Churrería El Moro: Mexico City’s Legendary Churro Spot 2025 Ultimate Guide

How a 90-Year-Old Churro Stand Became the Soul of CDMX

You haven’t truly tasted Mexico City until you’ve stood under the iconic blue-and-white tiles of Churrería El Moro, steam rising from a cup of spiced chocolate in one hand and a sugar-crusted churro in the other. This isn’t just a snack—it’s a ritual. A midnight pilgrimage for club-goers, a breakfast tradition for abuelas, and a lifeline for travelers craving something real in a city of 22 million. I’ll never forget my first visit: it was 2 AM in Centro Histórico, rain slicking the cobblestones, when I followed the laughter and the scent of cinnamon to a neon-lit doorway. Inside, families shared tables with tattooed artists and businessmen still in suits, all united by hot oil and dough.

That’s the magic of El Moro. Founded in 1935, this place has survived revolutions, earthquakes, and gentrification, expanding to 17 locations while never losing its soul. In 2025, it remains one of the last authentic bargains in a city where taco prices are skyrocketing. For less than the cost of a metro ticket, you get history, community, and churros so fresh they crackle when you bite.

I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve dragged friends here. Just last month, my buddy Elena—raised in Barcelona—took one sip of their chocolate caliente and gasped: “Dios mío, this is how chocolate should be! In Spain, we drown it in starch till it’s like pudding. This… this is alive.” She wasn’t wrong.

The Birth of a Legend: Spanish Roots, Mexican Heart

Every great food story starts with an immigrant’s dream. Francisco Iriarte arrived in Mexico City from Spain in 1933, carrying little but his family’s churro recipe and the nickname “El Moro”—a nod to the Moorish influence on Spanish churro culture. Back then, churros were street food for miners and shepherds, cheap fuel dusted with sugar. But Francisco saw poetry in the humble dough. He set up a cart near the Zócalo, frying churros in copper pots over coal fires. Locals called it “El Puesto del Gachupín” (The Spaniard’s Stand), but he christened it Churrería El Moro, reclaiming the term with pride.

For decades, it stayed small. Francisco’s sons would rise at 3 AM to knead dough in the family’s apartment, then haul it to the cart in metal pails. Their secret? Resting the dough overnight so it developed tiny air pockets, making each churro crisp yet pillowy. They only sold two things: churros (either canela y azúcar or solo azúcar) and thick Spanish-style hot chocolate for dipping. No tables. No chairs. Just a line of hungry taxi drivers and factory workers shivering in the dawn fog.

Then came the 1985 earthquake. When the dust settled, the Iriarte family rebuilt—not just their stand, but the entire block’s spirit. They opened their first proper churrería with tile floors and wrought-iron lamps, staying open 24 hours for rescue workers. That’s when Mexico City adopted El Moro as its own. Today, Francisco’s grandchildren run the empire, but the original location at Eje Central Lázaro Cárdenas 42 still feels like stepping into a Diego Rivera painting: checkerboard floors, vintage cash registers, and the hiss of dough meeting oil echoing off century-old walls.

The Menu: More Than Just Churros

Walking into El Moro in 2025 feels like entering a churro cathedral. Behind the counter, cooks pipe dough from star-shaped nozzles into shimmering oil, their forearms glistening in the heat. The scent alone—caramelized sugar, fried dough, bitter cocoa—hits you like a warm hug. Prices have barely budged since my first visit in 2018, a miracle in today’s CDMX.

The Classics

Let’s start simple: the churro tradicional. You can order them solo (solo azúcar), but why would you? The magic is in the sugar-cinnamon alchemy. Each churro arrives hotter than a July afternoon, its ridges glittering with crystals that melt on your tongue. The texture? Imagine a cigarillo of fried cloud with a shatter-crisp shell. I always get the “orden de 4” (44 pesos ≈ $2.50 USD)—four churros nestled in a paper cone like edible bouquets. Pro tip: Unfold the cone, pour a puddle of chocolate sauce (23 pesos), and drag each churro through it like a paintbrush. Pure bliss.

The Game Changer: Churro Ice Cream Sandwiches

In 2019, El Moro did the unthinkable: they split a churro down the middle and stuffed it with ice cream. The “Consuelo” (named after Francisco’s wife) is now their cult favorite. Picture this: a warm churro sliced open, steam rising as they tuck in a scoop of vanilla bean helado. The heat softens the ice cream just enough to seep into the dough’s crevices. It’s messy. It’s glorious. It costs 78 pesos (≈$4.50 USD) and I’d fight for one right now. For the indecisive, the “Trio de Consuelos” (3 mini-sandwiches) lets you mix flavors—I go mango-chili, chocolate mole, and vanilla.

The Liquid Gold: Mexican Hot Chocolate

This is where El Moro parts ways with Spain. Forget thick, spoonable chocolate a la taza. Here, the chocolate Mexicano is frothy, light, and spiked with cinnamon and almonds. They serve it two ways:

• Español (milk-based): Creamy and sweet, like melted chocolate bars.
• Mexicano (water-based): Earthy and complex, topped with foam you’d see on a cappuccino.

My friend Elena swore the Mexican version “tastes like the Aztec xocolātl drank by emperors.” At 52 pesos a cup (or 115 pesos paired with 4 churros), it’s the cheapest time machine in town.

Why This Place Matters in 2025

In an era where Instagram bait dominates Centro Histórico, El Moro remains stubbornly real. No influencer walls. No $15 USD “artisanal” churros. Just 90 years of muscle memory in every bite. Here’s why it endures:

1. Affordability as Rebellion
While trendy cafes charge $7 USD for cold brew, El Moro’s most expensive item (the 12-churro box) is 250 pesos ($14 USD)—and feeds three. Students, street vendors, and retirees all share tables here. It’s one of the last places where Mexico City’s wild diversity feels tangible, not staged.

2. The 24/7 Sanctuary
The original location never closes. Rain or shine, earthquake or protest, its lights burn gold. At 3 AM, you’ll find mariachi singers refueling after gigs, nurses ending shifts, and heartbroken souls soothed by sugar. I once saw an elderly couple slow-dancing by the fryers at dawn, churros forgotten as Agustín Lara played on the radio.

3. Edible Heritage
Churros aren’t “Mexican”—they’re colonial imports, like wheat and beef. But El Moro Mexicanized them. Spain’s churros are skinny, meant for quick dipping. El Moro’s are thicker, crispier, designed for un abrazo de azúcar (a sugar hug). They’re a metaphor for Mexico itself: foreign ingredients transformed into something bolder, sweeter, and utterly unique.

Final Thoughts: Your Pilgrimage Plan

If you do one thing in Mexico City, skip the pyramids. Skip the Frida museum. Go to El Moro’s flagship at Eje Central 42. Arrive past midnight when the Zócalo empties and the tiles glow like cobalt dreams. Order:

• 4 churros solo azúcar (trust me, the sugar lets the dough sing)
• A chocolate Mexicano
• One Consuelo with vanilla ice cream

Sit at the counter. Watch the cooks. Let sugar dust your shirt. This isn’t just dessert—it’s communion with 9 decades of resilience, joy, and grease. As Francisco’s granddaughter told me: “We sell churros, yes. But really? We sell warmth.”

And in 2025’s cold world, that’s everything.

More Mexico City Food Guides:

• Best Tacos in Mexico City
• Ultimate Guide to Street Food in CDMX

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