The Best Of Santa Maria De La Ribera

Nico was an amazing tour guide. Super friendly and knowledgeable. He knew all the best places to go to.

The best food tour I have taken all year! Nico blended an explanation of the history of the district, the changing architectural styles, to the different restaurants we visited. It was great to have a food tour guide that actually knew a lot about cooking. He put this all in context with a general history of Mexico. He made it so interesting that I visited the National Museum of Interventions the next day. I felt the tour was such good value that I signed up for two more from the same company.

My family and I had a wonderful time on this food tour led by Nico. He was incredibly knowledgeable about the food and the history of the neighborhood and Mexico as a whole. This was an amazingly great way to spend an afternoon with my family, and the food was delicious. I would give this a very strong recommendation.

Our guide Clara was knowledgeable and fun, teaching us not only about the foods we were tasting, but the history behind it.

Our guide, Toti was wonderful. She was engaging, very knowledgeable and willing to entertain all of our questions with detailed and thoughtful answers. All of the food and drinks we tried were fabulous and we thoroughly enjoyed our tour.

We booked our food tour through Eat Mexico and had at the time of the booking requested Clara Hernandez as our guide. So glad that we did - Clara was amazing, patient, friendly, generous and ever so knowledgeable. We had communicated our preferences at the time of booking and Clara had undertaken thorough research on what would be appropriate for us given we had undertaken food tours previously in Mexico City. The highlight for me was trying pulque for the first time! Have no hesitation in recommending Clara or Eat Mexico!

Our tour with Nico was amazing! We learned so much about the cultural history that the food and neighborhood connect to. The pacing was perfect, and he was completely flexible in terms of now much we wanted to eat. Santa Maria de la Ribera is a charming area, and this tour will make you want to move there. Nico knows his food and we recommend him highly.

Guide Nico found us at the beautiful Kiosko morisco and so began a relaxing, informative, and well tailored tour for my friend and me. We learned so much from the highly educated Nico whose love of that particular community shown through. From our first taste of the Austrian inspired concha with nata, to the ancient fermented drink pulque, to the Market and delicious sheep barbacoa taco and soup, to tamales in both corn husk and banana leaf to a high end indigenous restaurant for a mocktail and appetizer—we learned about the history of the country and all the changes that have happened —all reflected in one great community—Sta Maria de la Ribera. Thank you, Nico!

I can’t say enough great things about this tour company, EAT MEXICO, and their tour guide, Nico. The company is made up of knowledgable, discerning food people who learned how to create enjoyable, informative and often revelatory tours. It’s most definitely NOT a bunch of tour guides who just learned to parrot a script. (Trust me. I have unfortunately taken a couple of package tours in CDMX and they are a drag.) These folks actually care. And that has turned us into repeat customers. Santa Maria Ribera was our third tour with the company. Nico is a superstar. He has such a pleasant, approachable, low key way of transmitting his boundless knowledge and leaving you feeling not only more connected to the place but also eager to learn more about the underground history and foodways of CDMX.

We had been recommended this tour and we weren’t disappointed. Our guide, Toti, was friendly and knowledgeable and was able to tailor the tour to our needs and wants. We tasted a wide range of Mexican foods in different types of outlets - street food, small cafes and a smarter bar to finish. We even tasted grasshoppers which were a revelation! Toti was also great at answering our many questions about things as diverse as Mexican history and politics, food preparation and driving in Mexico. Highly recommended

Highly recommend this tour with Toti and Clara! Super informative, fun, and delicious. This was my second tour with Eat Mexico and would use them again.

Toti & Clara were THE best. So knowledgeable and fun! They made special accomodations for food restrictions and allergies. The food was delicious and we left stuffed!

As luck would have it, it was just me on the tour. Fernando was excellent company as we ate a wide range of delicious food. My favorites were the banana leaf wrapped tamales at Tamales Cintli and the outstandingly delicious consumé at Casa Chacón. This was my 3rd tour with Eat Mexico. Highly recommend.

Really loved this tour of neighborhood food. We sampled different foods from street vendors, small shops and even some fine dining. There was plenty to eat, with generous servings, and extras tailored to our interests. Toti was a wonderful guide. She explained the history of the neighborhood and the food we tried. I would definitely recommend this tour to anyone. If you like to eat great food definitely add this one to your trip plans.

Toti’s tour was more than just authentic—it was a journey through food without borders. Each stop offered a rich taste of culture and connection, blending flavors and stories from across regions in a way that felt both intimate and expansive. Toti’s passion and knowledge transformed each bite into an experience, making us feel not like tourists, but like welcome guests at a global table.

We had a fantastic food, history and culture journey through Santa Maria de la Ribera with our guide Nico Garcia. He was knowledgeable and engaging. He accommodated one our dietary preferences. We visited 5 places ranging from street food to a very nice fine dining restaurant, tasting everything from baked goods to tamales to grassshoppers. We highly recommend this tour and Nico in particular (who created the tour).

Our private tour with Clara was fantastic. She is a lovely woman and an attentive guide who introduced us to a variety of traditional foods and ways of cooking. We had a private tour for 2 couples, and she was careful to attend to the needs of each of us. I highly recommend this tour and Clara.

My husband and I had a lovely time with Nico, he is charming, friendly and very easy going. We got the opportunity to try things which were new to us and also very delicious. The tour was an excellent blend of walking around and then stopping for bites in and around the neighbourhood. It was one of the highlights of our trip and I would highly recommend it. We came away with a better understanding of the food history/ culture of Mexico City. Nico also recommended 2 restaurants nearby to our hotel and both were excellent.

I LOVED this tour! I happened to be the only one on the tour with Nico; Nico was amazing and could tell me a lot of interesting history about the dishes and neighborhood that really brought the whole experience to life. The food was delicious and as it was just me, was adjusted a bit based on things I was more familiar with to try different things off the menu. I had a great traditional chocolate drink and a quesadilla with chapulines (grasshoppers), a traditional tamale, fresh made tortilla, a walk through the mercado and some melt in your mouth barbacoa tacos, tetelas (think a tortilla-based triangle stuffed with beans - kinda like a ravioli), some mezcal, and a delicious concha filled with nata. Nico gave me some suggestions for other places to eat in the city and I enjoyed discussing the hiatory of Sta María, the city, and his culinary journey. I will definitely recommend this tour to my friends and family and look forward to someday taking another Eat Mexico tour.

This was a wonderful tour put on by Nico! He genuinely loves his city and it shows. This was so much more than just a food tour. He is so knowledgeable about the history behind everywhere we went. This was by far a highlight of our entire trip.

Nico is such a knowledgeable guide and shared lots of information about the food stops we made as well as history about the neighborhood! There was a good variety in the types of stops we made and all of the food was fantastic! Highly recommend.

This was one of the best food tours I've done. Nicco, the guide, gave a depth of insight into Mexican history, culture, and resilience through food. Santa Maria la Ribera is a hidden gem of a neighborhood in Mexico City, with an infectious local feel that will undoubtedly charm you. The small gourp nature of the tour (4 peopole max) will give you a rare, personalized experience unlike most tours you will encoutner while traveling.

This was one of the best food tours I've done. Nicco, the guide, gave a depth of insight into Mexican history, culture, and resilience through food. Santa Maria la Ribera is a hidden gem of a neighborhood in Mexico City, with an infectious local feel that will undoubtedly charm you. The small gourp nature of the tour (4 peopole max) will give you a rare, personalized experience unlike most tours you will encoutner while traveling.

My wife and I went on this tour as part of our first trip ever to Mexico City. We picked this one in the Santa Maria neighborhood because it was off the beaten path of many of the other tours offered by other companies. We had Nico as a guide and he definitely has the background for the job, with a degree in the culinary arts. That background certainly helped with the food tour but he also gave us an excellent background on some of the political turmoil of the last century or so, and how it was linked to the neighborhood. But that's not entirely why we went on a food tour, is it? The food on the tour was excellent. At one location, we had barbacoa taco's (and delicious soup) and he said they were the best he has ever had. I have to concur because during our trip I tried the same taco at 2 other locations and they were not as good as the ones we had on the tour. Nico also took us to a business that made nothing but tamales. They had about 20 variety's! They were excellent. There was much more food so, all in all, a great way to spend an afternoon.

This tour was a great experience. Our guide Tonalli was very knowledgeable and took us to several excellent spots for tamales, barbacoa, machete, maiz y cacao, and more. The food was delicious, and our guide made the day a pleasant and fun time! We learned a lot about the local cuisine.

Most most enjoyable afternoon walk through a Mexico City neighborhood. Nico was a great guide. Combined the history of the La Ribera area with some stops along the way for sampling local foods. Would highly recommend.

We had a wonderful time in this out-of-the-way neighborhood of Mexico City. Our guide Nico was enthusiastic and knowledgeable about the food and community of Santa Maria de la Ribera. We had pan de reyes, two types of tamales, tlacoyos, and a delicious mixed drink and bite in an elegant artsy Oaxacan restaurant. The tour was relaxing and informative and we never felt overly full because Nico knew how to pace the food. I look forward to more tours with Eat Mexico.

Santa Maria de la Ribera is one of the oldest neighborhoods in Mexico City. Nico was very knowledgeable about the history of Mexico, Mexico City, and the neighborhood. It was a lovely day to walk around the peaceful neighborhood, stopping at different spots to learn about the dishes but also about the people making them. This was a great tour with a great guide!

Nico Was great!!!! He really planned for us as vegan and vegetarian Very sweet Highly highly recommend

Amazing food and area. Nico was super knowledgeable about the area and the history of Mexico. With his unique background in culinary arts he really helps food come alive! We had plenty to eat and really wish we could do more Eat Mexico tours.

This was a wonderful, memorable experience! Not only did Nico give us tasty food and drink we would never have found on our own, but he blended the experience with a fascinating history of the Santa Maria de la Ribera neighborhood and a "behind the scenes" look at what makes this community feel like a small town within Mexico City. We couldn't pick a favorite food, but I did love the background on the Moorish Kiosk and the local market hidden away.

Clara led us on an incredible tour of Santa Maria de la Rebera. She was thoughtful, kind, fun, funny and knowledgeable. In fact, she was an expert. The tour started off in a gorgeous (and safe) public park in this really nice and relatively underappreciated (by tourists) neighborhood. We walked a little bit here, and a little bit there, but we ate a TON of delicious food. I don’t want to give away the tour stops, or spoil any of their secrets, so I’ll just say that we ate: Beers, sodas & waters Conchas Chicharrones Guacamole Lots of Tamales Atole con Guava Lots of tacos Consommé Agua Frescas Fruit Delicious amuse bouche Cocktails, mocktails &more sodas The tour was incredible, and the food was terrific, but the star of the show was the amount of education we absorbed along the way. We learned about ingredients, cuisines, foods, and beverages from a real culinary professional. Clara knows how to explain the how and why without boring your family into a coma. She was energetic and gracious as a tour guide, but she also quickly became our friend. We’re going to stay in touch for sure. We all agreed that this was our favorite tour of CDMX (and we did quite a few) and that if we had known, that we would’ve STARTED our 8-day trip to CDMX with this tour. The other neighborhoods that you read about and learn about, and pay to tour are great, but they should come AFTER you first learn about urban Mexican culinary history and ingredient profiles in a safe, but out-of-the-way neighborhood. Coyoacan, La Condesa, Roma Norte, Polanco, and even the Historico Centro would all be more fun to visit for the first time AFTER you first take this tour. One last note, the many Markets in CDMX seem daunting to visit without guidance, but Clara walked us through the La Dalia, which is a typical urban marketplace in CDMX, and now we feel much more prepared to visit the bigger ones like San Juan or Bazaar de Sabado.

I've been on many food tours around the world, but I can safely safe this was one of the best planned and thoughtful food tours I've ever been on. My guide, Nico, has a background in the food industry and has lived and worked in Mexico City for well over a decade, which allowed him to develop a custom agenda full of insider knowledge that made this charming neighborhood come to life. Nico's tour, which combined the neighborhood's history with food, drink, architecture, and notable historical figures, will make you want to move to Santa Maria de la Ribera. It goes without saying that the range of food items we sampled was amazing. Nico is a perfect guide for the novice traveler to CDMX or can provide a more seasoned traveler with that extra off-the-beaten path experience. I can't wait to go back!

We loved our guide Nico! He was super friendly and incredibly knowledgeable. We visited seven restaurants and had a delicious time. Our favorite thing was walking through the local markets and see all of the colorful food. We ate such yummy, authentic Mexican food. It is a fantastic tour and this was probably the highlight of our trip. I would recommend this highly. Don't miss it!

We had a wonderful experience with Adrian. Not only did we have a great eating experience but we also learned so much spending time with an extremely knowledgeable and experienced chef- about food, culture and history. Santa Maria neighbourhood is fantastic-- architecture, people, green space, markets. Adrian effortlessly took us to local and unique places. We really enjoyed our time with him. We will definitely contact him for our next tour when we are back in Mexico City. Thank you Adrian ! Carol and Reid

Adrian was an amazing human being but also very knowledgeable. Think about it being a eating tour with a lot of history. Every question we asked he gathered the information and presented it as we enjoyed the day. Thanks again … must go ASAP