A Mexico City bar interior, low-lit and ready
Occasion Guide · Mexico City

The date-night rooms of Mexico City

SR
Sofia Reeves
8 min read

Published · Last updated · Reviewed by the barsforKings editorial team

Past the first-date stage. Picking up where the proposal left off. Ten Mexico City date-night bars our editors return to.

The date-night bar is a different brief from the first-date bar. The first-date bar has to pass — the date-night bar has to be a place you both enjoy enough to come back to. These ten venues in Mexico City are where our editors send couples three months in, three years in, thirty years in. They are not flashy. They are the rooms our editors are sending their partners to, on Tuesday nights when nothing in particular is happening.

The Mexico City bars our editors take their own partners to

The first six picks below are the editors' default — the rooms we send a friend to first when they ask. Each is followed by a recommendation we have ordered ourselves at least three times. Click any bar name to read the full review, signature drink notes, neighbourhood guide and how to book.

01
Handshake Speakeasy

In Juarez, Handshake Speakeasy the handshake margarita is on the menu year-round for a reason and the bartenders pour with intent. Repeat visits earn you the corner. After the third time, the staff start saving it for you. After the sixth, the menu is ordering itself. Editors' rating in our database: 4.9 of 5.

Order: Handshake Margarita

02
Hanky Panky

At Hanky Panky in Juarez, the door is unmarked enough to feel discovered and known enough to be reliable. Repeat visits earn you the corner. After the third time, the staff start saving it for you. After the sixth, the menu is ordering itself. Editors' rating in our database: 4.8 of 5.

Order: Hanky Panky

03
Licoreria Limantour

Licoreria Limantour sits in Roma Norte and the door is unmarked enough to feel discovered and known enough to be reliable. Tuesday-night good. Not the bar you take a first date to and not the bar you take a proposal to — the bar you take each other to when there is no occasion. Editors' rating in our database: 4.8 of 5.

Order: Margarita al Pastor

04
Bekeb

At Bekeb in Juarez, the bekeb sour arrives in a coupe and the bar staff move at the right pace. Repeat visits earn you the corner. After the third time, the staff start saving it for you. After the sixth, the menu is ordering itself. Editors' rating in our database: 4.7 of 5.

Order: Bekeb Sour

05
La Docena Oyster Bar

La Docena Oyster Bar, in Roma Norte, the docena champagne flight arrives in a coupe and the bar staff move at the right pace. Tuesday-night good. Not the bar you take a first date to and not the bar you take a proposal to — the bar you take each other to when there is no occasion. Editors' rating in our database: 4.7 of 5.

Order: Docena Champagne flight

06
Bottega Bar

Bottega Bar, in Polanco, the door is unmarked enough to feel discovered and known enough to be reliable. An honest pour at honest prices. The kind of room that holds up at three years in and at thirty. Editors' rating in our database: 4.7 of 5.

Order: Bottega Negroni

Three more rooms worth turning into a regular

These last four are the editors' deeper-cut picks. Smaller rooms, more specific energy. If the first six feel obvious to you — meaning you have already been — start here.

07
Rayo Cocktail Bar

Rayo Cocktail Bar sits in Roma Norte and the door is unmarked enough to feel discovered and known enough to be reliable. Repeat visits earn you the corner. After the third time, the staff start saving it for you. After the sixth, the menu is ordering itself. Editors' rating in our database: 4.7 of 5.

Order: Rayo Highball

08
Baltra Bar

At Baltra Bar in Condesa, the baltra sour arrives in a coupe and the bar staff move at the right pace. Repeat visits earn you the corner. After the third time, the staff start saving it for you. After the sixth, the menu is ordering itself. Editors' rating in our database: 4.7 of 5.

Order: Baltra Sour

09
Jules Basement

In Polanco, Jules Basement the door is unmarked enough to feel discovered and known enough to be reliable. Repeat visits earn you the corner. After the third time, the staff start saving it for you. After the sixth, the menu is ordering itself. Editors' rating in our database: 4.7 of 5.

Order: Jules Old Fashioned

10
Xaman Bar

Xaman Bar, in Roma Norte, the mayan mezcal is on the menu year-round for a reason and the bartenders pour with intent. An honest pour at honest prices. The kind of room that holds up at three years in and at thirty. Editors' rating in our database: 4.7 of 5.

Order: Mayan Mezcal

Weekly editorial

The bars worth going to, weekly.

One email per week. The bars our editors are recommending right now, across 72 cities worldwide.

Free. Unsubscribe anytime.

What to know before you go

Date-night bars are the venues you want the staff to know your face at. Two suggestions. Pick one from this list and turn it into your monthly Tuesday — the staff will remember, the corner will get held, and over time the bar starts to feel like an extension of your living room. That is the goal.

Advertising

Reach Mexico City bar-goers when they are deciding.

Sponsored placements on this article, on the Mexico City city guide, and across the barsforKings network. Contact us to put your bar in front of the right audience.