Churrería El Moro

What it is. The churrería that every visitor is eventually told to go to, and rightly: El Moro has been frying churros on Eje Central since 1935, in the same place, and it never closes —it is open twenty-four hours a day, which makes it one of the few genuinely useful addresses in the city at four in the morning.

What to order. Four churros and a chocolate, and that is the whole decision. The chocolate comes in four versions —Spanish (thick), French, Mexican (with cinnamon) and special— and the Mexican is the one to have with churros. The marquesas, thin rolled wafers with filling, are the other speciality. Churros are sold by the piece and by the dozen to take away.

When to go. Late. The original branch is at its best after midnight, when it fills with people coming out of the Centro's cantinas and clubs; the queue in the early evening is longer than the one at 02:00. Prices are low and payment is in cash at the counter in the original shop.

Practical notes. Eje Central Lázaro Cárdenas #42, Colonia Centro, next to the Alameda and the Palacio de Bellas Artes —metro Bellas Artes and San Juan de Letrán are both at the door. There are now branches across the city, but the original is the one with the tiles and the queue.