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Drifter's Joint Joshua
Bartender | Visual Storyteller
Sharing recipes, stories, and cultural insights from behind the bar and beyond.

Where to Drink in Mexico City: Cantina EditionSocial media shows Mexico City’s food and drink scene at its most aestheti...
09/25/2026

Where to Drink in Mexico City: Cantina Edition

Social media shows Mexico City’s food and drink scene at its most aesthetic. What gets overlooked are the historic places that built that scene, like the classic cantinas where locals still eat and drink. Here are a few of my favorites that I think you should visit, plus a bonus.

Slides 2 & 3 | Pulquería Las Duelistas
One of the oldest pulquerías in the city, open since 1912. A psychedelic, cantina-style room pouring pulque, a thick fermented agave drink that almost went extinct.

Slides 4 & 5 | La Mascota
A cantina that’s been around for nearly 100 years. The more you drink, the more food they bring out: quesadillas, carnitas tacos, soups and more, all included with your drinks.

Slide 6 | Bar La Ópera
A classic bar with wood beams and old-world decor. Legend has it Pancho Villa fired a shot into the ceiling, and you can still see the bullet hole.

Slides 7 & 8 | Bar Mancera
Mahogany wood, oil paintings, beautiful stained glass, and a grand piano playing boleros.

Slides 9 & 10 | Balcón del Zócalo (bonus)
Not a cantina, but the best way to end the night. Sit overlooking the Metropolitan Cathedral with a Carajillo, one of the city’s best coffee cocktails.

Save this for your next trip.

Cheers.

09/23/2026

I got sick of optimizing my life, so I went to Mexico, where a chef taught me how to slow down.

This is Nereida. She’s a chef in the Sonoran region of Mexico, and I visited her in the small town she calls home. She cooked me traditional Sonoran dishes made from ingredients grown and raised in and around her town.

Nereida has been cooking for over 45 years, and it’s in this home that she raised her family.

Being here, I realized what a privilege it is to worry about optimizing every bit of our lives. In her world, life is much simpler than that.

As we sat down to eat and poured each other a little bacanora, a local agave spirit, she told me about her life and shared a few lessons she’s learned along the way.

This is the beauty of Mexico.

Cheers.

09/22/2026

This is how you drink at a classic cantina in Mexico City.

Beyond the fancy bars and cafés lies true cantina culture. It’s always existed here, and it’s where the locals actually drink.

At La Mascota in the city center, order a Bandera. Basically a deconstructed Bloody Mary: Clamato, fresh lime, and a heavy pour of good tequila. Sip them side by side, chasing the tequila little by little. Pair it with quesadillas and soup and you’ve got the perfect hangover cure.

La Mascota has been around for nearly 100 years and is a must-visit if you want to understand the city’s food and drink culture.

Cheers.

09/17/2026

Before tequila, before b**r there was pulque.

Pulque dates back over 2,000 years. An ancient part of Mexican culture, once prominent throughout Mexico City. It’s far less common now, but a handful of pulquerías are still open and some have been around for over a hundred years.

This is Las Duelistas, in the city center. We’re trying a curado which is a flavored pulque. Pineapple, by the pitcher.

Best way to describe a place like this? A cantina meets a dive bar. Gritty, but warm. Hospitable. And a must-visit if you want to live Mexico City’s food and drink culture.

Just one stop of many in a city this diverse and eclectic.

Cheers.

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