La Vasconia

Mexico City’s oldest bakery serves up a mix of savory dishes and truly wild confections. A trompo spit-roasting al pastor meat for tacos greets diners right at the entrance, followed by a rotisserie oven with crisping chickens. Painted figures of Batman, Masha, Miraculous Ladybug, and many other characters are painted directly onto the ceiling tiles—an out-of-the-box way to showcase all of the ways the bakers will gladly decorate your cake frosting.

Founded in 1870 by Marcelino Zugarramurdi, a Basque immigrant who decided to name the business after his homeland, the bakery carved out a name for itself with its pillowy sweet breads. As has often been the case for migrant communities, many Basques in Mexico settled into an economic niche, bakeries in this case, bolstered in part by the success of La Vasconia. The bakery is still home to one of the Huellas de la Octava (“Footprints of the Eighth”), a series of mosaics commemorating Mexico City’s Basque diaspora.

From a handful of employees at its opening in the late 19th century, to about 70 today, La Vasconia’s gastronomic expansion now spans several floors of the building it occupies, with additional seating on the upper floors for those looking to have a full meal here.