The Gap Between Perception and Reality in Mexico’s Food Scene

And what spending real time there reveals about quality, craft, and modern food systems

Over the last nine months, the Forklift team has spent significant time in Mexico, not on quick visits, but on the ground in markets, kitchens, vineyards, and farms. Not just Mexico City, but in Mèrida, San Miguel de Allende, and Valle de Bravo. Watching how food moves. Talking to the people who grow it, cook it, and build businesses around it.

What became immediately clear wasn’t just the quality of the food.

It was the size of the gap between reality and perception.

In the U.S., Mexico is still too often viewed through a narrow lens, one shaped by outdated assumptions about safety, quality, and infrastructure. Meanwhile, the reality on the ground tells a very different story: one of sophistication, momentum, and a food culture that’s evolving faster than many people realize.

It’s about recognizing that the way we talk about food, what we trust, what we question, and what we overlook hasn’t kept pace with what’s actually happening.

And that gap matters to us.

Mexico City Is the Proof Point

I lived in Mexico City for three years and loved every minute of it. Over the last two decades, the city has come into its own, culturally, creatively, and gastronomically.

CDMX is one of the largest cities in the world, and one of the most dynamic. Ancient ruins next to modern museums. Street food beside some of the most respected restaurants on the planet. Tradition and ambition coexist without apology.

And yet, for many Americans, the same questions still surface: Is it safe? Will the food make me sick? Can I drink the water?

Those questions don’t reflect reality. They reflect outdated assumptions.

What the Reality Actually Looks Like

Safety
Mexico City has changed dramatically over the past decade. It now has a high police-to-civilian ratio, extensive surveillance infrastructure, and well-established tourist corridors. Like any major city, New York, Paris, and Chicago, safety comes down to awareness and common sense, not fear.

Food
The idea that street food is inherently unsafe is one of the most persistent myths. In reality, high turnover and local demand often make it safer than many sit-down establishments. Locals eat there daily. They don’t gamble with their health. Avoiding street food in CDMX means missing one of the world’s great food cultures.

Water
Most restaurants, hotels, and rental houses filter water. Ice is handled properly. Bottled water is ubiquitous. This is no longer the obstacle people imagine it to be.

The Bigger Issue is Perception

We second-guess Mexico. Not because of facts. Because of habit. And that bias shapes how we evaluate quality, credibility, and innovation.

What the Data and the Plate Actually Show

Culinary leadership, not nostalgia
Mexico’s modern food scene isn’t borrowing credibility; it’s creating it.

Chefs like Enrique Olivera and the team at Quintonil don’t appear on the World’s 50 Best list as exceptions. They’re signals of a broader reality: Mexico is shaping global dining culture, not chasing it.

Live-fire cooking, ingredient-driven menus, and regional storytelling- these trends didn’t start elsewhere and trickle down. Many started in Mexico.

Wine without the apology tour
Valle de Guadalupe and Querétaro are no longer “up-and-coming.” They’re producing wines that earn international recognition, like those coming out of Bruma, and appear on serious wine lists despite the tariffs. And they’re not alone.

Coahuila, home to the historic Parras Valley and Casa Madero, the oldest winery in the Americas, is producing wines with structure, intent, and growing consistency.

Not everything is perfect, and not every bottle is a standout. But the trajectory is undeniable. These regions are investing, learning, and steadily raising the bar. This isn’t experimentation. It’s evolution.

Sustainability as a system, not a slogan
In much of Mexico, regenerative farming, whole-animal utilization, and seasonal cooking aren’t trends. They’re economic necessities. The result is often shorter supply chains, less waste, and a closer relationship between producer and product than in highly industrialized models.

Food safety at scale
Mexico’s export system operates under FDA-recognized equivalency programs. American retailers already trust Mexican produce every day. The disconnect isn’t regulatory, it’s perceptual.

The Real Gap We Need to Acknowledge

Americans are trained to see Mexico through a risk lens. Even when the evidence says otherwise.

That gap isn’t about food or safety. It’s about mindset.

And mindset shapes everything - what we buy, what we value, who we trust, and what we overlook.

The Takeaway

This isn’t a call for brands to suddenly change sourcing strategies or chase trends.

It’s a call to update our worldview. Because when we let outdated assumptions guide our thinking, we miss what’s right in front of us, not just in Mexico, but everywhere.

The future of food belongs to people willing to question inherited narratives and recognize excellence where they weren’t taught to look.

That’s not a marketing move.

That’s a smarter way to see the world.