Santa María la Ribera, little known to most travelers, is a beautiful, 19th-century neighborhood of cafés and restaurants, plus traditional shops you’re starting to see less of in Mexico City. On this tour, you’ll visit the best places to eat in the area and you’ll learn the stories of the vendors and entrepreneurs who are shaping the modern character of this close-knit, artsy neighborhood. Some of the tour's highlights include visiting a working tamales factory that offers more than 20 varieties daily, strolling through the local market to see how a traditional city market looks and feels, popping into a neighborhood cooking school and restaurant that helps locals who may want to start their own food businesses. You'll also stop by a pulquería that’s drawn neighborhood residents for more than 100 years.
Posted By : michaeldS8922FY
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.
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Posted On : 2024-04-09 16:58:32 
Posted By : catherinegI3776NG
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.
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Posted On : 2024-03-30 15:29:01
Posted By : O7612PBrobl
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.
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Posted On : 2024-03-17 09:05:03
Posted By : Ingridbk
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.
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Posted On : 2024-01-30 00:03:19
Posted By : travelalli71
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!
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Posted On : 2024-01-22 14:03:20
Posted By : sarahct613
Nico
Was great!!!!
He really planned for us as vegan and vegetarian
Very sweet
Highly highly recommend
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Posted On : 2023-12-23 19:24:44
Posted By : amylG6437FN
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.
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Posted On : 2023-11-26 22:41:09
Posted By : ChristinaD712
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.
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Posted On : 2023-10-17 19:26:19
Posted By : LetJustSee
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.
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Posted On : 2023-04-14 19:37:05
Posted By : Vacation07412929904
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!
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Posted On : 2023-04-09 19:05:32
