The FIFA World Cup 2026 is coming to Mexico, and if you’re lucky enough to be traveling to one of its three host cities, you’re in for a culinary adventure as thrilling as the matches themselves.
photo by: Daniel Quiroz
Mexico City, Guadalajara, and Monterrey each bring a completely different food culture to the table. Ancient street markets, slow-braised meats over mesquite fire, and legendary stews passed down through generations — this is a country where eating is both ritual and spectacle. Here’s everything you need to eat, city by city.
Mexico City (CDMX)
source: wikipedia commons
The capital is the culinary capital, too. Mexico City doesn’t just have great food; it is the food. From ancient street markets in Coyoacán to iconic street stalls in the Centro Histórico, and world-ranked restaurants in Roma and Condesa, CDMX offers a dizzying, delicious complexity that rewards every curious bite.
Traditional food in Mexico City is defined by its corn-based antojitos, vibrant street food culture, and bold, intense flavors, a cuisine that beautifully blends ancient indigenous traditions with colonial heritage. Think tacos al pastor, quesadillas (with or without cheese, depending on who you ask), tlacoyos, pambazos, pozole, and the legendary torta de chilaquiles.
Iconic Must-Try Dishes:
CDMX Signature: Tacos al Pastor
Marinated pork shaved from a rotating spit, topped with pineapple, onion, and cilantro. Born from Lebanese shawarma traditions brought to Mexico in the 20th century, smoky, sweet, and ancient all at once. This is the city in a single bite.
photo by: Abner Velázquez
Soul-Warming Classic: Pozole Rojo
A rich ceremonial stew of hominy corn and slow-cooked pork in a deep red chile broth, finished tableside with shredded cabbage, radishes, oregano, and lime. Ancient Mexico on a spoon, utterly timeless in flavor.
Morning Staple: Chilaquiles
Crispy tortilla chips simmered in red or green salsa, topped with crema, cheese, and a fried egg. Or level up with a torta de chilaquiles, stuffed into a crusty wheat bread roll.
Ancient food: Tamales
The classic steamed corn masa tamales filled with Mole and chicken, pork, or poblano pepper slices and cheese. Look for a market cart with steaming pots near any metro station.
Explore the Markets
No visit to CDMX is complete without losing yourself in the traditional markets. Hunt down blue corn tlacoyos, an oval masa stuffed with beans or cheese, pambazos, bread rolls dipped in red guajillo chile sauce and griddle-fried, and gorditas, thick, stuffed corn filled with anything from chicharrón to picadillo, perfect for eating on the go.
Source: Eating With Carmen Food Tours
And make sure to try tacos de canasta, humble “basket tacos” filled with beans, potatoes, or chicharrón, carried through the streets on bicycles by vendors. Cheap, deeply local, and absolutely delicious. In Mexico City, every corner is an invitation to eat.
Local Tip: Always, always carry cash for street food. Cards are rarely accepted at the best stalls.
Guadalajara
photo by: Santiago Sauceda González
The birthplace of mariachi, tequila, and some of Mexico’s most beloved dishes, Guadalajara wears its culinary heritage proudly. The food scene here is earthy, hearty, and unapologetically tapatío, built on agave, slow-braised meats, and centuries-old street food traditions you won’t find done better anywhere else on earth. at least according to the proud locals.
Guadalajara’s gastronomy is rooted in quality, locality, and ancestral technique. Recipes draw on chiles, native corn varieties, lamb, goat, freshwater fish, and a remarkable diversity of wild mushrooms. The result is a cuisine that is fiercely loyal to its traditions, one that has earned global respect without ever needing to change.
Iconic Must-Try Dishes:
Guadalajara’s Signature: Torta Ahogada
A crusty birote stuffed with carnitas, then “drowned” literally ahogada, in a fiery tomato and árbol chile sauce. Spicy, messy, and absolutely magnificent. Guadalajarans are fiercely loyal to their torta ahogada and will tell you no other city does it right.
Source: canva.com
Jalisco’s Pride: Birria de Chivo
The original birria: traditionally made with goat, slow-braised in a complex, brick-red broth of dried chiles and spices. Served with a cup of consomé for dipping, deeply savory, fall-off-the-bone. The world has gone crazy for birria. Here, you try it at the source.
Street Drink Ritual: Tejuino con Nieve
A cold, slightly fermented corn drink made from masa and piloncillo, served with a scoop of lime sorbet and a dash of salt and chile powder. It sounds peculiar; it tastes extraordinary. The perfect thing to hold while watching a World Cup match on an outdoor screen.
You’ll find it with street vendors throughout the city on any warm afternoon.
Local Sweet: Jericalla
Guadalajara’s answer to crème brûlée, a baked egg custard with a gently scorched top, infused with cinnamon and vanilla. Legend has it a nun accidentally burned the custard she was making for orphans in the 18th century. We are forever grateful for her mistake.
Source: canva.com
Where to Eat in Guadalajara
Find these tapatío classics across a wide range of venues, from internationally recognized restaurants like Alcalde, Xokol, Bruna, and La Docena, to beloved neighborhood institutions like Kamilos 333 and Karnes Garibaldi. Don’t miss a food crawl through Mercado Libertad and Mercado Alcalde, or seek out legendary street spots including Tortas El Príncipe Heredero and Birria y Carne Asada Don José.
The Birthplace of Tequila
Just 37 miles (60 km) from Guadalajara lies the town of Tequila, where Mexico’s most iconic spirit is born from the blue agave plant. Guadalajara is the ideal base for tasting and buying tequila from the source. Every July 24th, Mexico celebrates International Tequila Day, but in Guadalajara, it’s always tequila season.
Local Tip: If you think you know the margarita, think again. In Jalisco, locals drink the cantarito, a clay cup filled with tequila, grapefruit soda, fresh lime and orange juice, and a salted rim. It’s everything the margarita is, but better. ¡Salud!
Monterrey
photo by: S L V
Norteño and proud. Monterrey’s food culture is built around fire, meat, and a fierce regional identity that owes more to cattle ranches and border resilience than to central Mexico’s traditions. This is the land of the asado, the cabrito, and the flour tortilla, and if you love serious grilled meat, you have arrived at your personal paradise.
Monterrey’s gastronomy reflects its geography, climate, and proud mix of cultural influences. It’s a cuisine of intensity and generosity — portions are enormous, flavors are bold, and the mesquite smoke drifting through the city on weekend evenings is practically a civic institution.
Iconic Must-Try Dishes:
Monterrey’s Crown Jewel: Cabrito al Pastor
Whole young goat slow-roasted on a spit over mesquite wood for hours, skin crackle-crisp, meat falling apart at the touch. This is Monterrey’s most iconic dish. The city’s best restaurants have been perfecting it for generations.
Norteño Street Classic: Arrachera Tacos
Thinly sliced, marinated skirt steak grilled over high flame and tucked into flour tortillas. Bold, beefy, and built for people who eat with conviction. Add salsa roja and grilled spring onions for the perfect match-day street meal.
Source: canva.com
Norteño Breakfast King: Machacado con Huevo
Sun-dried shredded beef scrambled with eggs, tomato, onion, and serrano chiles. The machacado preservation technique was born from ranch life, and the result is intensely flavored and deeply satisfying in every way. The breakfast that powers entire cities.
Sweet Norteño Tradition: Glorias de Linares
Soft, fudgy candies made from goat’s milk and pecans, one of the most beloved sweets in all of northern Mexico. Also look for sweet tamales made with corn masa, raisins, peanuts, and piloncillo, or delicate cream tamales with almonds and pine nuts. The north has a sweet side.
Local Tip: Monterrey comes alive on weekend evenings. That’s when families fire up the asadores (backyard BBQ grills) and the streets fill with mesquite smoke. Time your visit to a Saturday night, head to Barrio Antiguo, and let the city lead you to dinner. Don’t miss a cold Carta Blanca beer, it originated here in Monterrey.
Every City, Every Bite
The FIFA World Cup 2026 is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to experience Mexico at its most electric and its most delicious. Whether you’re chasing tacos de canasta through the streets of CDMX, drowning your senses in a torta ahogada in Guadalajara, or pulling apart slow-roasted cabrito in Monterrey, you’ll discover that Mexican Cuisine is a universe of regional traditions, each one worthy of a journey on its own.
Ready to Eat Your Way Through Mexico?
photo by: Jonathan Tesmaye (Kuns)
Want to try these dishes guided by a local expert who knows exactly where to go?
Eating With Carmen Food Tours takes you beyond the tourist trail and straight to the flavors that define Mexican gastronomy, whether you’re visiting Mexico City, Guadalajara, or Monterrey for the World Cup, or exploring hotspots like the Riviera Maya, the Yucatán Peninsula, or Baja California, come for the football. Stay for the food. You won’t regret either!
-Your Local Foodie,
- Abbey
