Pujol

At Pujol, you’ll hear as many languages spoken as you would in an international airport. And that’s a beautiful thing. Enrique Olvera’s first restaurant (he now has lots of spots across Mexico and the US) has become a landmark for its next-level Mexican tasting menu where the service is so warm and smooth, it’s easy to forget that this meal is, at the end of the day, a transaction. Just know, this is by no means a local haunt. It’s a dining destination that is pound-for-pound worth the hype, even for the agua frescas alone. 

Securing a coveted Pujol reservation results in one of two experiences: a 10-course taco “omakase” or a six-course tasting menu. Both involve the famed and heavily photographed mole madre, a hypnotic dish of two types of mole pooled one atop the other. The older (darker) one has been simmering since 2013 and is worth closing your eyes for your first bite. It’s full of secrets. Even if some dishes are more memorable than others, you will leave blissful and stuffed.