Cuba and Mexico have a relationship that goes back centuries — political solidarity, cultural exchange, shared Caribbean coastline, and a steady flow of migration that picked up after the Revolution in 1959 and has surged again in recent years. Mexico City has been a landing point for Cuban exiles, artists, musicians, and entrepreneurs since at least the 1940s, when the mambo craze turned Cuban music into Mexico’s unofficial soundtrack. Perez Prado, Benny More, and Celia Cruz all spent time here. That history means Cuban food and culture have deeper roots in CDMX than you might expect.
The restaurant scene is still small compared to what you’d find in Miami or even Madrid, but it’s growing — driven partly by newer Cuban arrivals and partly by a general appetite among Mexico City diners for Caribbean flavors. What exists tends to be colorful, loud, and fun, with the food and the atmosphere treated as equally important.
What to Eat
The Classics
Ropa vieja — shredded beef in tomato sauce with peppers and onions — is the dish most Cuban restaurants in Mexico City anchor their menus around. When it’s done right, the beef is impossibly tender, the sauce is smoky and sweet, and you’ll wonder why this isn’t more widely available. When it’s done wrong, it’s just pulled beef in ketchup. The gap between good and bad ropa vieja is enormous.
Lechon asado (roast pork) is the other cornerstone. Cuban-style pork is marinated in mojo — a garlic-citrus sauce heavy on sour orange — then roasted slowly until the exterior crisps and the interior falls apart. Served with black beans, white rice, and sweet plantains (maduros), it’s one of the most satisfying plates in Caribbean cooking.
Other dishes to look for: congri (rice and black beans cooked together, not separately), tostones (twice-fried green plantains), yuca con mojo (boiled cassava in garlic sauce), picadillo a la cubana (ground beef hash with olives and raisins), and croquetas de jamon (ham croquettes that are absurdly addictive when fresh from the fryer).
Cuban Sandwiches
The cubano — roast pork, ham, Swiss cheese, pickles, and mustard on pressed bread — has become a global phenomenon, and a few spots in Mexico City do excellent versions. It’s the kind of sandwich that shouldn’t work (the ingredient list sounds like a deli accident) but somehow becomes greater than the sum of its parts when pressed hot.
Where to Go
The Cuban restaurant scene doesn’t have a single concentrated neighborhood the way, say, Korean food has in Colonia Juarez. Instead, it’s scattered across several colonias, with a slight concentration in Condesa and Roma, where the mix of expats and adventurous local diners provides a receptive audience.
Habana Condesa, on Amsterdam street, is the most visible Cuban restaurant in the city — bright turquoise walls, old Havana photographs, and a front patio that fills up on weekends. The ropa vieja is reliable, the mojitos are strong, and on weekend evenings they bring in live son cubano musicians who turn dinner into an event. It’s not cheap by Cuban food standards (300-500 pesos per person), but the atmosphere justifies the markup.
La Guarida, named after the famous Havana paladar, does a more refined take on Cuban cuisine with some modern touches. The presentation is more polished, the portions are slightly smaller, and the cocktail program goes beyond the standard mojito-daiquiri circuit into more creative territory.
For something more casual and affordable, several Cuban-run lunch spots have appeared in Roma Sur and Narvarte over the past few years, catering mainly to the Cuban community rather than tourists. The food at these places tends to be more authentic — heavier on the pork, lighter on the plating — and portions are generous. Prices at these spots rarely exceed 150 pesos for a full plate with sides.
The Drinks
You can’t really discuss Cuban restaurants without discussing mojitos. The combination of white rum, lime, sugar, soda water, and muddled mint is Cuba’s most famous export after cigars, and the Cuban restaurants in Mexico City take them seriously. A well-made mojito at Habana Condesa uses decent rum, fresh-squeezed lime, and enough mint to actually taste it — a different experience from the sugary versions you get at generic cocktail bars.
Daiquiris (the real kind, not the frozen slushie variety) are the other classic — just rum, lime, and simple syrup, shaken and strained. Cuba Libres (rum and Coke with lime) are the everyday option.
Some spots also stock Cuban rum brands — Havana Club is the most famous — though import availability varies. Mexican rum works fine as a substitute; the country produces some excellent options of its own.
Live Music
This is where the Cuban dining experience in Mexico City really distinguishes itself. Several restaurants double as music venues, with live bands playing son cubano, salsa, or bolero during dinner service. It’s not background music — the musicians are usually serious, the energy builds as the evening goes on, and by 10 PM people are pushing tables aside to dance.
If live music matters to you (and it should — it’s half the point of eating Cuban), call ahead and ask which nights feature bands. Fridays and Saturdays are the most common, but schedules change.
Is It Worth It?
The Cuban food in Mexico City isn’t going to rival what you’d find in Havana or Little Havana in Miami. The ingredient supply chain is different, some of the specific products are hard to source, and the community is still building. But the restaurants that exist are earnest, flavorful, and fun — and the combination of good food, strong cocktails, and live music is a formula that works in any city. If you’ve got an evening free and want something different from tacos and mezcal, the Cuban spots are a reliable change of pace.
For more dining options across the city, check our complete food and restaurant guide.