Where to Have Breakfast in Condesa and Nearby

The places in my regular rotation — after yoga, on a Saturday morning, with friends or on my own

After yoga at Damsha on a weekend morning, the question is always what to do next. Ciena is nearby, as is Chocolat Pimienta. On weekends, my husband and I often end up at Farmacia Internacional with friends, Café Toscano on our own, and sometimes at Niddo in Juárez if we’re sticking closer to home.

Condesa, Hipódromo, Roma Norte, and the Juárez are close enough, sometimes it feels like they’re part of the same neighborhood, and distances between them are easily walkable. The places below are the ones in our actual rotation, not a comprehensive guide.

Ciena

Alfonso Reyes 101, Condesa · ciena.mx

This is a spot my husband and I both like post-yoga. The interior decor is very cool — worth a look even before you sit down. I ordered the hummus and vegetables, which came with the locally grown, multicolored carrots my husband and I both like. He had a concha and chilaquiles. We’ve enjoyed the food on multiple visits.

Worth knowing if you have dietary restrictions: they have decaf coffee and alternative milks. The ginger booster was a surprise: warm and frothed, with lemon and honey — is not what I was expecting, but good.

Farmacia Internacional

Av. Nuevo León 120, Hipódromo Condesa · @farmacia.internacional

The name comes from the original location in Colonia Juárez — a former pharmacy on Bucareli from the 1950s, which gives the place its identity. The Condesa location on Nuevo León, near Parque México, is the bigger of the two and the one most people end up at. They’re right on the corner in a mid-century building that has a very chic coffee window.

Their signature item is the house-made pop tart, with a crispy pastry shell and rotating fruit compote fillings. They arrive in boxes of four and are exactly as good as they look. I can’t eat them, but I would if I could. The huevos en frasco are also worth knowing about: eggs served in a glass jar with pureed potatoes and your choice of asparagus or bacon.

This is a popular weekend spot. You’ll see friends and families at the other tables, not laptops. On a busy Saturday morning there may be a wait, though on weekdays it’s quieter. If you have a gluten intolerance, ask when you arrive — they have been known to have GF bread available.

Lardo

Agustín Melgar 6, Condesa · lardo.com.mx

Elena Reygadas’s casual restaurant — the same chef behind Rosetta and Panadería Rosetta. At Lardo, the menu is Italian-Mediterranean including sharing plates, wood-fired dishes, pizzas, and pastas. For breakfast, the bread and pastries are the reason to come — they serve bread from Panadería Rosetta. The bakery counter near the entrance has pastries available for quick pickup as well as table service.

Breakfast is served from 8am daily and they don’t take reservations before 2pm — arrive early on weekends to avoid a wait, or be prepared to sit at the bar.

Café Toscano

Av. Michoacán 30-A, Condesa · Also Roma, Hipódromo, Polanco, San Ángel · @cafetoscanomx

A local chain that does the Italian-café register reliably well. We tend to go to the Polanco location before running errands in that part of the city, but the Condesa branch on Michoacán near Parque México has terrace seating that is good for people watching — one of the better spots to sit outdoors in this neighborhood on a weekend morning.

I like the omelette with tomato and goat cheese, served with roasted potatoes. They have decaf coffee and alternative milks, though no GF bread options. The menu mixes Italian and Mexican breakfast staples — chilaquiles alongside omelets — and has pretty good sweet bread as well.

Niddo

Havre 74, Colonia Juárez · Several locations within a few blocks of each other in Juárez; original location serves breakfast all day · niddo.mx

Technically Juárez, but close enough to Condesa that it is in the same morning circuit. This is the closest option on this list to our neighborhood, and we go once a month or so. Niddo does comfort food with good ingredients — the kind of place that prioritizes what goes into the dish rather than how elaborate the dish is.

Edu’s toast is their vegan and GF option — it is a crunchy, California-style old-school hippie dish, and it is better than expected. The shakshuka is my other favorite. On my last visit I had berries and greek yogurt. I usually order a golden milk latte since they don’t have decaf coffee.

They even have a coffee-shop only outpost a few blocks from the original, where they serve breakfast all day.

Café Nin

Havre 73, Juárez · @cafe_nin

Also by chef Elena Reygadas, Café Nin offers a different menu and more casual dining. Café Nin is modeled on the literary cafés of the 20th century: a place to sit for a long time, read, work, or talk. Breads and pastries from Panadería Rosetta are available throughout the day.

The menu at Café Nin is includes quiches, salads, tartan and a croque monsieur. We used to live in the Juárez and this was our go-to for weekend morning sweet bread and coffee with the dog. My dietary restrictions have made it less practical, but the pastry counter alone is worth a stop if it’s closer to where you’re staying than the original Panadería Rosetta or Lardo. Weekday mornings tend to have shorter waits than weekends.

Eno

Tokio 110, Juárez· Also Roma, Polanco, Museo Jumex and Virreyes · eno.com.mx

This is Enrique Olvera’s casual café concept — the accessible, affordable complement to Pujol. I know the Polanco location well and the branch on Tokio is very close to my neighborhood. We don’t visit the Roma location often, but the menu and quality is fairly consistent across locations.

I usually order the green chilaquiles, and occasionally some fruit. The coffee is good, and they have decaf coffee and alternative milks.

A Note on Gluten-Free Bread

If you are gluten-free and looking for actual bread — not just GF options on a menu — Chocolat Pimienta is the place. It is close to Damsha yoga in Condesa and is currently my favorite GF bakery in the city. The baguette and the hogaza have a proper crusty exterior and use sourdough, which gives them a flavor and texture that most GF bread fails to achieve. The cinnamon roll is also good — my favorite of the sweeter options.

It is a bakery with a table or two, not a sit-down breakfast spot. Go to pick up bread and something sweet, then head somewhere else to sit. For more GF options across the city, see my GF and DF in Mexico City post.

These neighborhoods change constantly and this list will, too. If you have a favorite in this part of the city that I haven’t mentioned, leave it in the comments, we’re always looking for new spots to try!