Mercado Contadero

The Mercado Contadero is a neighborhood food and produce center. It’s about as far as you can get from the Centro Santa Fe shopping center without actually leaving the neighborhood. That’s right, Contadero is one of the main neighborhoods in the larger Santa Fe area. It is also one of the five original settlements of Cuajimalpa.

So, if you make it all the way to Contadero, you’re in for a much more solid and traditional town. Centered around the Church of the Immaculate Conception, it’s a former cattle ranching town. In fact, it still feels a little like the high-altitude mountain village it was for hundreds of years.  That means it’s probably also a healthier, cooler place to eat.

When you eat at any of Mexico City’s hundreds of Public Markets, you get food that has never seen a freezer. Vendors are much smaller and often independent. And every market has multiple eateries or lunch counters in addition to the standard vendors in produce, butcher items and the like. We’ve put together a little guide to help you overcome your biggest fears about eating at any of them. It’s always healthier, fresher food, and you’re supporting small, independent businesses and even farmers.

The Contadero Market is about a 7-minute drive from the Centro Santa Fe, or the Parque La Mexicana. But it’s a world of difference, and a cool country town, too, believe it or not.