Vips 16 de septiembre

The chain. Vips is Mexico's most widespread coffee-shop restaurant chain: a broad menu of Mexican and international dishes, breakfast all day, free coffee refills and mid-range prices. For a visitor it solves three specific situations — breakfast early, before anything else opens; something predictable when you do not want to gamble; and a clean toilet plus wi-fi without spending much. All branches take cards.

This branch. On 16 de Septiembre, two blocks from the Zócalo and on the same street as the Torre Latinoamericana and the Casa de los Azulejos. It is one of the most practical places to have breakfast before starting a walk through the historic centre, because it opens at 08:00 and almost nothing else does.

Getting there and when. Metro Zócalo-Tenochtitlan and San Juan de Letrán, line 2, are a few steps away. There is no parking of its own: the centre is walked, and the public car parks around it are expensive. It fills with office workers at lunch, between 14:00 and 16:00, and closes at 20:00, so it is no use for dinner.