A grotto that has been serving food for more than a century
La Gruta is not a themed restaurant: it is a real grotto, formed by volcanic lava, a few steps from the Pyramid of the Sun. The banquets started here in 1906, during the archaeological rescue work at Teotihuacán, and the place has never stopped seating guests since.
Walking in is half the experience. You go down a stone staircase, the temperature changes, and all at once a rock vault opens up, with tables dressed in white and chairs hand-painted in green, pink, blue and red. A natural skylight drops a shaft of light onto the dining room in the middle of the morning.
What the dining room is like inside
The main room holds up to 500 people without feeling cramped, because the grotto is tall and unfolds across several levels. Some tables sit against the rock wall, others next to the greenery at the entrance, and there is a candlelit area at the back.
At night the mood changes completely: candles burning on the stone and along the steps turn the grotto into something else. That is why so many people book anniversaries and marriage proposals here.
What to eat at La Gruta
The restaurant sums it up itself: «traditional Mexican cooking with local products since 1906», inspired by the pre-Hispanic cuisine of the State of Mexico and tied to whatever the area's producers have in season. All the masa is nixtamalized and ground daily with native corn from the Teotihuacán Valley.
- Starters. Sopes of nixtamalized corn with turkey in green salsa with epazote; a trio of quesadillas with seasonal fillings; the «La Gruta» molcajete with guacamole, grilled spring onions and chicharrón; escamoles (ant larvae) with epazote. In season, chinicuiles (red maguey worm) and gusano blanco de maguey (white maguey worm).
- Soups. Tortilla soup, grandmother's recipe; fresh corn soup with kernels of criollo maize; wild mushrooms and xoconostles in a pancita-style broth with nopales from the area; and sopa de la milpa, with squash, chayote, corn, criollo tomatoes and quelites (wild greens).
- Salads. La Gruta, with harvest quelites, criollo tomatoes, candied pecans and ranch cheese, dressed with xoconostle vinaigrette and maguey syrup. Quetzalcóatl, with nopales, red onion, cotija cheese and poblano vinaigrette with avocado oil.
- Dishes cooked underground. Pre-Hispanic cooking in buried ovens, with free-range criollo lamb: barbacoa with nopales salad and salsa borracha, mutton consommé prepared right at the oven, and mixiotes of chicken or vegetarian (seasonal mushrooms, nopales, xoconostles, potatoes and poblano rajas).
- Meats. Arrachera (skirt steak) grilled over coals with grilled nopal and beans with epazote; arrachera meatballs in tomato broth with chipotle; beef cecina with avocado, nopales salad and tortillas hand-pressed to order; and a Mexican platter with tampiqueña, a crisp taco, a tamal with purslane and a mole enchilada.
- Poultry. The «La Gruta» mole, which the house has been making since 1927, served with guajolote (turkey); chicken with purslane in green miltomate salsa; chicken fajitas with seasonal wild mushrooms and epazote; and a casserole of pipián verde.
- Kids' menu. House consommé or fideo seco with no chile; chicken milanesa breaded with amaranto or grilled beef fajitas; and ice cream or flan for dessert.
Careful — these are two different things. The prices below are the restaurant's à la carte menu, for when you go on your own and order dish by dish. The breakfast in our packages costs $600 MXN per person and is a set menu, not ordered à la carte: fruit with amaranto and honey, two hot or cold drinks, and a main course to choose from — enchiladas, chilaquiles, quesadillas or barbacoa flautas.
À la carte prices, if you go on your own
Taken from the restaurant's printed menu in August 2026. In Mexican pesos, taxes included. Prices change; confirm them when you book.
| Starters | |
|---|---|
| Tlacoyos (3) | $167 |
| Trío de quesadillas | $167 |
| Sopes (3) | $247 |
| Torre de huauzontle | $337 |
| Molcajete «La Gruta» | $367 |
| Sopes con chapulines | $373 |
| Escamoles al epazote | $849 |
| Gusano blanco de maguey | $969 |
| Chinicuiles | $997 |
| Soups | |
| De tortilla | $223 |
| De elote fresco | $223 |
| De setas, nopales y xoconostles | $223 |
| De la milpa | $223 |
| Salads | |
| La Gruta | $217 |
| Quetzalcóatl | $217 |
| Dishes cooked underground | |
| Consomé de carnero | $193 |
| Mixiote vegetariano | $431 |
| Mixiote de pollo orgánico | $447 |
| Barbacoa | $559 |
| Poultry | |
| Fajitas de pollo | $443 |
| Pollo con verdolagas | $469 |
| Cazuela de pipián verde | $473 |
| Mole «La Gruta», 1927 | $487 |
| Meats | |
| Albóndigas de arrachera (3) | $417 |
| Cecina de res | $498 |
| Arrachera a las brasas | $507 |
| Panza de cerdo con mole manchamanteles | $513 |
| Rib eye (300 g) | $547 |
| Platón mexicano | $557 |
| Kids' menu (under 11) | |
| 3 tiempos | $273 |
| Drinks | |
| Cerveza | $113 |
| Cerveza michelada o preparada | $127 |
| Cerveza artesanal Tempus Clásica | $167 |
| Cerveza artesanal Tempus Dorada | $173 |
| Piña colada natural | $193 |
| Clamato natural | $197 |
| Sangría con vodka | $199 |
| Clamato con vodka | $219 |
| Margarita de limón (alcohol-free $237) | $323 |
| Margarita de mango (alcohol-free $237) | $323 |
| Margarita de tamarindo (alcohol-free $237) | $323 |
| Margarita de tuna, de temporada (alcohol-free $249) | $337 |
| Margarita de chapulín (alcohol-free $259) | $339 |
Prices taken from the printed menu in August 2026, taxes included. They are the restaurant's own and change over time; confirm them when you book.
The breakfast your flight includes
If you fly with us and choose a package with breakfast at La Gruta, the table is already booked and the transfer from the landing field is included. It is served around 8:30-9:00, right after the balloons land.
Breakfast comes with fruit with amaranto and honey, two hot or cold drinks, and a main course to choose from: enchiladas, chilaquiles, quesadillas or barbacoa flautas.
Practical details before you go
- Reservations. Recommended, especially on weekends. The restaurant suggests booking up to 15 days ahead; without a reservation the wait can run from 40 minutes to an hour.
- Parking. Free for restaurant guests.
- Payment methods. Cash and Visa, Mastercard, American Express and Diners Club cards.
- Capacity. Up to 500 guests.
- Phone. +52 55 5191 9799
