Night-time tacos, stacked trompos and soft bakery rolls

Central Mexico is the beating heart of urban street tacos. In Mexico City and Puebla, the most iconic example is tacos al pastor, spit-roasted marinated pork inspired by Lebanese shawarma, sliced off the trompo and tucked into tiny corn tortillas, often with pineapple on top. Alongside pastor you find suadero, longaniza, cecina, chorizo toluqueño and other regional sausages that showcase the Central Mexican love of embutidos and charcuterie. But this category isn’t just tacos—tortas and pambazos are equally central. Mexico City’s bolillo-based tortas, Puebla’s sesame-topped cemitas and the guajolota (a tamal stuffed into a roll) turn bakery breads into full meals on the go. Evening and late-night food culture is built around these stalls: office workers, students and families gather at curbside counters for a few bites of pastor, tacos árabes, suadero or chorizo, plus a glass bottle soda.