Mercado 2 de Abril is a working-class comedor - a popular eating hall - that has stood between the Alameda and Garibaldi for over 120 years. You come here not for produce (it's sparse and sometimes tired) but for the fondas, the small kitchen stalls where cooks have been turning out comida corrida, golden-fried barbacoa tacos with consomé, soft pancita with hand-pressed tortillas, and the legendary Tortas Robles for decades. You eat standing or squeezed onto narrow wooden benches, choosing by reading the handwritten menus posted outside each kitchen. The food is honest home cooking at prices that make sense to people who work in the Centro. Real warning: if you're looking for a market to buy groceries, you'll leave disappointed. If you want to eat well and cheap in the historic center, you'll struggle to find anything better.
Mercado 2 de Abril earns its place on the strength of its food stalls, which ring the exterior and serve the kind of home-style cooking that barely exists at these prices anymore
When to go
Open daily 9:00–18:00. Avoid Sunday evenings for less crowding; weekdays are calmer.
How long
1 to 2 hours to eat without rushing. Space is tight; you'll stand or share benches.
What to look for
Skip the produce, eat at the fondas. Barbacoa tacos, pancita, comida corrida, Tortas Robles.
Price range
Very cheap: from 45 pesos ($2.60 USD) for a full meal. Budget 50–100 pesos per plate.