Restaurant in Mexico City, Mexico
Michelin recognition at a fraction of the cost.
Lalo! holds a Michelin Plate (2025) and an OAD Casual North America ranking at a $$ price point — making it the strongest value case for a special occasion dinner in Roma Norte. The cocktail program matches the kitchen's ambition. Booking is easy compared to Mexico City's $$$$-tier competition, and the 4.2 Google score across 3,261 reviews confirms it performs consistently.
Lalo! earns a Michelin Plate (2025) and a #299 ranking on Opinionated About Dining's Casual North America list while staying firmly in the $$ price bracket — that combination is genuinely rare in Roma Norte. If you are planning a special occasion dinner in Mexico City and want something that feels considered rather than casual but won't cost what Pujol or Quintonil will, this is where to look first. Book it.
Chef Eduardo 'Lalo' García's restaurant on Zacatecas 173 in Roma Norte has been accumulating critical credibility at a steady pace: Highly Recommended on OAD in 2023, a ranked entry at #299 in 2024, and a Michelin Plate in the 2025 guide. That trajectory matters when you are deciding whether a $$ restaurant is a safe bet or a genuine achievement — at Lalo!, it is the latter. The 4.2 Google rating across 3,261 reviews reinforces that this is not a critics-only venue; it consistently performs for a broad range of diners.
The cooking is Contemporary in classification, which at this address means Mexican ingredients and instincts filtered through a technically precise kitchen. García built his reputation before opening Lalo!, and the restaurant has become one of Roma Norte's anchors for guests who want to eat well without committing to the full tasting-menu format that dominates Mexico City's upper tier. For context on how that fits into the wider city picture, see our full Mexico City restaurants guide.
The editorial angle worth spending time on here is the bar program. At a $$ venue with Michelin recognition, the drinks list is often the first thing to be underfunded , that is not the case at Lalo!. The cocktail program operates with the same contemporary sensibility as the kitchen: Mexican spirits, seasonal ingredients, and preparations that have been thought through rather than assembled from a standard template. If you are coming for a special occasion, the bar is worth arriving at early. The room at Zacatecas 173 has enough character that drinking before your table is ready is not a holding pattern , it is part of the experience. For a broader view of where to drink in the city, our full Mexico City bars guide covers the category in depth.
García's approach to drinks aligns with what other Roma Norte venues are doing , Botánico and Cana both run serious cocktail programs in the neighbourhood , but Lalo! has the advantage of pairing a strong bar with kitchen credentials that neither of those matches on the awards front. If the drinks program is your primary reason for visiting rather than a complement to dinner, compare Lalo! against Bajel and Aquiles, both of which put the bar more centrally in their identity.
For a date or a celebratory dinner, Lalo! sits in a productive middle ground. It is not so formal that it creates pressure, and it is not so casual that the occasion feels unmarked. The Michelin Plate gives it a credible anchor if you are dining with someone who uses awards as a signal of seriousness. At $$, a full dinner with drinks will not approach what you would spend at Em or Lorea at $$$, which makes Lalo! the more defensible choice when value is part of the calculus.
Roma Norte itself is a good neighbourhood for a special evening: walkable, with enough density of good bars that pre- or post-dinner options are available without much planning. Aúna is nearby for a different register if you are building a longer night out. For hotel options near the neighbourhood, our full Mexico City hotels guide covers where to stay.
Lalo!'s position on the OAD Casual North America list places it alongside venues from across the continent, which is useful context: this is not a locally-prominent restaurant that travels poorly on paper. For comparison points elsewhere in Mexico, Animalón in Valle de Guadalupe, Levadura de Olla in Oaxaca, and KOLI Cocina de Origen in Monterrey all operate in the same critically-recognised casual-contemporary space. Among Mexico City venues specifically, Lalo! is the most accessible price point with Michelin recognition in its bracket. Le Chique in Puerto Morelos and HA' in Playa del Carmen offer points of comparison if you are planning a wider Mexico trip. Internationally, Jungsik in Seoul and César in New York City occupy a similar contemporary-with-credentials position in their respective cities. For everything else happening in Mexico City beyond restaurants, see our full Mexico City experiences guide and our full Mexico City wineries guide.
Lalo! is at Zacatecas 173, Roma Norte, Cuauhtémoc. Price range is $$. Awards: Michelin Plate 2025; OAD Casual North America #299 (2024); OAD Highly Recommended (2023). Google rating: 4.2 from 3,261 reviews. Booking is rated Easy , you do not need to plan weeks in advance. No specific dress code on record; Roma Norte's register is smart-casual for a special occasion dinner. Specific hours, phone, and booking link are not confirmed in our data , check Google or the venue directly before visiting.
Quick reference: $$ price range | Michelin Plate 2025 | Roma Norte | Easy to book | Smart-casual dress suggested.
Bar seating at Lalo! is a practical option worth considering, particularly if you are visiting as a pair or solo. The drinks program is a genuine part of the experience rather than an afterthought, so eating at the bar is not a consolation format , it is a reasonable way to experience the room. Specific bar-seating policy is not confirmed in our data, so contact the venue directly to confirm availability on the night you plan to visit.
Booking difficulty at Lalo! is rated Easy, which means you are unlikely to need more than a few days' notice for most nights. That said, weekend evenings in Roma Norte fill faster, and if you are timing a visit around a specific occasion, booking a week out is a sensible precaution. At $$, this is one of the more accessible Michelin-recognised tables in Mexico City , demand is real but not at the level of Pujol or Quintonil, which require weeks of lead time.
No formal dress code is recorded for Lalo!. For a $$ Michelin Plate venue in Roma Norte, smart-casual is the correct register , think a considered outfit rather than resort wear, but no need for a jacket. The neighbourhood skews creative and polished; you will be underdressed in beachwear and overdressed in a suit. Aim for the middle.
Yes, clearly. A Michelin Plate and a top-300 OAD Casual North America ranking at $$ is a strong value proposition by any measure. You are getting kitchen credentials that sit well above what the price bracket usually delivers in Mexico City. For comparison, Rosetta is the other $$ venue in Roma Norte with real critical standing , Lalo! matches it on awards recognition while offering a different cuisine direction. If $$ is your budget ceiling in Mexico City, this is where to prioritise.
Specific tasting menu details are not confirmed in our data, so we cannot give you a direct verdict on format or pricing. What the awards record does confirm is that the kitchen operates at a level where a tasting format, if offered, would be credibly executed. Check the current menu directly with the venue before booking if the tasting menu format is central to your decision. At $$, even a multi-course format here will cost less than a la carte at most $$$ venues in the city.
No specific dietary restriction policy is confirmed in our data. The Contemporary cuisine classification and the kitchen's overall reputation suggest a degree of flexibility, but for anything specific , vegetarian, vegan, allergies , contact the venue directly before booking. Do not assume accommodation without confirming; for a special occasion dinner, that conversation is worth having in advance rather than at the table.
| Venue | Awards | Price | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lalo! | Michelin Plate (2025); Opinionated About Dining Casual in North America Ranked #299 (2024); Opinionated About Dining Casual in North America Highly Recommended (2023) | $$ | — |
| Pujol | Michelin 2 Star, World's 50 Best | $$$$ | — |
| Quintonil | Michelin 2 Star, World's 50 Best | $$$$ | — |
| Rosetta | Michelin 1 Star, World's 50 Best | $$ | — |
| Em | Michelin 1 Star | $$$ | — |
| Lorea | $$$ | — |
How Lalo! stacks up against the competition.
Bar seating availability at Lalo! is not confirmed in current records, but at a $$ contemporary venue in Roma Norte with documented bar program investment, counter or bar-adjacent dining is common in this format. check the venue's official channels before assuming walk-in bar seats are an option. If a more relaxed drop-in setup is your priority, Rosetta nearby has more flexible seating history.
Book at least 2 to 3 weeks out. A 2025 Michelin Plate and a #299 OAD Casual North America ranking means Lalo! is no longer flying under the radar, and demand from international visitors to Roma Norte has increased sharply. Weekend slots will go fastest. If you are visiting Mexico City with a fixed itinerary, book before you land.
No dress code is documented for Lalo!, and the Roma Norte neighbourhood skews creative and relaxed. At a $$ price point with a Michelin Plate rather than a star, expect a room where neat casual fits without effort. You will not be out of place in jeans; you do not need a jacket.
Yes, at $$, Lalo! is one of the stronger value cases in Mexico City's contemporary dining tier. A 2025 Michelin Plate and consecutive OAD Casual North America recognition — Highly Recommended in 2023, #299 in 2024 — at this price bracket is the argument in one line. For comparison, Pujol and Quintonil deliver more formal tasting experiences but at a significantly higher cost.
Menu format and specific pricing are not confirmed in available records for Lalo!. What is documented is that Chef Eduardo 'Lalo' García's kitchen has earned Michelin Plate recognition at a $$ price range, which suggests the core experience is priced accessibly relative to its critical standing. Verify current menu options directly with the restaurant before booking around a specific format.
No specific dietary accommodation policy is documented for Lalo!. For any restriction that affects your ability to eat the core menu, contact the restaurant at Zacatecas 173, Roma Norte before booking. At a contemporary $$ venue with Michelin recognition, the kitchen generally has the technical range to adapt, but do not assume without confirming.
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