Shopping in Mexico City
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Super Soya
A whole-foods shop where you can find all the normal healthy fare, including various nutty breads and biscuits, soy products, natural vitamins and minerals, sugarless sweets and invigorating power snacks for keeping up your pavement-pounding momentum.
reviewed
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Plaza Loreto
Plaza Loreto, a 600m walk south of Plaza San Jacinto, is an unusually attractive shopping mall converted from an old paper factory. Several patios and courtyards are set between the brick buildings and it’s a lot more than just a place to shop. You’ll find a miniamphitheater for free concerts and puppet shows; two multiscreen cinemas (one of them, Cinemanía, devoted to classic and art-house movies and endowed with a nice little lobby bar); a cabaret club, La Planta de Luz; an excellent art museum, and one of the city’s best restaurants, Taberna de León. There are plenty of up-market shops as well, including boutiques and jewelers, plus a branch of Sanborns and the Mixup m…
reviewed
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Chíc by Accident
Featured in stylish wallpaper* magazine, French owner Emmanuel Picault has a fascinating collection of 20th-century furniture and objects here, ranging from a quirky giant walrus to a sumptuous abstractly designed quilt. Picault has published a book on contemporary furniture with Philippe Starck (Book by Accident) The adjacent showroom, Sex By Accident, concentrates on the erotica in art and sculpture.
reviewed
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Arte Mexicano Para el Mundo
Explore three floors of quality arts and crafts from all over Mexico, including rugs, jewelry, pottery and delightful shocking-pink papier-mâché dolls with plenty of glitter and attitude. The first floor has an excellent bookshop with coffee-table-style tomes on Mexican design, cookery and architecture. There’s a cafeteria on the sixth floor with sweeping Zócalo views.
reviewed
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Perfumería de Tacuba
This place has remained firmly in ‘50s mold, with its shelves of old-fashioned bottles containing perfume essences. You can pick up a 10g vial of perfume – a sniff at just M$3.50. At that price it may be worth trying out a few more, with tantalizing names like ‘honey’, ‘vogue’, ‘cappuccino’ and, er, ‘Christmas’.
reviewed
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Headquarters
An artful store with a black ceiling and warehouse look selling the retro-chic fashion look, with Mexican brands like Reme Ritas and Sweet & Dandy cashing in on NaCo’s success with their slogan-style T-shirts. The back of the store is a surprising flip into baby pink Japanese-style accessories by Guadalajara company Tatéi (www.tatei.com).
reviewed
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Esrawe
This local Mexican designer goes for the minimalist look, with his futon-style modular furniture in lime green and chocolate brown. The retro-style cabinets have hidden drawers, while the imported Naninarquina rugs from Spain give a whole new meaning to ‘shag’ rugs, with their incredible texture finishes in the shape of leaves and flowers.
reviewed
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Fonart, Juárez
The well-known government-run handicrafts shop displays beautiful wares from around the country, ranging from Olinalá lacquered boxes to Oaxacan alebrijes and blankets from Teotitlán del Valle. Prices are fixed and higher than you pay in the Ciudadela market around the corner, but the quality is undeniably up there as well.
reviewed
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Mercado de Sonora
Has all the ingredients for Mexican witchcraft. Aisles are crammed with stalls hawking potions, amulets, voodoo dolls and other esoterica. This is also the place for a limpia (spiritual cleansing), a ritual that involves clouds of incense and an herbal brushing. Sadly, some vendors at the market trade illegally in endangered animals.
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Elfos
If you believe in fairies (it happens!), this shop will delight. There are shelves and shelves of models crafted in Alicante, Spain. They are fabulously made and up to 41cm high, choose from Dagowill (protector of children), Gaer (good for your love life), Dagda (for wealth and health) and many more for those seeking total ethereal coverage.
reviewed
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Bene Pasta
Somehow you don’t associate Mexico with homemade pasta, although this company has been going for some 100 years. As you would expect, the pasta is wonderfully colorful: fusilli coils of red, purple, green and orange. If this sounds too much of an indigestible dazzle, they also sell traditional white, plus jars of homemade sauce.
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Artesanos de Mexico
Elderly owner Antonio Frausto is a real charmer and will explain the origins of the intriguing items for sale here, which include furniture, masks, lacquered and painted trays, paintings and ceramic pottery. The prices are as good as the markets. Ask Antonio to show you the photo of him with Reagan in the ’70s; it will make his day.
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Mixup
This music junkie chain-store has one of the biggest ranges of recorded music (both Mexican and international) in the city. Just south of here, if you are heading for the Insurgentes metro station, the sidewalk stalls that crowd the entrance include many vendors of pirated DVDs (average M$15) but there’s always the risk of a dud.
reviewed
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Dione
This Mexican shoe designer from Guadalajara creates classic shoes for women in the softest of leather. There are Spanish Pons Quintana boots here, as well as fellow Spaniard Baltarini’s stylish line. Bags and wallets are also top notch; for the best deals head for the ‘50% off’ rack at the back of the shop.
reviewed
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Rio Bravo
A classic tailor’s which, with its wood-paneled interior and dapper service, is straight out of London’s Jermyn Street. Choose from pure cashmere or slum it with a wool-and-cashmere mix. Expect to pay in the region of M$3500 for the privilege, with an approximate time span of 10 days from tape-measure day.
reviewed
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Plaza la Rosa Shopping Arcade
A manageable-sized shopping mall between Génova and Ambero, with stores including Men’s Factory, Campanita children’s wear, Diesel for the streetwise look, Nutrisa health food store and Sorrento for shoes. There’s a Starbucks too for those homesick for their daily slug of latté.
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Miniaturas Felguérez
This is one souvenir you can fit in your luggage. These tiny figurines are well made and amusing and emulate the Italian presepe (nativity) style with scenes ranging from a group of mariachis to a cheerful family of naturists! There are thousands of individual pieces to choose from as well.
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Maringo
At last. Somewhere on the presidential street that sells great fashion at a price that won’t force you to take out an extra mortgage. The range is extensive and, although top designers like Carolina Herrera are represented, there are less costly fashions, as well as shoes and accessories.
reviewed
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Casa Azul
Walk up the wide steps to the terrace and grand entrance of this colonial-style grand house, which today creates a fitting showcase for antiques and crafts. There is a beguiling combination of kitsch, historic and current day artesanía items spread over three large creaking rooms.
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Arte Prehispánico
This is the place to pick up your Aztec mask or sculpture; the copies here are excellent, as good as those at any museum. Other artesanías irresistibles include the woven wraps from Chiapas and the reasonably-priced Día de Muertos figures from Michoacán.
reviewed
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Bodega de Quesos
Join the line of cheese-lovers at this corner shop, with its vast choice of national and international cheeses, including requesón from Chiapas, creamy Brie, Camembert, feta, gorgonzola, fresh mozzarella, parmesan and the costly cured Spanish Manchego (at M$436 per kilo).
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Somos Plata
All the silver jewelry on display here is by Mexican designers. There is a good choice of earring and necklace sets, mainly simple fine designs (rather than the chunky modern look). The same owner runs the adjacent shop of ornate silver ornaments for gathering dust on the mantelpiece.
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La Divina
Enter the revolving door to be confronted by shelf upon shelf of more than 200 different brands of tequila, plus everything else guaranteed to put hair on your chest. There are fancy gift packs available and, if the garish signs are to be believed, everything is permanently cut price.
reviewed
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Fonart, Colonia Mixcoac
The well-known government-run handicrafts shop displays beautiful wares from around the country, ranging from Olinalá lacquered boxes to Oaxacan alebrijes and blankets from Teotitlán del Valle. Prices are fixed, but the quality is undeniably up there as well.
reviewed
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El Taller del Mueble
Despite the name, this shop sells far more than just furniture – which may not fit in your hand luggage. There are some unusual pottery and ceramic pieces, including folksy painted plates and cups, Aztec sculpture copies, wall hangings and unusual masks. Prices are fair.
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