Vips Margaritas

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 Calzada Ermita-Iztapalapa, one of the main axes of the east of the city, in a residential and commercial area with no tourist offering. It is an urban roadside stop rather than a destination.

Getting there and when. Metro line 8 runs through the area and the elevated trolleybus passes above Ermita Iztapalapa. There is parking, which is how most people arrive. It closes at 20:00, and traffic on Ermita is heavy at both rush hours.