I’ve started a new tradition. My goal is to start the New Year somewhere new every year. To ring in 2019, Luke and I spent New Year’s Eve in Mexico City and it was an unforgettable experience.
My theory is if you start the new year somewhere new, it will bring you more travels in the future. I have absolutely no proof to back it up, but it I don’t see why not. And regardless, spending the first day of the New Year on top of a pyramid is a pretty cool.
Mexico City has now become my favorite destination and I have been wanting to go back since. Check out my guide to visiting Mexico City.
Why travel over New Year’s Eve?
New Year’s is my new favorite holiday for traveling for several reasons. At my current job, I get both New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day off. It is also not a family focused holiday like Christmas or Thanksgiving, so I don’t have to worry about feeling guilty. Plus Christmas is a pretty magical time to be home.
So with my two holidays, I only had to worry about taking two days off work, making our trip Friday December 28th through Wednesday the 2nd. The way the flights were, we essentially had four full days in Mexico City, which was just enough time, although I obviously could have stayed much longer.
New Year’s Eve Traditions in Mexico City
Mexico has some fun New Year’s traditions.
It is tradition to eat 12 grapes on New Year’s Eve, one at a time as the clock chimes towards midnight. Each grape represents a month of the year and can be accompanied by a wish. This is common in other Latin American countries as well as Spain, where it seems to have originated.
REad more: A Guide to Two WEeks in Spain
In certain places in Mexico, it is tradition to create a scarecrow out of old clothes and newspaper to represent the old year, “el año Viejo”. The stuffed dummy is lit on fire at midnight to signify letting go of the years regrets and failures.
Another Mexican tradition is to wear red underwear on New Year’s Eve if you desire love in the New Year and wear yellow if you are looking for good fortune with money.
On New Year’s Day if you would like to have good travels in the upcoming year, it is tradition to walk your luggage around the block. You can also place your luggage in the center of your room and walk around it.
Where to Celebrate New Year’s Eve in Mexico City?
We were a little nervous about celebrating New Year’s Eve in Mexico City because it is primarily a family holiday. However, if you are visiting there is still plenty to keep you occupied. For people in Mexico City who are not spending time with their families, there are two main options.
New Year’s Eve Celebration at Angel of Independence
The first is a large celebration at the Angel of Independence. Luke and I walked through this after midnight and people were still going, dancing in the streets to the band that was playing. They had several large screens set up which displayed the band and they were streaming to other places in Central and South America. There were also food and gift stands as well as a view of the fireworks.
This party used to take place at the Zocalo, but from everything I discovered, it hasn’t for the last couple of years.
Multi-course New Year’s Eve Dinners
The second option, if you aren’t necessarily into partying all night, is that many restaurants offer a multi-course meal on New Year’s Eve.
This seemed much more up our alley.
I did a lot of research on where to go for a New Year’s Eve dinner in Mexico City and I honestly didn’t find all that much. New Year’s Eve reservations cannot be made on Open Table because often it is considered a special event and your reservation will be cancelled. The best way to make a reservation is to call or have your hotel concierge call the restaurant. You can also try reaching out to places via email or Facebook Messenger.
The first place I tried to get a reservation at was El Balcon de Zocalo, but apparently the New Year’s Eve dinner and party is only for guests of the hotel, so if you are interested in that one, make sure to book a room. Reserve your table in advance in order to sit on the balcony.
I also tried many other options discovered in my research, but whenever I would call, the connection would get dropped or the person couldn’t understand me. It probably would help to speak Spanish, but I didn’t have many issues communicating in English once we got there.
I also tried emailing some places but only got one response back, asking for me to wire transfer them money so I could secure my spot. This seemed risky and we ultimately decided to take our chances and make a reservation when we got there.
In order to find a restaurant however, I researched restaurants in Mexico City that seemed likely to have an event for the holiday. The upscale restaurants are more likely to do a New Year’s Eve dinner.
Once I had an idea of several restaurants that sounded interesting, I searched on their Facebook page. I found that this was the best way to find out who was doing a New Year’s Eve dinner as most places didn’t have any of this information on their website and, of course, calling and emailing didn’t seem to be working.
Dulce Patria was one of the restaurants that I discovered had a Cena de Fin de Año, or a New Year’s Eve Dinner, posted on their Facebook page. They had even included the courses.
When we arrived in Mexico City, we made a point to stop by Dulce Patria on Saturday, December 29th to make a reservation. Luckily, they still had reservations. I’m not sure if this is a common occurrence because much of my research said to make reservations months out, but I would guess that unless you have one specific place you would really like to spend New Year’s Eve, there will be enough space for all. Mexico City is huge, after all.
New Year’s Eve Dinner at Dulce Patria
I absolutely loved our dinner at Dulce Patria. I don’t think I have ever been more full in my entire life, so I definitely recommend coming hungry. Other than that, this dinner was everything I had been hoping for out of this experience.
We also got there way too early in typical American fashion, at 6:30 PM, the time we had reserved. It took a good hour or two for the place to actually fill out. At first we were worried about how many empty seats surrounded us. In retrospect, however, the people who came later were still eating their entrees at the New Year’s countdown, so I think it is better to be early than late.
No matter what time you arrive, you will get served the same number of courses. You have your table until midnight or later, if necessary.
Price: $2750 pesos per person or $143 USD per person
Courses
The menu theme was traditional Mexican foods.
To start, they served an avocado and mezcal cocktail with “its Mexican heart,” which turned out to be a dried worm.
We ate it, because if you can’t eat a worm on New Year’s Eve in Mexico City, you never will. Also, I am not a huge fan of mezcal, but when you are in Mexico City you have to try it. There were several good mezcal cocktails that I had in Mexico that may have changed my opinion about the spirit – so give it a try!
The drink was also rimmed with a bit of worm salt. It was definitely a unique cocktail.
Luke then ordered another mezcal drink, which was not included in the price, but they let him sample from a bottle of really expensive and smooth mezcal. The mezcal he ended up ordering (the less expensive one) was also served with a worm. Note that letting your worm soak in mezcal does not make it taste better and gives it a mushy texture.
Next was a shrimp and mole salad that was quite good, followed by a roasted apple soup served with some dried fruits and bread.
The jewel of corn filled with green beans and pulque sauce came after that. Pulque is made from fermenting sap from the maguey tree, something we tried during our visit to Xochimilco.
The next dish was fish in adobo with charred corn, smoked peppers, and black bean puree. This was essentially a fish meatball, which was interesting but certainly not bad. This was also the point when I started to become very full.
The pork cheek with punch fruit mole was one of my favorite parts. It was served with little corn tortillas to make tacos. The pork was tender but had a crunchy crust that was very good.
Finally, two desserts dotted with butterflies came out, one a ball of chocolate filled with a fruity interior and the other one a little cake with a perfect dollop of ice cream on top.
Then, included with our meal came “Smoking grapes of prosperity and Champagne for New Year’s Toast.”The grapes weren’t really smoking, just sitting in a bit of dry ice and water. We waited to eat the grapes until it was midnight, as is tradition. They also brought out some Mexican chocolates, at which point I started to feel like the meal would never end, and coffee.
Also included in this experience were some New Year’s party favors and a Mariachi band.
When midnight rang out and our fellow diners clinked their champagne flutes together with cheers, there was nowhere else I would have rather been.
I recommend finishing your meal and paying before the New Year’s countdown because afterwards everyone is trying to close out at the same time, although some people were still eating.
Other New Year’s Eve Dinners in Mexico City
The following restaurants have a New Year’s Eve dinner:
La No 20 Cantina
Safety Tips for New Year’s Eve in Mexico City
I never felt unsafe in Mexico City.
However, when traveling anywhere in the world it is important to remain alert and aware of your surroundings. This is especially true if you decide to celebrate at the Angel of Independence on New Year’s Eve.
I always carry a cross-body bag so that I have more control over it and try to keep my hand on it while walking through crowds. I also try to limit the amount of cash and card that I carry.
New Year’s Day in Mexico City
On New Year’s Day, we visited Teotihuacan, but most other tourist attractions should be open. Teotihuacan was pretty busy and I assume some of the other tourist attractions are as well. Restaurants often close or have limited hours. Luke and I desperately wanted to go to Pujol while we were in Mexico City but they were closed the entire week for the holiday.
Have you ever spent New Year’s Eve in Mexico City? Have you ever celebrated the New Year somewhere new?
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What a fantastic night! How gutsy of you to eat the worm! And , I don’t really want to know what worm salt is but after that it sounds like such a special date. Thanks for your letting us in on this experience! We look forward to hearing about your next adventure.
I came across your blog while doing some research for NYE 2022. We started doing this tradition in 2009. You will not regret carrying on this tradition year after year. And from personal experience, starting the new year in a new place DOES bring more travel prosperity. Cheers!