San Juan Market, Mexico City, Gourmet food market in Centro Histórico, Mexico City.

San Juan is a food market in the historic center with two separate buildings housing fresh fruits, meats, vegetables, and numerous stalls offering complete meals. The spaces are densely packed with vendors selling Mexican staples alongside European meat cuts and Asian specialty items throughout the corridors.

The current building dates from 1955, erected on the site of the Buen Tono cigar company warehouses and named after Ernesto Pugibet, who ceded the land to the city. It opened alongside the Jamaica and Arco de Belén markets as part of efforts to regulate small vendors. Specialization in gourmet and exotic foods began in the 1970s and grew after NAFTA made more foreign products available.

The market's nickname, the "man's market," comes from its clientele of chefs, gastronomy students and restaurateurs, many of them regulars with fixed preferences. Several stalls are run by third- and fourth-generation families whose businesses predate the 1955 building, and immigrant vendors from Europe and their descendants sell Spanish sausages, Dutch cheeses and Chinese ingredients. At Pescadería El Puerto de Santander the signs are in several languages because most customers are foreign.

The Pugibet hall stands on Ernesto Pugibet Street, between José María Marroquí and Luis Moya, a short walk from the Salto del Agua metro station. The aisles are narrow and busy with chefs and restaurateurs, so come early for the widest choice. Vendors are used to foreign buyers and many signs are in several languages.

The market's nickname, the "man's market," comes from its clientele of chefs and restaurateurs, who are mostly male. Lion meat, raised in Zumpango, sells for about 850 pesos per kilo, and caviar can exceed 6,000 pesos per kilo. Some vendors are third- or fourth-generation traders whose businesses predate the building.