Atalaya

What it is. A Mexican-Spanish kitchen in Lomas de Vista Hermosa, with a menu that stretches from the straightforward to the elaborate: suckling pig with molcajete salsa, duck tacos with mole from Milpa Alta, tuna chicharrón, house-cured salmon trout, and Valencian rice dishes.

What makes the food different. The restaurant grows its own: a kitchen garden supplying bean pods, tomatoes, beetroot and other vegetables. That is unusual in a city of twenty million, and it shows in the vegetable side of the menu rather than in the headline dishes.

The Mexican-Spanish combination. Not a fusion gimmick. Spanish cooking has been part of this city since the sixteenth century and was reinforced by the 1939 Republican exile, which brought a large community and its Asturian, Basque and Galician societies. A kitchen that reads both traditions at once is a local tradition in its own right.

Practical notes. Prol. Bosque de la Reforma #1813, Lomas de Vista Hermosa, in the west of the city. No Metro nearby: car or app taxi. Accessible entry, bar, private events and catering; English spoken; wi-fi; takeaway; cards accepted. Book ahead for weekends.