When chef Enrique Olvera opened his now-renowned restaurant, Pujol, in Mexico City back in 2000, there was quite literally nothing else like it in the sprawling metropolis. At the turn of the millennium, the concept of a white-tablecloth establishment elevating traditional Mexican sauces—such as intricate, labor-intensive moles—with fine-dining rigor and modern culinary techniques was entirely unheard of. In the decades that followed, Pujol collected numerous prestigious accolades, eventually securing a coveted spot in the top ten of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list. The momentum continued when the Michelin Guide finally launched its inaugural capital city edition in 2024, bestowing two Michelin stars upon the trailblazing eatery.
Over the years, Pujol also doubled in physical size, relocating just a few streets away from its original modest footprint in the upscale neighborhood of Polanco to a striking, contemporary glass-fronted dining room that looks out onto a serene, plant-filled patio. Looking back more than two decades later, Pujol’s impact on the Mexican capital is unmistakable and enduring. The restaurant did far more than simply change how international outsiders viewed Mexican cuisine; it helped usher the entire city into a bold new economic, cultural, and gastronomic era.
Today, Mexico City stands proudly as one of the most-visited and culturally vibrant urban destinations in all of Latin America. Tourism statistics underscore this massive shift, with approximately 15.5 million international and domestic tourists staying in Mexico City hotels by the close of 2025, marking an increase of nearly 5 percent compared to the previous year.
"Mexico City has become such a hot spot, art and culture wise," observes Eduardo Plaschinski, who co-owns Niddo, a popular all-day-dining brand, alongside his mother, Karen Plaschinski. Together, the mother-and-son duo have successfully grown their homegrown business from a modest team of 15 employees to a workforce of 100 people distributed across six distinct locations over the span of eight years.
Just two decades ago, this kind of rapid, confident commercial expansion would have been completely unthinkable. "People were always scared of coming [to Mexico City]. It used to have a bad reputation," Plaschinski explains, reflecting on the historical hurdles the city has had to overcome. Although this massive, ongoing influx of travelers and expatriate residents has admittedly generated localized frustrations—most notably regarding the rapid gentrification of beloved neighborhoods and a subsequent surge in living and real estate prices—the arrival of more visitors and new residents alike has also generated unprecedented economic opportunity. Put simply, according to Plaschinski, "The city deserves it."
Naturally, where the crowds go, the luxury sector inevitably follows. As high-end travel requests started pouring in from discerning clients, Mexico City-based Mónica Quintero and her three business partners recognized an opening in the market and launched Odysya, a specialized luxury concierge service dedicated to crafting bespoke, highly personalized itineraries.
"We saw an opportunity because people were asking us to help organize experiences for them," Quintero says. Her clientele primarily consists of ultra-high-net-worth travelers who are intensely seeking exclusive access to the city’s burgeoning contemporary art scene and world-class gastronomy. "There are now restaurants in Mexico City that are the same quality as any city in the world," she notes, emphasizing that the long-awaited arrival of the Michelin Guide in 2024 firmly cemented the capital’s hard-earned reputation as a serious, undisputed destination for elite fine dining.
The city has long possessed a profoundly rich history of art and architecture—highlighted by world-class institutions like the astonishing Museo Nacional de Antropología—and today, there is a voracious appetite for contemporary artwork as well. Cutting-edge permanent galleries such as Masa, which opened in 2023, and LagoAlgo, established in 2022, are leading the charge in the visual arts sector.
"Lately a lot of travelers want gallery tours. They want to know the new contemporary art galleries in Mexico because they are starting to collect," Quintero says. She adds that major international art fairs, most notably Zona Maco held each February, continue to draw hordes of affluent collectors and enthusiasts from across the United States and Europe.
While Odysya organizes high-end travel experiences across the entire country of Mexico, an increasing number of Quintero’s clients are explicitly requesting to book their stays within the capital itself, particularly as the city’s five-star hotel landscape has experienced a dramatic upgrade in quality and style. "They used to go to Los Cabos, but now these UHNW individuals are looking for local experiences in Mexico City," she explains. "When they go to Punta Mita or Los Cabos, it’s like going to the U.S. Now they are willing to look for something unique."
Traditional hospitality heavyweights like the Four Seasons have long maintained a firm, reliable footing in the local market, but they are now joined by an exciting new wave of independent boutique hotels that offer a much stronger, deeply rooted sense of local identity and architectural heritage. In 2022, Casa Polanco opened its doors inside a meticulously restored 1940s mansion featuring a stunning, grand marble staircase, situated directly across from Lincoln Park in the tony neighborhood of Polanco.
Adding to this sophisticated ecosystem is El Cortés, a newly debuted Relais & Châteaux property spearheaded by Monterrey-born hotelier Carlos Zaragoza. Having spent his childhood traveling the globe and staying at elite hotels with his family, Zaragoza infused his 15-room urban sanctuary in the leafy, tree-lined Roma neighborhood with artworks and tapestries drawn directly from his personal collection, alongside traditional Talavera ceramics adorning the guest rooms. Downstairs, guests and locals alike can find Lotti, a snug, elegant restaurant serving European plates that cleverly riff on local Mexican ingredients, helmed by Swiss-born chef Luc Liebster. Liebster previously honed his craft at a three-Michelin-star restaurant in Vienna before relocating to Mexico to cook at Pujol.
As the hospitality and culinary sectors soar, Mexico City’s high-end shopping and retail scene is finally capturing a similar level of international buzz and critical acclaim. Catalina Marín, a Mexico City-based market analyst at prominent trend forecasting firm WGSN, projects that the local luxury retail market will experience a steady 5 percent growth trajectory over the next five years. Major international luxury houses, including Carolina Herrera, Tiffany & Co., and Cartier, have increasingly chosen the capital as the backdrop for major, immersive brand activations. In 2023, for instance, Cartier staged a massive, three-month-long exhibition at the Museo Jumex titled Cartier Design: A Living Legacy.
"We are seeing a lot of these synergies between local events and these designers, to connect in a different way with the history of Mexican traditions," Marín says. She notes that the demand for high-end, luxury goods among Mexican consumers themselves is also steadily rising, creating a sophisticated domestic market alongside foreign interest. "There are brands entering the market that need to offer a cultural view to connect with the local market," she adds. "For an international visitor, they are super surprised when they see a window from an international brand where they have this local artist or connection."
Homegrown Mexican brands are certainly not being left behind in this retail renaissance. With so many international travelers jetting into the capital simply to secure a coveted table at Pujol or Gabriela Cámara’s famed seafood institution Contramar, it is only natural that these affluent visitors are choosing to spend their discretionary spending power in other creative sectors across the city.
Montserrat Messeguer, a fashion label widely celebrated for its distinctive western wear and artisanal cowboy boots handcrafted in El Bajío, now proudly counts global music superstars like Dua Lipa among its clientele. Other notable luxury retail additions include Lengua, a high-end jewelry boutique offering striking silver earrings and gold necklaces crafted by prominent Latin American designers, as well as the newly opened flagship store from Patricio Campillo—an LVMH Prize finalist—located in the vibrant Juárez neighborhood.
For sophisticated, high-end travelers navigating the Mexican capital today, this remarkable diversity of cultural and commercial experiences means that securing a reservation at a renowned restaurant is no longer the sole motivating factor drawing them to Mexico City. As Quintero aptly summarizes, pointing to the rapid, citywide evolution: "There are so many things opening: fashion, design boutiques, and galleries. Every day I discover something new."
