Guide to Cantinas in Mexico City / El Amaranto, a neighborhood cantina in Letrán Valle.

By Anna Lagos / Photos courtesy by El Amaranto

They do it justice: it's juicy, tender, and golden, enhancing its flavors without going overboard. It's served with red sauce, guacamole, and the indispensable freshly made tortillas. Patrons also praise their molcajete (a traditional stone mortar) and beef tongue in various preparations: Veracruz-style, albañil (bricklayer's style), fried, or in morita chili sauce.

El Amaranto cannot be described as a cheap or typical neighborhood cantina, but its essence is especially preserved in the wooden tables with space on the sides to place drinks, thus not hindering the dominoes, cards, or dice games. The atmosphere is quite family-friendly, and from Tuesday to Friday, from 4:00 pm to 9:00 pm, there is live music.

In pre-Hispanic Mexico, amaranth was one of the main food plants used both in daily sustenance and in ceremonial and religious life. The Aztecs, for example, used amaranth seeds and mixed them with honey or human blood to form figures of gods, especially during the month of Panquetzaliztli, dedicated to Huitzilopochtli, the god of the sun and war.

These figures were later broken and distributed among the community in a symbolic act of communion and spiritual renewal: the same that occurs in cantinas.

As with any good cantina, one must order a fried milanesa (breaded steak) accompanied by potatoes. There's also chamorro (pork shank) and tortas (sandwiches) served with some good pickled chilies; machitos (a dish made from the innards of a kid goat) and tortilla soup. For dessert, classic bananas with sweetened condensed milk or Elisa-style flan. The cantina also offers everything from local beers to classic cocktails, as well as tequila, wines, aperitifs, and digestives.

• Address: C. Monte Albán 639, Letran Valle, Benito Juárez, 03650 Mexico City, CDMX
• Phone: +525555395074
• Hours: Monday to Saturday from 1:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. Closed on Sundays.
• Ideal for: Tequila, dominoes, and cantina food. If you're in the south of the city and want to eat a little and drink a lot, this is your place.
• Type of food: Mexican cuisine. The cabrito is one of the star dishes.
• Payment: cash and cards
• Accessibility: wheelchair accessible
• Parking: Valet parking
• Reservations: Book your table online or by phone, so you don't have to wait.
• Nearby public transport: Metro Parque de los Venados
• Pet friendly: no
• Suitable for children: yes