Mexico City
Alone

PRACTICAL SAMPLE

Dining Alone, in Practice

Eating alone here is unremarkable, and the city’s food culture makes it especially easy.

The market halls, such as Mercado de Medellín, and the taco counters are the natural home of it. Order at the counter, take whichever stool is free, and expect to be served without ceremony; a woman alone at a fonda counter is simply another customer having lunch, and the room’s attention is on the food. This is not a fallback for a solo traveler. It is one of the main ways to eat in the city, and several days of the trip can be built around it.

Sit-down restaurants take slightly more intention, and the useful distinction is between lunch and dinner. Lunch is the easy meal to take alone even in a good room, since midday tables for one are common. Dinner at a tasting-menu room is more often built around groups, though Quintonil offers a kitchen counter for one (see The Famous Rooms). Book directly through the restaurant, say plainly that you are dining alone, and ask for the counter or bar if there is one. The counter is the better seat in any case: the pace is livelier and the staff are within conversational range.

A free excerpt from Mexico City Alone.