Chef Jorge Vallejo’s dishes are as delicious as they are delicately beautiful at Quintonil, another one of Mexico City’s must-try restaurants. Vallejo explained that he “tries to give special attention to all our pre-Hispanic ingredients but seen in a contemporary way.” One such herb is the indigenous quintonil for which the restaurant is named. We loved the nopales ceviche with scallops, salicornia, avocado and xoconostle (an edible cactus similar to the prickly pear). The ceviche was vibrant and refreshing, paired with a green juice made with nopal (prickly pear cactus), a Mexican type of sorrel named vinagrera, cilantro, ginger and celery. The ceviche whet our palates for the roasted chicken with black chichilo (a traditional Oaxacan mole), huitlacoche and borage. Dressed in this rich and complex black sauce of mixed spices and chilies, this chicken dish was electrifying.