Guadalajara 2.0

When Casa Habita first opened its doors in 2015, it was a sign that the city was finally evolving from a business hub to a tourist destination. The first Grupo Habita hotel opened in Mexico City in 2000 and the collection still stands as the country’s coolest design hotel group. The entrance and lobby are particularly charming: set in an old mansion house, with a bar and snug lounge with dusty pink walls. Inside the glass-fronted rooms there are ruby red tub chairs, and on the rooftop, a splash pool to sip mezcal margaritas alongside.  

You wouldn't fly all the way to Guadalajara for a croissant. Or – once you’ve tried Karmele’s –maybe you would. The bakery, founded by a local pastry chef (who worked in Paris), has a cement and wood counter loaded with cinnamon rolls, miniature carrot cakes, lemon tarts, babka and almond croissants. For something quintessentially Mexican, go for the concha (a pillowy sweet bread), paired with a cinnamon coffee. There’s a cosy wooden dining room, but the best seats are on the street-facing terrace out front.  

At the entrance to Guadalajara’s Central Market, lies one of the best breakfast spots in the city. It’s not surprising that you’d find corn tortillas filled with queso fresco or eggs at a market in Mexico, but this spot offers a more elevated take. On any given day, you’ll find friends catching up, business folk and market goers all gathering at the long wooden table to eat plates of chilaquiles and tamales with cups of Café de Olla (cinnamon spiced coffee).  

This is where locals like to come for a lazy Sunday morning brunch. Visit on a weekend and you might find yourself waiting in a long line for a warming bowl of chilaquiles (corn tortillas totopos simmered in salsa). Enjoy a cafechata borracha (horchata with a shot of espresso and spicy liquor) while you wait in line, then grab a table inside the mansion house or in the sun-dappled courtyard dotted with yellow chairs. The vibe is fun and easygoing, so expect to linger until the early afternoon.

In the same building as Zuno, find Apartment 25, a wood-paneled store with groovy blue velvet carpeting. Previously  located in Mexico City, this boxy space is a one-stop-shop for cool design paraphernalia. The collection is small but sharp, stocking niche publications, as well as local brands such as watering cans that double as vases by designer Fabien Cappello, futuristic paintings by Mauricio Orozco and ceramics from Soda Ceramica Ilustrada. 

Xokol is one of the city’s greatest restaurant success stories. Started by a young couple in a garage-like nook in 2022, it has since relocated to a slick black space with a long sharing-style table. Most of the food is centered around Mexico’s most prized ingredient, corn, and is cooked on a large open comal (clay griddle). Expect contemporary riffs on traditional dishes such as fish and green curry served with a tortilla made from blue spirulina, squash flower and beetroot dust. 

Hidden up a staircase on the second floor of a coffee shop, you’ll find people jostling around an open courtyard at the city’s liveliest watering hole. El Gallo Altanero is a cocktail bar that’s known for its party vibe but also its artisanal tequilas and mezcals, neatly displayed on illuminated shelves behind the bar. The menu changes frequently but expect superb cocktails–creative riffs on classics, such as the Jicama Sour, a quintessential lemon-and-egg-white cocktail made with fresh poblano chile and kefir leaf oil. 

For years José Noe Suro, founder of the ceramic factory Ceramica Suro, has shone a spotlight on art in the city – collaborating with creatives such as Kelly Wearstler and David Adjaye. His newest venture is Plataforma, a gallery set in a light-filled modernist building in the Americana neighborhood, redesigned by architect Sergio Ortiz. On display is Suro’s private collection as well as a rotation of exhibitions from homegrown artists which are put together by renowned curators from all over the world.  

The Hospicio Cabañas Museum is best known for the elaborate murals by Mexican painter José Clemente Orozco. It may be the the main reason people visit, but the cultural institution also has ever-changing cultural programming, such as a recent solo exhibition by one of the city’s most esteemed artists, Jorge Méndez Blake . The building itself, a UNESCO World Heritage site, is also a marvel–an architectural complex built at the beginning of the 19th century, made up of courtyards, archways, patches of grass, a chapel with frescoes and hidden nooks. It’s a nice place to go and get a little lost.  

What started off as a personal post-university project selling artistic lampshades to friends and family has resulted in a swish standalone showroom showcasing an array of lighting solutions. At designer Rafael Weber’s store, shoppers can delight in pieces that will almost certainly not fit in a carry-on. There are dangling origami lamps in black ebony wood, twisted desk lamps, cloud-like chandeliers constructed from curved maple panels and playful pendant pieces such as a koi fish also fashioned from maple.  

Palamonegra is as good for a matcha as it is for an oolong Martini. Locals stop by first thing for their morning brew, but by the evening it’s transformed into a vibey bar complete with DJs. The small space is almost entirely stainless steel with shelves stashed with records and other trinkets. The food is good too: a menu loaded with comfort plates such as tomato soup and a mortadella sandwich with truffle fries – a perfect late-night bite.  

This Guadalajara-born company began making outdoor furniture but eventually expanded to indoor pieces too. Now, inside their new store on the edge of the vibey Americana neighbourhood, they stock a number of colorful pieces that marry traditional craft, (such as weaving and welding) with a modern aesthetic and materials. Their signature chairs with steel frames and woven seats dot the interiors of restaurants and hotels, but they’re perhaps best known for their collaborations with creatives such as French-born designer Fabian Cappello who dreamt up a collection of woven loungers in primary shades of blue and red.  

When three art entrepreneurs and friends realised that all their creative friends were moving from Mexico City to Guadalajara, they decided to open a gallery in the Americana neighbourhood. They also have a space in the capital, but the Guadalajara outpost is equally important. Set in a former elementary school, the multi-room white space is dedicated to local artists (of which there are many), such as sculptor and ceramicist Alejandro Garcia Contreras,  who has become well-known in the scene for his elaborate, colourful creations.