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Cream
The longstanding El Colmillo club has been spruced up and reborn as one of the city's premier electronica venues. Beyond the ghoulishly red narrow front room, steps lead down to a hallucinatory party lounge, where internationally renowned DJs work from a catwalk above a laser-lashed dance floor.
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Cultural Roots
Portraits of Marcus Garvey, Haile Selassie and Emiliano Zapata glare down over the throngs of skanking youth who fill this warehouse-sized room, where DJs pump out a heady blend of contemporary reggae. Despite the pervasive aroma, signs remind you that ganja use is prohibited.
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El Balcón Huasteco
This center for the preservation of the Huastec culture of Hidalgo and Veracruz stages performances by the region's fiery trios. There are wooden platforms for traditional zapateando dancing and snacks from the area.
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El Bataclán
A theater within a club (La Bodega, see above), this intimate cabaret showcases some of Mexico's most vivid performers, with frequent appearances by the wonderfully surreal Astrid Haddad. Cocktails and antojitos are served, with tables on stepped levels leading up from the stage. Afterwards, catch top-notch Cuban son combos in La Bodega's various salons.
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El Colmillo
DJs crank the volume to coccyx-crunching levels at this hallucinogenic hangout. Downstairs there's a dance floor on which to take advantage of the music (deep house; psychedelic trance) and a bar-lounge area; a more subdued upstairs lounge has performance events. The line at the door doesn't keep people waiting too long.
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El Gran León
Two or three top-notch Cuban son ensembles take the tropical stage nightly at this old-school club. Unescorted (and escorted) women should expect to be invited up onto the tightly packed dance floor.
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El Nivel
The country's first cantina proudly displays its license (No 1), dating from 1855. Inside the building that once housed the hemisphere's first university, it's within shouting distance of the Palacio Nacional. Since then, every Mexican president except Vicente Fox has stopped in for a trago . The botanas (drinking snacks) here are particularly fine.
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El Templo De Diana
This classic pulquería, a block east of the main market, has a cheerful sawdust-on-the-floor vibe, with patrons from a broad age range enjoying giant mugs of the maguey-based beverage behind the swinging doors. Even a few females may pop in. Pulque is delivered fresh daily from Hidalgo state, and expertly blended with flavorings like mango, tomato, and pine nut.
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Go Go Lounge
The honeycombed decor in this Polanco antro over a sushi bar seems lifted from the movie Kill Bill, and features what is supposedly the largest mirror ball in Latin America. Merengue, reggaeton and pop keep a post-pubescent crowd bouncing in a series of packed salons. When it gets too sweaty, make your way over to the terrace bar and order a Takeshi (sake and mango ice cream cocktail).
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Hookah Lounge
Moroccan tapestries and scimitars set the tone for this North African fantasy. The fun revolves around the water pipes (from around $100 ), available in a bewildering array of flavors. Wednesday to Saturday nights, DJs produce an eclectic mix of chill-out and Arab rhythms, with no fewer than four turntables. There are also Middle-Eastern snacks.
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Hostal Tequilería Cielo Rojo
Besides offering the most extensive selection of tequilas this side of Jalisco, this boisterous salon on the Zona Rosa's main pedestrian thoroughfare also stocks some fine handmade mezcals from the La Venencia distillery in Oaxaca, including a 15-year-old arroqueño. Mariachis perform nightly, greatly enhancing the whole sampling process.
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Hostería La Bota
This fun and funky bar is one component of the Casa Vecina community arts center, a cultural beachhead in the rough-and-tumble southern fringe of the Centro. Tapas and tequilas are served amidst a profusion of warped bullfighting bric-a-brac and mismatched furniture.
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La Bipolar
Owned by Mexican heartthrob Diego Luna of Y Tu Mam á Tambi é n fame, this popular new cantina displays a naco aesthetic, playing up the kitschier elements of Mexican popular culture. Inside, the walls are fashioned from plastic crates and the light shades are sliced tin buckets while the 50s-era jukebox spins a remarkably eclectic music selection. Besides the Coronas and mezcal shots, they've got updated versions of classic Mexican snacks.
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La Bodega
Fans of the Buena Vista Social Club will appreciate the Cuban combos who perform throughout the day in this rambling, tropically decorated Condesa home. Rumbas, boleros and sones accompany Mexican food, cocktails and dominoes in airy, high-ceilinged salons on both floors. Upstairs is the cabaret club El Bataclán.
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La Bodeguita Del Medio
The walls are scribbled with verses and messages at this animated branch of the famous Havana joint where the mojito was reportedly invented. (Here the cocktail is prepared in classic style with white rum, mint leaves and brown sugar.) Excellent son cubano combos perform in the various interconnected salons above the bar. For snacks, try the masitas de cerdo (fried pork chunks) or stuffed plantains.
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La Botica
Like an old apothecary's, La Botica dispenses its elixirs from squat little bottles lined up on the shelf (these make nifty souvenirs). Available varieties are suitably scribbled on pieces of cardboard - try the cuesh, distilled from a wild maguey in Oaxaca. La Botica has been such a roaring success, they've opened other branches with similar hours at Campeche 396 in Condesa and Orizaba 161 in Colonia Roma.
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La Botijona
Possibly the cleanest pulque dispenser in town, this institutional-green hall near the train station is a friendly family-run establishment, with big plastic pails of the traditional quaff lining the shelves. Coconut and celery are among the more intriguing curados (flavored pulques ) on offer.
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La Gioconda
Dark and light draft beer are poured by the pint in this happening little pub off a pedestrian thoroughfare. By around , the stone-walled space is usually buzzing with a varied crowd in the mood for relaxed conversation and a bit of rock 'n' roll.
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La Guadalupana
Serving spirits for over seven decades, this venerable tavern breathes tradition, from the bulls' heads on the walls to the blasé waiters in white coats. The setting is just right for a tequila, served with homemade sangrita, and/or a few Bohemias. There are botanas and tortas as well as heartier fare like cabrito (goat).
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La Hermosa Hortensia
Opening onto Plaza Garibaldi, this makes a good pulquería for beginners: its hygiene is a cut above the norm, they're used to seeing foreigners, and the atmosphere is 100% 'familiar.'
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La Ópera Bar
After decades as a bastion of masculinity, this ornate early 20th-century watering hole decided to open its doors to women in the 1970s. With original booths of dark walnut and an ornate tin ceiling (said to have been punctured by Pancho Villa's bullet on an otherwise slow night), it's a pleasant setting for a tequila.
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La Selva Café
When the crowds and street noise begin to rattle you, duck into this branch of the Chiapas coffee trader, ensconced in the stunning patio of a colonial building.
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Las Duelistas
Now graffitied with pre-Hispanic psychedelia behind the swinging doors, this large pulquería alongside the Mercado San Juan has become the domain of young Chilangos who've rediscovered the virtues of their ancestral beverage. Despite the new look, the pulque is still dispensed straight out of the barrel in a variety of flavors like mango and coconut.
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Los Enanos Del Tapanco
Possibly Mexico City's coolest café, the 'Dwarves of the Loft' doubles as an art gallery. Cappuccinos and quiches are served along with an eclectic music selection. There's live music Friday and storytelling Tuesday evening.
