By Liam Isola 
It’s no secret that Condesa is one of the most expensive neighborhoods in Mexico City. However, that doesn’t mean there aren’t cheap places to eat in Condesa. In fact, you can definitely find affordable and delicious options all around one of CDMX’s most iconic neighborhoods.
Condesa certainly has a lot of international restaurants, but if you want to save money, consider eating local food. There are street food options, delicious fondas, and taquerias where you can grab an affordable meal. So, here are 15 cheap places to eat in Condesa that are delicious:
1. La Esquina del Chilaquil (Corner of Alfonso Reyes and Tamaulipas) – Mon-Sat 8am-1pm
First on the list of cheap places to eat in Condesa is La Esquina del Chilaquil. This is one of the most iconic street food stops in Mexico City. People wait in line, sometimes for nearly an hour, to eat these decadent sandwiches on the corner of Alfonso Reyes and Tamulipas.
This carb-bomb features a bolillo (roll) with chicken or cochinita pibil (or both) and chilaquiles (chips with salsa and cream. If you want to be full nearly all day for just 70 pesos (~$3.80), this is the place to go.
2. Taqueria El Greco (Campeche 440) – Mon-Sat 2:10-10:40 pm
One of my favorite taquerias in the entire city, Taqueria El Greco is consistently great. Here, you can get tacos with either corn tortillas or pita bread. Their specialty is “doneraky” in pan arabe, which is spit-roasted pork in pita bread.
You can add avocado and cheese to your tacos for a little extra. They also have tasty mushroom tacos for vegans. Their salsas actually have a kick to them, which is more than I can say for a lot of places that cater to tourists.
The tacos in pita bread are massive and start at 45 pesos each if you don’t add anything to them.
3. Argentinisima (Corner of Tamaulipas and Benjamin Hill) Mon-Sun (Closed Tue) 1-6pm
Here’s a hidden gem in Condesa across the street from the Librería del Fondo de Cultura Económica. As the name suggests, Argentinisima serves Argentinian specialties every afternoon except on Tuesdays.
I’ve tried a few different menu items and I’ve been impressed by each one. Pascualina, a spinach and ricotta pastry with boiled egg, is delicious and just 60 pesos.
The empanadas are also just 25 pesos each, and stuffed chicken comes in at 130. I don’t eat much red meat, so I haven’t had the choripan, matambre, or bife, but everything at Argentinisima, one of my favorite cheap places to eat in Condesa, looks quite good.
4. Eva Sandwicheria (Alfonso Reyes 81) – Mon-Fri 9am-8pm, Sat-Sun 9am-4:30pm
If you’re looking for a cute café in Condesa you could bring a date to and not break the bank, look no further than Eva Sandwicheria. This spot on Alfonso Reyes, a few blocks away from La Esquina del Chilaquil, has breakfast and lunch options, including eggs, sandwiches, toasts, and salads.
Most menu items will run you under 150 pesos, and the panini are tasty. I usually go for the Faustino, which has chicken, tomatoes, avocado, spinach, cheese, and chipotle mayo. They also have special seasonal sandwiches that rotate each month.
5. Las Delicias (Alfonso Reyes 81-2) – Mon-Sun 12:30-5:30pm
Literally right next door to Eva, you’ll find an unassuming fonda called Las Delicias. All visitors to CDMX should have the comida corrida experience at least once, and this is as cheap as it gets in Condesa.
For under 100 pesos, you’ll get a soup of the day, rice or a pasta, and a main dish for lunch. There’s no better value for money when it comes to sit-down restaurants in Mexico City than a place with a menu del dia (menu of the day). This is a place I’ve been to a bunch of times and can vouch that it’s one of the best cheap places to eat in Condesa.
6. Los Golosos (Cuernavaca 126) – Mon-Sat 8am-6pm
Los Golosos is another great place with menu del dia in Condesa, but it is a bit pricier. You do get what you pay for, though, as the portion sizes tend to be bigger, and I think the quality here is higher.
The people who run this place are incredibly friendly, and I recommend starting with the consome de pollo especial for lunch. Instead of just chicken broth with vegetables and rice, it adds shredded chicken and avocado for a more filling meal.
Unlike Las Delicias, Los Golosos is also open for breakfast and has affordable breakfast packages.
7. El Pescadito (Atlixco 38) – Mon-Fri 11am-8pm, Sat 10am-8pm, Sun 10am-6pm
Despite its inland location, Mexico City is a seafood-obsessed city with one of the biggest fish markets in the world (La Nueva Viga). There are plenty of upscale restaurants to get seafood, but El Pescadito, one of the best cheap places to eat in Condesa, has no frills.
El Pescadito, which has a handful of locations throughout the city, has affordable fish tacos with a salad bar where you can add ingredients like coleslaw, pickled onions, and peppers to your tacos.
The menu consists of fried fish, fried shrimp, smoked salmon, and chile relleno tacos, along with quesadillas. Ingredients can be combined without an extra cost as well.
8. Marea Bonita (Mexicali 4) – Mon-Sat 12-5pm
Another affordable restaurant for seafood in Condesa is Marea Bonita, which has seafood platters for under 200 pesos. You can get a shrimp soup, grilled salmon with vegetables, and a drink for 185 pesos, which is not at all a bad deal for Condesa standards.
There are also a la carte options like seafood tacos, which are a little cheaper than the ones at El Pescadito, and tostadas. If you’re feeling particularly hungry, you can get a shrimp tlayuda.
9. Antojitos Lety (Fernando Montes de Oca 96) – Mon-Sat 3-10:30pm
Antojitos translates to snacks in English but you can definitely get full off of the food at Antojitos Lety. Open from 3 pm to 10:30pm Monday through Saturday, a lot of Mexican classics are available at this hole in the wall near the corner of Avenida Mazatlan and Fernando Montes de Oca.
There are tacos, tostadas, sopes, enchiladas, pozole, flautas, and chilaquiles here. So, there are plenty of options for a full dinner instead of just a snack at great prices.
10. Tortas La Moderna (Atlixco 75) Mon-Sat 10:30am-7pm
One of my favorite spots for tortas (sandwiches) in Condesa is Tortas La Moderna, on Calle Atlixco. They are incredibly affordable, starting at just 50 pesos, and have 12 different options.
They also have enchiladas verdes for 100 pesos and mole enchiladas, on Fridays only. The food here is obviously tasty, the menu is simple, and it’s perfect for taking something quick to go.
11. Tacos Hola El Guero (Amsterdam 135) – Mon-Fri 9am-9pm, Sat 9am-7pm, Sun 9am-3pm
Another great taqueria in Condesa is Tacos Hola El Güero on the famous Avenida Amsterdam loop near Parque México. Here, they have tacos de guisado, or stew tacos. They have so many options here that it can be overwhelming here as a first-time customer.
It’s a very small counter-service place with limited seating options, but it’s a place I keep coming back to time and time again. The value for money here is absurd, and it’s very tasty. I usually get a couple of tinga de pollo tacos and add guacamole, cheese, and beans to them, which is free to do.
However, you’ll want to arrive before 1:00 pm to make sure they don’t run out of guacamole or any of the various fillings. They have a lot of vegan options, along with stuff that’s very much not vegan, like chicharron, torta de camaron (shrimp cake), and higado (liver).
As of the time of writing, the tacos are 32 pesos each, and you can enjoy a substantial lunch for under 100 pesos. This is easily one of the best cheap places to eat in Condesa and one of my favorites on the list. It’s also on the Michelin Guide.
12. Quesadillas Mari (Michoacan 178) – Mon-Fri 6:45am-3pm
Here’s a puesto (stall) where you can get a bunch of different delicious street foods. As the name suggests, you can get quesadillas with various fillings, but if you want cheese, you’ll have to ask for it. It sounds counterintuitive, but quesadillas in Mexico City don’t automatically come with cheese.
There are other traditional street food offerings here as well, like tlacoyos, gorditas, tacos, and pambazos. As far as price-to-portion ratio, street food is about as good as it gets in CDMX.
13. Antojitos de Doña Caro (Benjamin Hill 14-24) – Mon-Fri 12:15-3:45pm
Another puesto in Condesa is Antojitos de Doña Caro, on the border of San Miguel Chapultepec. This place is known for its delicious gorditas and is only open for a few hours a day. There are also people nearby selling delicious tamales.
14. Tianguis de Martes (Pachuca 13) – Tue 10am-5pm
One of the cheap places to eat in Condesa is at the Tianguis de Martes (Tuesday Market) on Calle Pachuca. There is a large area with plenty of street food options at the market, along with tables and chairs for diners.
The market itself is a one-stop shop for produce, nuts, and household items, and one of the cheapest places to shop in Condesa in general.
15. Tianguis de Viernes (Nuevo Leon 139) – Fri 9am-4pm
There’s another market in Condesa on Fridays that is smaller but still has a fair few options to eat. I actually think the prepared food is better at the Friday market than the Tuesday one.
There are seafood empanadas, huaraches, tortas, and the usual options like street tacos, gorditas, quesadillas, and tlacoyos. I’d particularly recommend the huaraches, which are massive and a filling meal.
The tianguis de viernes is last, but certainly not least, on our list of cheap places to eat in Condesa. So, now you should have plenty of options to try in the area that won’t break the bank.