Restaurant in Mexico City, Mexico
Michelin star value. Book before it's gone.
Expendio de Maíz holds a Michelin star and an OAD Casual North America #10 ranking (2025) at the $$ price tier — one of the clearest value gaps in Mexico City dining right now. Chef Jesús Salas Tornés runs a lunch-only format in Roma Norte that consistently outperforms its price point. Book as far ahead as possible; demand has accelerated sharply since the star was awarded.
Two price signs. One Michelin star. That combination is rare enough anywhere in the world, but in Mexico City's Roma Norte it translates to one of the most consequential lunch bookings you can make in 2025. Expendio de Maíz, at Av. Yucatán 84, earned its first Michelin star this year after three consecutive years climbing the Opinionated About Dining Casual North America list — #40 in 2023, #21 in 2024, and now #10 in 2025. The trajectory tells you something important: this is not a venue coasting on local reputation. It is a venue that serious critics keep re-evaluating upward.
The editorial angle here is casual excellence — a concept that gets talked about frequently but rarely delivered with this consistency. At the $$ price tier, most diners expect competent execution of familiar formats. What Expendio de Maíz offers instead is a focused, technically serious approach to corn-based Mexican cooking under chef Jesús Salas Tornés, operating within a lunch-only format that demands the kitchen perform at its peak for a compressed window each day. That constraint is worth noting before you book: this is a daytime destination, not a dinner option. Hours run Tuesday through Thursday and Sunday from 10am to 4:30pm, with a longer window on Friday and Saturday from 9am to 7:30pm. Monday is closed.
Roma Norte is a walkable, low-rise neighbourhood of tree-lined streets and converted houses, and Expendio de Maíz fits that grain. The physical setting is compact and informal , the kind of room where the cooking is clearly the main event rather than the interior design. That spatial informality is part of the value proposition: you are not paying a premium for architectural theatre, which means more of the $$ price tag goes toward what is on the plate. For diners who evaluate a room by the quality of what it produces rather than how it photographs, that is a positive signal. Seat count is not confirmed in our data, so if group size matters to your booking , and it likely does given demand , contact the venue directly to clarify capacity and table configuration.
The OAD Casual North America ranking is a useful calibration tool here. The list draws on votes from a global network of frequent diners and travelling food professionals, and a #10 placement in 2025 puts Expendio de Maíz in direct competition with venues operating across price tiers. The fact that it is ranked above hundreds of more expensive alternatives is the clearest external signal that the quality-to-price ratio is genuinely out of step with the category norm. A Michelin Bib Gourmand in 2024 , awarded specifically to venues offering good food at moderate prices , reinforced that reading, and the star upgrade in 2025 moves the conversation further.
For the food and travel enthusiast who tracks Mexico's dining evolution, this venue sits at an interesting intersection. Mexico City's most-discussed restaurants , [Pujol](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/pujol-mexico-city-restaurant) and [Em](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/em-mexico-city-restaurant) among them , operate in the $$$-$$$$ tier, where the ambition is matched by price and booking difficulty. Expendio de Maíz asks for neither the budget nor the advance planning that those rooms require, yet it is now playing in an overlapping critical conversation. If your Mexico City itinerary includes one high-end dinner reservation, Expendio de Maíz works well as the lunch counterpoint that delivers serious cooking without the formal register.
The 4.2 Google rating across 1,496 reviews is a secondary but telling data point. A venue with this level of award recognition that also holds a strong crowd-sourced score is broadly consistent in execution , not a place where the critics' version and the walk-in experience diverge significantly.
Book as early as possible. A Michelin star awarded in 2025 to a venue already ranked in the OAD top 10 for casual dining in North America will generate demand that outpaces the lunch-only, compact-room format. No online booking link is confirmed in our current data, so your leading approach is to contact the venue directly or monitor reservation platforms that cover Roma Norte. Booking difficulty is rated Hard. If you are planning a Mexico City trip specifically around this reservation, build the booking before you buy flights. Friday and Saturday's extended hours to 7:30pm give you more flexibility than the standard 4:30pm close, and those later slots may be the easiest to secure for same-week attempts.
For broader context on where Expendio de Maíz sits within Mexico's serious dining circuit, it is useful to compare it to other Michelin-recognised Mexican venues. [Animalón in Valle de Guadalupe](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/animaln-valle-de-guadalupe-restaurant), [HA' in Playa del Carmen](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/ha-playa-del-carmen-restaurant), [KOLI Cocina de Origen in Monterrey](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/koli-cocina-de-origen-monterrey-restaurant), [Le Chique in Puerto Morelos](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/le-chique), [Levadura de Olla Restaurante in Oaxaca](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/levadura-de-olla-restaurante-oaxaca-restaurant), and [Lunario in El Porvenir](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/lunario-el-porvenir-restaurant) each represent a different regional expression of what Mexican fine and casual dining looks like right now. Expendio de Maíz is the Mexico City entry point to that conversation that does not require a $$$$ budget. If you want to see how the category translates to other contexts, [Alma Fonda Fina in Denver](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/alma-fonda-fina-denver-restaurant) and [Cariño in Chicago](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/cario-chicago-restaurant) are both doing serious work with Mexican cooking in the US.
Also worth having open in parallel tabs when planning your Mexico City trip: our [full Mexico City restaurants guide](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/mexico-city), [hotels guide](https://www.joinpearl.co/hotels/mexico-city), [bars guide](https://www.joinpearl.co/bars/mexico-city), [wineries guide](https://www.joinpearl.co/wineries/mexico-city), and [experiences guide](https://www.joinpearl.co/experiences/mexico-city). For Roma Norte specifically, [Esquina Común](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/esquina-comn-mexico-city-restaurant) and [Máximo](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/mximo-mexico-city-restaurant) are worth considering for the same neighbourhood visit, and [Taquería El Califa de León](https://www.joinpearl.co/restaurants/taquera-el-califa-de-len-mexico-city-restaurant) , the Michelin-starred taco counter , makes a useful frame of reference for how Mexico City delivers star-level quality at street-food prices.
| Venue | Cuisine | Price | Awards | Booking Difficulty | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Expendio de Maíz | Mexican | $$ | Opinionated About Dining Casual in North America Ranked #10 (2025); Michelin 1 Star (2025); Opinionated About Dining Casual in North America Ranked #21 (2024); Michelin Bib Gourmand (2024); Opinionated About Dining Casual in North America Ranked #40 (2023) | Hard | — |
| Pujol | Mexican | $$$$ | Michelin 2 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
| Quintonil | Modern Mexican, Contemporary | $$$$ | Michelin 2 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
| Rosetta | Italian, Creative | $$ | Michelin 1 Star, World's 50 Best | Unknown | — |
| Em | Mexican | $$$ | Michelin 1 Star | Unknown | — |
| Comedor Jacinta | Mexico, Mexican | $$ | Unknown | — |
Key differences to consider before you reserve.
The kitchen's focus is corn-forward Mexican cooking, which means the menu is built around a specific ingredient philosophy rather than flexible substitution. No documented allergy or dietary accommodation policy is on record for this venue. If restrictions are a concern, contact them directly before booking — at $$ prices with a Michelin star, the format is tight enough that last-minute changes may be difficult to accommodate.
No bar seating policy is confirmed in available records for Expendio de Maíz. Given the venue's $$ price point and its positioning as a casual Michelin-starred spot in Roma Norte, the setup is more likely counter or table service than a traditional bar format. Check directly before visiting if bar access is a priority.
Casual is appropriate here. Expendio de Maíz is a $$ venue ranked in OAD's top 10 casual dining list in North America — the emphasis is on the food, not the formality. Roma Norte is a relaxed neighbourhood, and the vibe aligns with that. Leave the dress shoes at the hotel.
Yes, clearly. A Michelin star at $$ pricing is rare globally, and Expendio de Maíz backs it up with an OAD Casual North America ranking that climbed from #40 in 2023 to #10 in 2025 — that's a credentialled upward trajectory, not hype. Compared to Pujol or Quintonil at $$$+, this delivers serious recognition at a fraction of the spend. Book it while the price-to-credential ratio still makes sense.
It's a practical solo option. The $$ price point keeps the financial commitment low, and the lunch-focused hours (Tuesday to Sunday, closing between 4:30 and 7:30 pm depending on the day) suit a solo traveller building a flexible itinerary. A Michelin-starred casual venue in Roma Norte is a much lower-pressure solo booking than a tasting-menu-only room — no awkward table for one at a long tasting counter.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
