Churros at El Morro – Mexico City

The best churros I had in the short time I was in Mexico City was at Cafeteria in Coyoacán, but another churro shop worth mentioning is Churrería El Moro, which has been serving churros and hot chocolate in the hubbub of Centro Histórico since 1935.

You wouldn’t expect the charming churrería on the busy street of Eje Central Lázaro Cárdenas. On the way there, David and I were convinced I had the address wrong. But amid the chaos (think Times Square), we found El Moro — our momentary fried oasis — looking like it hadn’t been renovated since the mid-thirties.

At El Morro, huge coils of churros are freshly fried in a steaming vat of oil….

then cut with scissors and sprinkled with either plain or cinnamon sugar.

One order consists of four thick, crunchy churros…

and a hot chocolate of your choice for dipping on the side. I ordered the Especial (MXN $65 / USD $5.11; pictured above front), a foamy, semi-sweet hot chocolate with cinnamon. David ordered the Español (MXN $60 / USD $4.72; pictured above back), a sweeter, thicker number.

The reason I liked the churros from Coyoacán more, is that the churros at El Moro are a bit too fried. Perhaps because of their slightly larger girth, or perhaps because they’re fried one massive coil at a time, the churros need to be fried longer, and as a result, end up too dry. In addition, the coarse sugar sprinkled on top doesn’t cling well. Quite problematic when you need more sugar due to the thickness. Because of this, while I liked my semi-sweet hot chocolate alone, with the churros, David’s sweeter, thicker hot chocolate did a better job aiding in sweet chocolate delivery.

Of course, even though they weren’t perfect, the churros at El Moro were still miles (kilometers?) better than the ones in New York so all had to be eaten. If I lived in Mexico City, I probably wouldn’t be a regular, but as a tourist it’s worth visiting the institution at least once.

Churrería El Moro
Eje Central Lázaro Cárdenas 42 (b/n Calle de Venustiano Carranza & Republica de Uruguay; map)
Centro Histórico
Mexico City, DF, Mexico
5512-0896