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Quintonil

Mexico City

• Accolades
• The Best Restaurant in Latin America 2026, sponsored by Latam Airlines

Heralding a new frontier for Mexican cuisine

On the Pass

Jorge Vallejo

What's the deal? Quintonil is the setting for chef Jorge Vallejo's boundary-pushing Mexican cuisine and his wife Alejandra Flores' exceptional hospitality. With a reputation for weaving fresh, local ingredients and traditional Mexican flavours and techniques into modern preparations, it's cemented its place as a Mexico City classic.

On the menu: Named after a green herb that features in some of its dishes and drinks, Quintonil brings a unique brand of creativity to the plate. The tasting menu might contain seasonal dishes such as roasted duck with coconut manchamanteles mole (a fruit and chilli sauce) and a beetroot reduction; wild mushroom chileatole soup with cacahuazintle corn and beans; or ice cream made with honey from stingless melipona bees, served with papaya and lavender marmalade. Many of the ingredients travel just 30 metres from urban garden to plate.

Something shorter: Grab a pew at the counter seating area, which offers views into the open kitchen and serves a shorter menu which has been known to include dishes such as insect-based tacos with grasshoppers and chicatana ants. The main dining space is split into two sections: a cosy entrance area and a light and bright room filled with Mexican art.

A winning partnership: Vallejo studied management and culinary arts in Mexico before working on cruise ships – and later in top restaurants including Noma and Pujol. He opened Quintonil in 2012 with Flores, who has a master's in hospitality management from Switzerland's prestigious Les Roches School and previously worked as operations and commercial director for the Enrique Olvera Group. The charismatic duo's combination of warmth, energy and exceptional food keeps diners coming back again and again.

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