El Califa Condesa

What it is. A Condesa taquería that became a city reference, above all for the small hours: it stays open until 04:00 every day, and that is why most people know it. The format is a taquería with restaurant service — table, waiter and a bill — rather than a street stand.

What to order. Tacos are the strong suit: al pastor, bistec, short rib. Beyond the tacos, the cecina, the frijoles de olla and the nopales with cheese are the house classics. The salsas come to the table and run from mild to serious: taste before you pour.

When to go. It opens at one in the afternoon and closes at four in the morning, every day. On weekday middays you will get a table straight away; from Friday to Sunday after midnight it fills with people coming out of the bars of the Condesa and Roma. It is at Altata #22, in Hipódromo Condesa, a few streets from Parque México; for the trip back at dawn, use an app taxi.