Moving on from coffee, getting to taste the different flavours and style of food across the regions of Mexico was another one of the joys of travelling.
This list is an absolute mix of quick, slow, fancy, eaten with hands, and so on – hopefully the variety reflects the range of experiences we had!
(A guide for prices, as everything is cheaper in Mexico: £~10 GBP, ££~25 GBP, £££~45 GBP, ££££~80 GBP, all for two people).
Galanga, Mexico City: Fancy Thai in a cool indoor courtyard
Food: 9/10, Vibe: 8/10, ££££
Initially I wasn’t particularly impressed when Charlotte suggested eating fancy Thai food, given we’d been in Mexico for all of six days. Surely we should embrace the local cuisine!
I was wrong to be sceptical; this was better than any Thai food I’ve ever eaten in the UK, and less expensive to boot (notwithstanding the fancyness).
The food was incredible, with splashes of Mexican influence on the Thai dishes, and we got to eat in front of a very cool-looking bar laden with drinks and cocktails.
Maiz Criollo, Puebla: New takes on traditional corn-based food
Food: 8.5/10, Vibe 8.5/10, ££
Our first night in Puebla, and as it was a Sunday not many places were open. This one was, and we stumbled on an absolute up-and-coming gem.
It had been open barely a year, and the mega-friendly owner acted as chef, barman and waiter rolled into one. All of the dishes were inspired by traditional food, notably Maiz Azul (including the delicious if odd-looking huitlacoche, edible fungus from the corn plant), and they also had tasty craft beer. Top marks.
Chalupas Camino Real, Coatepec: Homely deliciousness
Food: 8/10, Vibe: 9/10, £
Again, we were in a situation where every restaurant in town appeared shut, and the ones recommended by Lonely Planet were unfortunately the two tourist traps on the main square. This place saved us, and how lucky we were.
The couple who ran it looked at us with some scepticism as we walked in (the few other customers were all locals). We seemed to reassure them as we correctly interpreted the menu and ordered beef chalupas with some confidence. Our request for extra onions and avocado, and my trying the many different salsas, sealed the deal as the husband gave us a grin as we ate. Topping it off was his offer of complementary passion fruit-based liquor with the bill, which I gladly accepted.
El Toque de Gracia, Xalapa: Fresh fish on a rainy day
Food: 8.5/10, Vibe: 8/10, ££
Xalapa really was an almost-exclusively culinary day. We had plenty of time to kill, and knew our pre-overnight bus meal would not be haute cuisine, so decided to go for a fancier-than-expected fish lunch.
The food took a while to arrive, but it was so worth it. Amazing, creative flavours mixed with very fresh fish and octopus from the Veracruz coast, and some cool cartoons and graffiti around the restaurant to boot. A very cool lunch.
Adama, Oaxaca: Chill Middle-Eastern vibes in a quiet courtyard
Food: 8/10, Vibe: 10/10, £££
We were craving a bit of a change in food, and a truckload of vegetables, by the time we arrived in Oaxaca.
The baba ghanoush, honey-roast carrots and falafel in this place ticked all the boxes, and the beautiful courtyard (plus adorable rescue dog Pablo) gave it a lovely atmosphere for dinner. We loved it enough to come back on our final night in Oaxaca.
La Rambla Antojeria, Oaxaca: Incredible fish tacos
Food: 8.5, Vibe: 8/10, ££
We had spent the morning cycling over to visit the monster tree at Tule, and were starving when we arrived back in town.
This antojeria was tucked into a modern little food market, and luckily it was the only stall open when we arrived for an early lunch. The lovely couple running it were hoping to open a full-blown restaurant in the future, and we reassured them that they were guaranteed success with the quality of the food!
Grilled Meat Alley, Oaxaca: Chaotic and smokey street food market
Food: 8/10, Vibe: 9.5/10, £
This place was carnage. We had just visited the ruins at Monte Alban and when we got dropped off back in town we dove into the market nearby.
We found a strip of stalls with beef, pork and sausages draped everywhere alongside massive charcoal grills and people shouting non-stop. The ordering process was confusing enough to baffle both the tourists and locals dining around us, but the absolute mayhem combined with the tasty meats gave the place a wonderfully chaotic vibe – exactly what you imagine when you think of a food market!
Casa Oaxaca, Oaxaca: Fine dining in the city centre
Food: 9.5/10, Vibe: 9/10, ££££
This was fancy, but we had been recommended it by multiple people we’d met in Oaxaca and decided to treat ourselves.
It was so worth it. I think you’d end up paying double or more in London for the quality of food we had, and the combination of traditional Mexican food (e.g. mole or tostadas) with fancier or more complex flavours was incredibly well done.
Non Solo Pizza, Puerto Escondido: Authentic hand-made pasta in surfer paradise
Food: 9/10, Vibe: 9/10, ££
I could not believe it when we found this place. We’d survived mountain biking, and been in Puerto Escondido a few days when the hotel owner recommended this as a legit Italian restaurant run by a couple of immigrants.
I might be biased, but it was soooo good. The seafood pastas reminded me of the ones I would eat on holiday with my family on the Italian seaside, and the mayhem and chaos of the restaurant added to the crazy vibes. We went back for a final meal before jumping on the bus to Mazunte.
Tierra y Cielo, San Cristobal: Fancy meal without the price tag
Food: 9/10, Vibe: 8.5/10, £££
I had spotted this place whilst doing some shameless trawling through Google Reviews. Luckily, because we extended our stay a bit in San Cristobal and I stopped being ill, we had the chance to try it out on our final night there.
The restaurant had a really cute indoor courtyard, very typical of many colonial buildings, and they offered a ridiculously good 5-course tasting for £20 each. (Yes, you read that right: for the price of a meal at Wagamama I got some of the best food I’ve ever eaten.) I also got a local variation on a gin and tonic, which swapped out the gin for local corn-based pox – really nice.
Hotel Julamis, Merida: Three-course breakfasts cooked by an international chef
Food: 9/10, Vibe: 9/10, ££ (Included in hotel price)
I mentioned Alex, the Swiss ex-chef, an absolute bear of a man, who now runs a hotel and restaurant in his retirement!
Every morning we’d come down to the courtyard for some fresh fruit from the Yucatan, followed by hand-made croissants with home-made passion fruit and ginger jam, and finishing with a smaller savoury dish that varied each day.
Wash it down with Mexican coffee, and a good matter with Alex whilst he chomped on a cigar – what more could you ask for!?
La Cubanita, Merida: Delicious family-run Cuban restaurant
Food: 8.5/10, Vibe: 8.5/10, £
An adorable little restaurant open only for breakfast and lunch (until the food runs out!), with a few tiny tables with old chequered table cloths.
The husband did the service, the wife did the cooking, and the grandpa fetched drinks from the fridge. Simple, effective and tasty food, with really good portions. Also had home-made Natilla custard for pudding – so good!
Mariela’s Mar y Leña, Merida: Amazing food in a cool, modern setting
Food: 9.5/10, Vibe: 9/10, ££££
After we spent a few days in Merida, we understood that the food and drink scene was amazing – worth staying even longer just to enjoy it!
This was our last meal there, and it didn’t disappoint. They cooked local fish and delicious meat incredibly well, and we shared a cocoa dessert that was unreal. Together with the cool, relaxed vibe in the restaurant (very much not fancy or pretentious), it is up there competing for our best meal in Mexico.
Burrito Amor, Valladolid: Out-of-this-world good burritos
Food: 8.5/10, Vibe: 8.5/10, ££
Contrary to what one might thing based off of Mexican cuisine in the UK, burritos aren’t mega popular over there. Still, they exist, and this place knew how to do them down to a tee.
We had veggie-, pork-, and egg-based burritos, which were all incredible, were accompanied by a great selection of different salsas, and served in a cool, brutalist-vibe courtyard with lots of cement. The burritos were so good, in fact, that we went twice in the two days we spent in Valladolid! Loved it.
El Tigrillo, Valladolid: Cochinita pibil tacos on the street
Food: 8.5/10, Vibe: 9/10, £
If you looked up ‘Mexican Street Food’ in the dictionary, this is what you’d get. A stand on the corner of the street, a long queue of locals, and a woman yelling orders loudly at the people working the grill behind her.
The only food available was cochinita pibil, pork that is slow-cooked in a sour orange sauce, served either in tacos or tortas (sandwiches). We got two sandwiches and five tacos – maybe a tad greedy, but it hit such a spot!
Honourable mentions
Without going into the same detail as above, here’s a few more:
- El Hueqito Tacos, Mexico City
- A random breakfast at a tiny little eatery with traditional hot chocolate and cafe de olla on the third morning of our mountain biking.
- La Pizzeria, Mazunte
- El Secreto, San Cristobal
- The enormous breakfast we were given on day two of our tour in Chiapas – unforgettable, frankly.
- Wabi Gelato, Valladolid
- El Varadero, Isla Mujeres
- Fuego de Mar, Isla Mujeres
And finally, a trio of amazing bakeries that kept us going, whether for breakfast, a bit of bread, or tasty snacks throughout the day:
- Dulce Tierra, Puerto Escondido
- Panaderia Las Canastas, Mazunte
- Roots, San Cristobal
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