Restaurants & Bars

Oaxaca's Cuisine

Cusinse of Oaxaca is renown for its variety and the richness of its sauces. Some of the most common dishes are:

Amarillo con pollo which translates to chicken in a yellow cumin and chile sauce.

Chapulines are fried grasshoppers. These are usually prepared with lemon, salt and sometime garlic. They are somtime served with guacamole and beans inside a corn tortilla.

Coloradito is pork or chicken in a red chile and tomato sauce.

Mole Oaxaqueno is a dark sauce made from chiles, bananas, chocolate, pepper and cinnamon. IF well done, this should not be too sweet. It is usually served with chicken.

Picadillo is a spicy minced or shredded pork, and is often used as stuffing in chiles rellenos.

Quesillo is the famous Oaxaqueno string cheese, and a must-try.

Verde con espinazo is pork back in a green sauce that is made from beans, chiles, parsely and wild spinach.

Oaxaca City

Not surprisingly, Oacaca City has lots of good restaurants at a reasonable price.

For a casual lunch, take a sidewalk table on the Zocalo and order a spicy tortilla combo soothed by a margarita or a glass of smooth Carta Blanca beer. Or go ahead and try one of the dozen brands of Mezcal if you are in the mood. Watch the throng of street vendors, lottery pushers, musicians, beggars, school children and giggling policewomen swarming, socializing and peddling under the cathedral’s massive baroque facade. Lunch costs between $5 and $10pp. An unhassled dinner upstairs at the pleasant Casa de la Abuela, located upstairs in the north west corner of the Zocalo, may cost twice as much, but the evening crop of strolling lovers is a tad more romantic. ++52 (951) 6-35-44.

El Asador Vasco: The decoration is Spanish (white stucco, dark wood beams), the food Mexican and excellent at this second-floor dining room overlooking the zocalo. Try the fabulous corn tamales, wrapped not in corn husks but in banana leaves, stuffed with chocolate-based molé poblano sauce, and a smidgeon of chicken. Mariachis will serenade you. 10A Portal de Flores; ++52 (951) 44755. $15 pp.
María Bonita: One of the top choices for Oaxacan cooking. Many specialties include mole sauces, the local cheese called quesillo, and pumpkin flowers (it's a wonder a single gourd reaches maturity around here). 706 Calle M. Alcalá; ++52 (951) 67233. $5 pp.

Catedral Restaurant-Bar: An elegant place with a fountain courtyard and several spacious rooms. The menu lists regional dishes and a wide variety of steaks and chops. 105 Calle García Vigil; ++52 (951) 63285; $20 pp.

Los Chapulines: The unusual Oaxacan dishes include chicken stuffed with huitlacoche, a corn fungus, in squash-blossom sauce. Hotel Parador Plaza, 104 Calle Murguia; ++52 (951) 41977; $20 pp.

Restaurant Tlamanalli: The required stop on a trip to Mitla, for authentic Zapotec dishes. 39 Avda. Juárez, Teotitlán del Valle; ++52 (951) 44006. $15 pp.

La Capilla Zaachila: An outdoor restaurant that seats hundreds but still feels simpatico for smaller parties. ++52 (951) 86115; $10 pp.

MACO: A charming lunch-ony shady cafe situated among rustling palms in the Spanish courtyard of a Contemporary Art Museum, with only a dozen tables. While there, have a look at the museum of modem artworks and the imposing style and bulky forms of Mexico’s master muralist Diego Rivera.
Macedonio Alcala. Tel. ++52 (951) 47110. $10pp.

A very popular bar with tourist is in the Camino Real Hotel. Beyond three courtyards, all arches and hibiscus, the bar is hosted in the dim interior of a sixteenth-century library lined with shelves of antique manuscripts and vellum books. More Info about the Camino Real Hotel

And don't forget the many marketplaces, especially for snacks or breakfast of sweet rolls. Many dishes begin with the inevitable tortillas, and can be eaten with a drink called chocolate-atole, that tastes like creamed corn. Cooked foods in the markets are generally safe to eat.

Puerto Escondido

Puerto Escondido offer much less in term of quality restaurants, but you can find some excellent fish restaurants such as Maria's on Bahia Principal and the family-run palapas on Angelito.

Surfers in Zicatela often gather at Cafecito, though the place if more famous for the size of its meals than the talent of its chef. It is also a favorite people-watching spot during the day.

Still on Zicatela, the most animated nightspot is undoubtly theopen-air bar El Punto, with trance soundtrack and parties often spilling out on the beach.

Perez Gasga area has a busy pedestrian area always busy at night. Check the Wipe-Out and Barfly bars.

Huatulco

Most of the good restaurants are part of the hotels along the beach. They tend to be expensive, and rarely rival the best spots of Oaxaca City.

La Crucecita town has several decent budget restaurants, and several lively bars around the Zocalo. If you like fish and shrimp cocktails, you should be able to satisfy yourself there, even on a tight budget.

A popular meeting place is Cafe Dublin, owned by an Irishman, Victor. If you miss drought beer, that's also the place for you.

The Mambo Café, open for business in early 2003, is currently the hottest restaurant in Huatulco. It serves mostly international dishes in a comfortable, relaxing atmosphere and is reasonably priced.