Run by a group of young French expats, this cosy restaurant and cocktail parlour hosts live music (think jazz, folk, blues) every Tuesday night. The French-Mediterranean restaurant is illuminated by twinkling candlelight; after dinner, head to the lounge upstairs – one of the only bars in La Roma – where you’ll find comfortable sofas and drinks served in vintage crystalware. Try the zacatecas old fashioned (bourbon, homemade sugar syrup, bitters and burnt orange) and absinthes sourced from around the world.

This is the after-hours club of Mexico City, often hosting famous international DJs and artists. It’s the kind of place that everyone somehow ends up at, so try your best to get there before 3AM to avoid the chaotic queues on the pavement. The building once belonged to Mexican communist party founder M. N. Roy and was converted into a nightclub by French architects Emmanuel Picault and Ludwig Godefroy. Word of warning: time melts away in dark corners and on the sweaty dancefloor here – before you know it the sun has risen and it’s time to go home.

The only cocktail bar that’s really worth going to in La Condesa, Baltra is inspired by Darwin’s exploration of the Galapagos Islands in the 19th century. The team behind it is the group from Limantour, another popular haunt in the city which has made it to the lists of the World’s Best Bars. On our visit, it was their “apium o opium” cocktail that stole the show – a mix of mezcal, citrus and celery bitters. The atmosphere is warm and mellow with friends joining tables together beneath sketches from Darwin’s travels, mummified butterflies and ostrich eggs

A small, clandestine dive bar in Mexico City’s historic centre, Bósforo has slowly made a name for itself through its rare mezcal menu and off-the-beaten-track location. In this part of the city, streets are organised according to commodities. Enter Bósforp through a rusty metal door on the street of lamps and lights. Try an Espadín mezcal if it’s your first time, or for more robust flavours ask about the Tobalá or Tepextate. Their blue-maize quesadillas are known to be some of the best in town too.

The city’s best jazz bar is hidden underground inside a former bank vault in Centro. Entering feels like walking into a scene from the James Bond’s Spectre, which was set just a few blocks away. The crowd is made up of bohemians, students, intellectuals, business types – anyone who enjoys good music – thanks to nightly live acts ranging from Mexican jazz bands to swing, soul and blues.

A welcome addition to Mexico City’s late-night scene, Casa Franca is a multi-room jazz bar that conjures the spirit of prohibition-era speakeasies. Rooms are scattered with eccentric design details and appear to be connected in a haphazard fashion that creates an air of mystery and provides perfect corners for seduction. Well-executed cocktails, live music and delicious tapas create a fun setting for couples or groups looking to reserve a whole room to themselves.

Hotel Casa Awolly is not a hotel but a three-storey 20th-century Porfirian mansion that has been reappropriated to house a restaurant, a rooftop terrace, a cinema and several individually decorated rooms off a central courtyard. Patterns, textures and colours clash in a refreshingly eclectic manner courtesy of interior designer Dirk Jan Kinet and select cocktails complete the sense of surrealism by arriving in a mirrored prism in which you can see your reflection prior to imbibing it.

El Departamento or “the apartment” is exactly as the name suggests, presenting a relaxed space reminiscent of your musician friend’s apartment. Turntables sit in the corner and a evolving roster of local artists’ work adorns the walls, adding to the casually cool nature of the place. Drop by post-dinner and don’t be surprised if the live music turns a quick drink into an evening of dancing and debauchery.

If El Departamento takes you from dinner to drinks, then El Paraiso takes you from drinks to dancing and late-night tacos. A perfect antidote to the heavier MN Roy, Café Paraíso is a club doesn’t take itself too seriously and plays a selection of fun beats in a tropico setting. Surprisingly small and intimate, be prepared to dance and make new friends.