. Mexico City's Centro Histórico is literally built on the ruins of Tenochtitlán, the Aztec capital, making it one of the most historically layered urban spaces on Earth.

Isabel La Católica 30, Centro, CDMX 06000

Guadalajara, Jalisco

Cervecería Minerva is Mexico's most respected craft brewery — a Guadalajara institution producing outstanding craft ales that have helped establish Mexico as a serious craft beer country. Mexico's remarkable craft beer renaissance and Minerva's extraordinary quality (its Minerva Imperial Stout has won international awards) create a brewery taproom of genuine Mexican craft beer cultural significance.

Av. Mariano Otero 1716, Guadalajara, Jal 44530

Tequila, Jalisco

La Capilla is the most historically significant cantina in Tequila, Jalisco — the town that gave its name to the world's most famous Mexican spirit. La Capilla is famous for inventing the Batanga cocktail (tequila, Coca-Cola, and lime, stirred with a knife) in the 1950s, and sits in the UNESCO World Heritage landscape of the Tequila agave fields. Tequila's extraordinary agave landscape (a 90-kilometer stretch of blue agave fields stretching from Tequila to Amatitán) creates a bar of unique Mexican cultural heritage significance.

Sixto Gorjón 8, Tequila, Jal 46400

Monterrey, Nuevo León

Monterrey's craft cocktail scene reflects the most economically powerful city in northern Mexico — a city where the extraordinary FEMSA brewing dynasty (Corona, Modelo, and Heineken brands are all produced by companies connected to Monterrey's beer heritage) and Mexico's most sophisticated business culture create a cocktail bar environment of remarkable Mexican industrial city sophistication.

Constitución 303, Monterrey, NL 64000

Oaxaca City, Oaxaca

In Situ is the most important mezcal bar in Mexico — an Oaxaca institution housing over 1,000 expressions of mezcal from across the state, representing the complete spectrum of artisanal mezcal production. Oaxaca's extraordinary mezcal heritage (mezcal is produced in more than 30 Mexican states but Oaxaca remains the spiritual and productive heartland) and In Situ's remarkable preservation of rare mezcal traditions create a bar of singular Mexican agave spirits cultural significance.

Murguía 105, Oaxaca de Juárez, Oax 68000