26 Best Restaurants in Veracruz, Mexico

Bricked arches beckon you to enter this warm, family-run restaurant where murals of Coatepec's landscape adorn the walls. With simple, classic Mexican dishes, these folks have been drawing fans for more than 50 years. Anticipating your hunger, totopos (tortilla chips and salsa) or sweet breads are delivered to your table as you sit down. The mole is a specialty, and children love the zopilotas (fried tortillas topped with beans and cheese). Stop in for breakfast or a big dinner, but don't forget a cup of Coatepec's world-famous coffee. Also keep an eye out for the children's second-floor play area. On Friday and Saturday evenings there's live music.

Ask for the sought-after open-air window seating on the second level.

Locals recommend this steak house with large windows, high ceilings, and white linens, so the place is often crowded. The steaks and tacos are all tasty, served with roasted green onions and plenty of salsas. Out back there's a playground with tables where parents can enjoy a coffee and dessert while kids can run around.

Don't be fooled by the white plastic tables and chairs—the seafood at this open-air eatery easily rivals that at fancier places in town. Hunker down with a cold beer and a bowl of sopa de ostión (a spicy oyster stew), then move on to pulpo encebollado (octopus cooked with onions, butter, and garlic) or the house specialty, camarones a la diabla (a spicy concoction of grilled shrimp and chilies). You may be tempted to make a meal of the chips and salsa.

The cowhides decorating the walls let you know exactly what's on the menu at this longtime favorite. Start off with Argentine-style empanadas (stuffed with beef, naturally), then move on to the grilled short ribs. If you have a hankering for the enormous rib eye, call at least three hours ahead. The impressive wine list includes selections from Argentina, Chile, and Spain, as well as a respectable representation from Mexico.

For a hearty meal after a day at the aquarium, pop around the corner to this casual yet elegant Argentine restaurant. Select your cut of rib eye, tenderloin, or strip steak from the selection that's brought to your table, and tell your bow-tied waiter how you'd like it cooked. While it sizzles, nibble one of the flaky empanadas topped with chimichurri (sauce made with olive oil and parsley). Try the house cocktail, Rosita (made with anise).

This restaurant, floating on the Río Tuxpan but linked to the land with rope and a small bridge, is hands down the most elegant place to eat in town. The interior is relaxed, with exposed wood beams, a backlit bar, and large windows looking out on the water. The Spanish owners are famous for their paella Valenciana, and there are a number of seafood and beef dishes to chose from as well. The bar is well stocked, with wines and liquors from all over the world.

The scent of sizzling steaks and a giant neon cowboy draw meat lovers to this cavernous ranch-style restaurant morning, noon, and night. The epic menu lists nearly 100 dishes—from spicy chorizo hot off the grill to tongue sautéed with tomatoes and onions. Or try the shrimp stuffed with peppers and wrapped in bacon. The house specialty drink, jarra de clericot (red wine with melon and pineapple), is delicious. The place opens at 7 am for breakfast.

A macaw named Paco greets you with "Hola, Paco!" when you enter this delightful courtyard restaurant. Huge wagon wheels remind you that horse-drawn carts once brought all the coffee grown here to market. The kitchen's emphasis is on local cuisine, so start with brujitas xiqueñas, the "little witches" that are actually pockets of fried corn filled with "beans bewitched by avocado." Main dishes include cecina xiqueña, which is seasoned beef pounded flat and grilled, and—obviously—moles. All dishes that have been invented at the hotel are marked on the menu with the restaurant's logo.

A leisurely stint here in the sun, watching ships unloading their cargo, is what Veracruz is all about. This family restaurant was so popular it split off into side-by-side establishments run by two brothers. The menus are nearly identical, both serving renowned traditional lechero. The milk is flamboyantly poured from silver jugs at a great height by a server. Visit the Gran Café closest to Hotel Emporio for classic picadas y gordas (puffy, deep-fried tortillas with beans, onion, mole, and cheese).

Try for a sidewalk table under the arches, if you can withstand the competing marimbas and the appeals of women selling crafts.

Sit in a shady arcade, near the live music, or in a dining room with copper columns and beamed ceilings at this famous café, which was opened as a candy shop in 1824. The menu has lots of dishes from Veracruz, including a delicious huachinango a la veracruzana (red snapper simmered in tomatoes, onions, garlic, green olives, and capers). The $8 weekday lunch special includes a soup or salad and a meat dish. The Gran Café del Portal has an ongoing rivalry with the Gran Café de la Parroquia as to which place serves the real lechero—here white-jacketed waiters bring you one kettle of strong coffee and another of hot milk, and let you do the mixing.

This two-story family restaurant has a large indoor fish tank, a play area for children, and shaded tables on a white patio. The menu includes salads, pastas, meat dishes, and thin-crust pizzas. The cuatro formaggi pizza with mozarrella, blue cheese, Gruyère, and provolone cheeses is heavenly, especially with chimichurri sauce. The insalata golosa, a large salad served with a zesty house dressing, Gruyère cheese, bacon, and crushed nuts, is especially tasty.

The antique furnishings and lazily turning ceiling fans almost succeed in giving this popular restaurant the vibe of an old-fashioned hacienda, but the insistent street noise reminds you that you're in a busy capital city. Never mind: you'll be focusing on the generous portions of charcoal-broiled steaks and the succulent shrimp and fish dishes, served with frijoles charros (black beans cooked in a spicy sauce).

The place is known for its desserts, which include flan with caramel and bananas flambéed in brandy.

In contrast to the ho-hum meals served at the other cafeterias lining Avenida Zaragoza, La Casona del Beaterio dishes up fine local fare. The restaurant's two spacious rooms, surrounding a courtyard garden with a fountain, have stained-glass windows and plenty of hanging plants. Breakfast specials are a steal, but the house specialty—cazuela de mariscos—draws the crowds. This is java country, so the menu has a dozen different coffee and espresso concoctions.

This casual restaurant, with a small swing set and a couple of children's toys in front, under two connected palapa (thatched) roofs, is the kind of place where locals might linger over a meal for hours at a time. Meals begin with corn chips, delicious molelike paste that they call chili de mole, and a fish sauce. The pescado al mojo de ajo (fried with garlic) is delicious; they also serve other fresh and tasty seafood plates.

For fine regional dishes prepared with a dash of creativity, try this rustic restaurant overlooking the tropical Parque Los Tecajetes. Inside it's cozy, always buzzing with diners feasting on cecina (paper-thin beef fillet) with slices of avocado, and crepas poblanas (crepes filled with chicken or spinach and topped with poblano chilies). The restaurant is tucked into a small strip mall, so it's tricky to find.

The entrance to this second-floor restaurant is hidden on a small pedestrian walkway off Calle Enríquez, a block from Parque Juárez. Bright streamers, baskets of paper flowers, and paintings enliven the little cluster of dining rooms. Breakfast starts at 8 am, and includes delicious Mexican dishes like mole and chilaquiles, toasted tortillas in a spicy sauce. Lunch features hearty northern Veracruz fare. Delicious nopales (cactus strips) and chipotle chilies are essential elements of almost every dish.

The three-course lunch special costs between $3 and $5—such a deal.

You can stop by for an early dinner, but the restaurant closes at 5:30.

All roads in La Antigua seem to lead to this riverfront restaurant, a favorite for years. The huge arches facing the water are hung with nets full of cardboard fish. Try the shrimp cocktail or the cazuela de mariscos, a seafood stew filled with shrimp, crab, octopus, and mussels in a spicy green sauce. Afternoons at 1:30 and 6:30 there's marimba music, and on weekends the musicians are joined by dancers.

You won't need your phrase book to translate such well-known French dishes as chicken with Roquefort at this adorable little bistro. Sip a crisp Bordeaux (there are several on the reasonably priced wine list) as you nibble the perfectly prepared pâté. Locals drop by to taste the city's only chocolate mousse and crème brûlée. On the gracefully crumbling walls of this colonial-era building hang etchings of Parisian sights. The back dining room, more intimate than the one facing the street, looks out on a flower-filled courtyard.

This comfortable restaurant has a varied regional menu. Seafood is a specialty, particularly local trout, which is made in 20 different ways. The acamayas, or river lobsters, prepared with garlic are delicious; and the grilled beef and regional chorizo is also a great option. A large backyard has a couple of swing sets, and there's occasionally a big inflated castle where the kids can jump around.

Playa de Hornos, a popular stretch of sand south of the Acuario de Veracruz, is lined with thatch-roof seafood shacks. They all serve basically the same thing: fish cooked any way you like it. This place, with a giant neon sailfish positioned on the roof, is among the closest to the aquarium and one of the best. Grab a table in the open-air dining room or one under an umbrella along the surf.

The Guinness Book of World Records honored the founder of this friendly seafood restaurant for dreaming up the world's longest seafood-stuffed fillet of fish, which was once prepared in the street along the waterfront. You can find smaller, but equally scrumptious concoctions and live midday music at this open-air dining room. Especially popular are the camarones Pardiños (juicy shrimp stuffed with manchego cheese and wrapped in bacon) and ostiones a la diabla gratinados (spicy oysters topped with grated cheese). Dishes like cheese-stuffed plantains satisfy vegetarians.

This popular steak house is a great place to enjoy a meal on a sunny day. There's a nice outdoor dining area with plants as well as toucans and other birds in cages. The menu has large tasty salads, including the so-called Kenya salad, with lettuce, nuts, pear, grapes, spinach, and Brie. Try the puntas de filete a la Mexicana (tenderloin tips with a red Mexican sauce served with rice and beans).

From the balcony of this cheerful second-story restaurant you'll have a great view of the goings-on in the zócalo. Brightly colored cloths adorn the tables, where house specialties—including cecina con enchiladas (salted beef with spicy enchiladas) and rellenos al gusto (green chilies stuffed with chicken, cheese, or beef)—are served by the friendly staff. There's free Wi-Fi for diners, so you if you bring your laptop you can check your e-mail while you eat.

Many people stop here for a breakfast of enchiladas and refried beans before heading to El Tajín.

Bullfighting posters and mirrors in elaborate frames are some of the things that make stepping into this restaurant a little like stepping back in time. Main dishes include róbalo a la cazuela (sea bass in a tomato-based sauce with shrimp). The daily prix-fixe menu consists of a soup, a plate of pasta or rice, and an entrée. Sunday sees a tasty paella.

With dozens of dishes on the menu, this open-air restaurant is the most popular in Papantla. It's always crowded with locals who come to enjoy the reasonably priced seafood and to catch a few minutes of a telenovela (soap opera) on the giant TV set. The platillo mexicano, a selection of regional appetizers, is big enough for two.

Though it's tucked away in Boca del Río, this open-air eatery is one of city's most popular seafood restaurants. Specialties include mussels, grouper, crab claws, and octopus prepared as you wish. For those who relish spicy food, the ostiones enchilpayados (in cream and chipotle chili) are a cut above the rest.

Popular bands play Thursday through Sunday from 3 to 7, so you may need a reservation on those days.