The best Mexican restaurants Mexico

A nice setting for lunch. Typical dishes of Puebla  : mole poblano, mixiote, enchiladas to the three moles, served on coloured tables.

Another typical restaurant in Puebla. The specialty of the house is, of course, chalupas, corn tortillas fried with chicken and sauce go down. 

The restaurant offers traditional Mexican specialities - taco, hot peppers, molcajetes - in a modern, pleasant and affordable setting.

Since 1906, this beautiful restaurant located in an underground cave has been offering a pre-Hispanic inspired dining experience. The menu includes indigenous ingredients such as xoconoxtle (cactus fruit), escamoles (ant eggs), quelites (aboriginal plant) and chinicuil (chili worm). Various personalities have passed through this mythical place: Charles de Gaulle, John F. Kennedy, Emperor Akihito, Diego Rivera, Frida Kahlo and María Felix. Oh, and a nice surprise awaits you at the end of the meal. A must-see.

This restaurant is located inside the Casino Hotel. Here, the traditional ingredients of Michoacan cuisine (avocado, corn, cheese, peppers, tomatoes) are used to create bold dishes, in tune with the air and techniques of the time. Breakfast features delicious Uruapan hot chocolate, omelets, chilaquiles and other original dishes. For lunch or dinner, try the trout dishes from Zitacuaro, the mole blanco (a real innovation) or the purepecha dish Atápakua de flor de calabaza.

This restaurant specialises in regional cuisine in Michoacán and enjoys a very good reputation with the locals. It is built on a troje, the traditional wooden houses of the Purepechas Indians, hence its som.

In a colourful décor, this restaurant offers tamales, pozole, or, enchiladas, and other Mexican antojitos. Open only in the evening - the word cenaduría comes from the word cena, dinner-it is a nice place to eat cheap and discover some of the inescapable dishes of Mexico without being afraid to fall ill.

For those who decide to venture more than 200 meters from the beach to discover what the popular center of Puerto Escondido looks like, a small gourmet break is just what you need in this small restaurant: traditional Mexican at its best! It serves the regional specialities of the state of Oaxaca: mole, tlayudas, huaraches, etc. Everything is excellent and cheap. The local atmosphere changes considerably from the more touristy restaurants on the seaside. For a gourmet and authentic stopover.

Located in a renovated patio and surrounded by beautiful shops, Los Danzantes offers contemporary Mexican cuisine in a superb decor that is half lounge, half nature where you are surrounded by greenery. We appreciate the original combination of flavours and the accuracy of the cooking. For a classic of the region revisited, do not miss the shrimp tlayuda . The mole, which you can taste, is excellent. It's beautiful and it's simply good! The restaurant is a branch of the restaurant of the same name located in Coyoacán, in the capital.

Regional restaurant on the main square of Coatepec. Good service and very reasonable prices.

Here is a cafeteria whose decor evokes the great North American spaces: you sit on good swivel chairs and the colour palette is cheerfully 1970s. There are no surprises on the menu, all the classics are there: tacos, American-style meat dishes, more traditional Mexican dishes and the unshakeable machaca con huevo. It's not the most refined cuisine, but it does the trick.

If you didn't see the façade, many people would make the mistake of passing by without stopping. If you come in the early morning, you can already see a few silhouettes waiting impatiently for the opening. The workers come here to take strength based on burritos and montados that could not be more unctuous and copious, with the soda that goes well. Plenty of animal protein. It's tasty and extremely cheap, so don't hesitate.

This is a very charming place, made of stone and wood, where you can sit outside as well as inside, depending on the seasons. Here, Señora Vanesa concocts a real local cuisine, including a memorable breakfast: choose between beans with cheese, egg dishes or chilaquiles, coffee and juice included. After such a meal, you'll be ready for a good day of walking! During the day or in the evening, you can enjoy enchiladas, fish, stuffed peppers and chicken cutlets on the menu.

This cooperative is run by a committee of village women who take turns over three years to bring this place to life after your visit to the archaeological zone. The buildings are charming and the place is well maintained. It is an essential break after your visit, to enjoy a fresh orange juice or a small ice-cold beer, without forgetting to spend the day in the fresh water pools. As far as food is concerned, you will have a hard time finding more typical dishes, as they only serve a very nice home cooking of the region.

Away from the hustle and bustle of San Diego Avenue (itself crowded with restaurants), this hacienda-style building opens onto an oasis of greenery and offers its well-to-do clientele a fine Mexican cuisine revisited with an international twist: huachinango with mustard and ceviche with mango (fish), soups, salads and grilled meat dishes. A nice stop for a quiet afternoon. The place is cosy and also has a large garden and a huge playroom for the kids. One of the best addresses in town.

The work of chef Jair Tellez, this industrial-style space (brick and metal beams, coloured by a beautiful fresco on the back wall) is an ode to good living, since almost everything is a tribute to good wine. There's a brasserie-style menu (tartar as a starter, slightly sophisticated salads), vegetarian options and a tendency to favour seafood (ceviche, crab, scallops), although there are two dishes based on rabbit and lamb. Profiteroles, crumble and panna cotta to finish off your last glass of wine.

In the main square, both a restaurant and a chic cantina (on the terrace, under the arcades of this historic building), chef Cynthia Martinez prepares slightly gourmet botanas whose recipes are drawn from the local popular imagination and dishes more suitable for a table dressed with a white tablecloth. The menu is similar to that of a Mexican brewery: uchepos, beef tongue, chamorro (pork shank), tarasque soup, garlic soup served with serrano ham and a mole with a very special interpretation.

The land, its farmers and fishermen, is at the centre of this proposal which invites travellers to discover a true gastronomic tradition, from the Central Valleys to the Pacific coast. Here, everything is impeccable and the names of the dishes and concepts are avoided. In the end, this is what you expect when you come to discover a region: to taste the aromatic herbs, peppers, sauces and key products used in the preparation of dishes that are certainly sophisticated, but not too far from their family origins either.

Opened in 1929, it is an iconic venue in the city with an extensive menu. Visitors are greeted in a spacious room with very high ceilings, which has not changed much since the café opened in the late 1800s. The place is known for its economical breakfasts and delicious lechero coffee (coffee with milk). At lunchtime, the establishment offers a menu that includes appetizer, main course, and dessert. Try the delicious jericos, cheese, chorizo, chicken or potato puffs. Very traditional.

Santiago, as a day-trip destination for Monterrey residents, offers every imaginable cuisine - like this cozy restaurant that offers most of the local and national cuisine, including the famous asado de puerco (pork in sauce), and small desserts like pay de elote (corn cakes) are very well made. The advantage is that you can order your dishes in half portions if you have a small appetite or if you just want to try several and share them.

Doña Aleja started preparing the famous gorditas (corn cake filled with different preparations) in 1957, before leaving us in June 2019, at the age of 89. A true icon of the city, the state of Durango and the entire country, people hurry from far away to taste his legendary preparations, since his family has taken up the torch: picadillo cerde o rojo (minced meat), huevo con chile, chihcarrón prensado... everything is very spicy but absolutely delicious. A small restaurant that is worth a visit on its own.

This is a very good little restaurant, located in a house with exposed stone walls, which allows you to see the country through traditional dishes: asado de puerco (typical of the region), albondigas (meatballs) in sauce, chicken with mole, tostada de tinga, fish fillet and nopal salad, among other rather classic proposals, but very well prepared. You can't get enough of it, as the menu changes every day. Warm and authentic atmosphere guaranteed, we love it (and the locals too!).

Facing the square, it is a traditional restaurant divided into several areas; its terrace (the most formal and elegant of all) offers a beautiful view of the church and the convent. The buffet, which offers a choice of about thirty dishes, is crowded every weekend; the service can be a bit chaotic, but this is nothing considering the opportunity to try so many typical dishes: sopa de tortilla, pancita, pescado al mixiote, pecho de ternera, chiles en nogada, rabbit in sauce, steamed vegetables and desserts.

La Clasica is a place where you can eat well, where the portions are generous and the prices remain very low. There are dishes to share, including tostadas for those who are a little hungry and other more hearty dishes like burritos. You can have a good time drinking a corona and listening to the music. It is a young and lively place, perfect to enjoy your stay in Cozumel. You can also go there just to have a drink with friends. Definitely a friendly place that we recommend!

Located on the outskirts of the city, the Alfonsina restaurant, named after the maternal grandmother of chef Jorge León (also known as El Moles), was established in her family home. You guessed the main course! Mole (Spanish for "sauce") is a typical Oaxacan dish made with roasted chiles, cocoa, tomatoes, nuts and chocolate, which is pounded in the Molcajete, the traditional Mesoamerican mortar. The one from León is definitely worth the detour, especially when you know that he would have spent 6 years in the kitchen of the emblematic Pujol, in the Mexican capital.

This restaurant was created by nine students from the province of Mixteca (northwest of Oaxaca) straight out of culinary school. Their main objective is to bring their guests to appreciate the delicacies of the indigenous cuisine through a service of seven seasonal dishes. It's like eating in a Michelin star restaurant, but without pretension or extravagance. Delicate and attentive staff. Many guests will leave the place saying that it was one of the best meals they have ever had. A rare gem.

When visiting Guadalajara, you cannot miss the "biggest cantina in the world", with its excited bankers, eager waiters and troops of musicians singing at the top of their voices. The atmosphere is one of good humor and hilarity, day and night. Between the trays dripping with hot sauce and beer and the horde of dancers crowding around the pavilion, it's like being in a musical with the soundtrack of guitars, violins and the sweet voices of mariachis.