Contramar began with a daydream about a beach. Around 1996, on a trip to Zihuatanejo on Mexico's Pacific coast, Gabriela Cámara imagined a seafood restaurant in Mexico City with the ease of a palapa by the sea. It opened in Roma Norte in 1998, reportedly in a space that had been a large cold room, and it has been a fixture of the city's lunch table ever since.
The dishes to know
Two of them define it. The tuna tostada, dressed with chipotle mayonnaise, is the one people mean when they talk about Contramar. The second is the pescado a la talla: a whole fish split down the middle and grilled, one half rubbed with red chile, the other with a green herb sauce, and brought to the table on a wooden board with warm tortillas.
Around them sits a short, confident list of raw and grilled things. There is an aguachile of shrimp or octopus, a ceviche, and octopus in the Galician style, with potato, olive oil and paprika. Everything is made for sharing, and the fish is the natural centre of a table of two or more.
How to do it
Reserve ahead, since the room fills at lunch, and booking is possible through OpenTable. Go with a group if you can, and take the time the room expects of you: this is a long lunch, not a quick one. Dessert comes round on a tray, so wait for it. The restaurant holds a Bib Gourmand for 2026.
Where it sits
Contramar is on Calle Durango in Roma Norte, near the Cibeles fountain, a neighbourhood of tree-lined streets, cafes and galleries that rewards a slow afternoon either side of lunch.
