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K’u’uk, which means "sprout" in Mayan, is chic in every sense of the word, from the suave waiters to the molecular gastronomy dining experience in a historic mansion facing the Monumento a la Patria on Paseo de Montejo. The presentation is artistic—picture dollops of baby pumpkin dusted with goat cheese the texture of powdered snow, potatoes slices as thin as tissue paper, and desserts sprinkled with dehydrated berries or honey-soaked seeds. Many of the Yucatecan options are prepared in a custom-built pibil oven, allowing for a modernized way to impart a traditional smoky flavor. Plan to stay awhile, since dining takes between two and three hours.
Av. Rómulo Rozo 488, Mérida, Yucatán, 97100, Mexico
Known For
- Pibil-style (Maya oven) cooking
- Leisurely—some say “slow”—dining experience
- Eight-course tasting menu
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Mon. No dinner Sun.
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You'll know that a fun evening lies ahead even before you are seated at your table at this outdoor restaurant, where the pizzas and empanadas are cooked in a wood oven and several different pasta dishes are offered each day. A food truck serves as the main kitchen, kids (and adults) can make their own s'mores around a fire, and strings of taverna lights glow overhead. Well-behaved dogs are welcome, too, adding to the feeling that you have joined a casual gathering of friends at the beach.
Calles 46 and 49, Yucatán, Mexico
Known For
- Pizzas from a wood oven
- Fun atmosphere
- Make your own s'mores
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Mon. and Tues.
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Calle 8, which runs along the north side of the historic center and roughly follows the route of the old sea wall, is now a bit of a restaurant row, home to this and other eateries. Seafood is the specialty here, though it also has a number of signature cocktails, like the Pregonero, made with a chile liquor, tamarind, and pineapple.
Calle 8 173, Campeche City, Campeche, 24000, Mexico
Known For
- Ceviche and grilled fish
- Signature cocktails
- Historic center location
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This cantina at the corner of Calles 62 and 49 is popular with locals, expats, and visitors thanks to its large courtyard and likewise large cocktails. You'll be offered free bar snacks as long as you keep ordering drinks, though it's worth trying some of the delicious (if basic) ceviches, enchiladas, and tacos, too. Live bands play most evenings.
Calle 62 415, Mérida, Yucatán, 97000, Mexico
Known For
- Live music
- Mexican bar snacks
- Oversized cocktails
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Residents of Mérida have strong opinions on who makes the best salbutes and panuchos, two signature Yucatecan dishes, and La Poderosa is at the top of many lists. All the seats at this restaurant in the southern part of Centro—near San Sebastian's square and market—are outdoors, and it's an especially lovely spot on warm evenings. Its evening hours also make it stand out from some other popular casual eateries, which are often open for breakfast and lunch only. A meal of three or four empanadas, panuchos, or salbutes, accompanied by a soda, will only set you back about $5. Note: There are several restaurants in Mérida named La Poderosa. The one you want is the one in San Sebastian.
Calle 70 568D, Mérida, Yucatán, 97000, Mexico
Known For
- Outdoor seating
- Excellent panuchos and salbutes
- Cheap eats
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Recommended Fodor’s Video
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This lively family-owned eatery on Parque Santa Lucía has outdoor seating that's the perfect place to eat on cool evenings, as well as plenty of tables in an air-conditioned dining room for days when the heat doesn't break. The menu is made up of filling salads, thin-crust pizzas, and pasta dishes. Happy hour runs weekdays from 7 to 9 pm (there's usually some kind of deal on the excellent wine list, too). There is also a larger location, simply La Tratto, a little to the north of the historic center on Prolongación Paseo de Montejo.
Calle 60 471, Mérida, Yucatán, 97000, Mexico
Known For
- Good pizza selection
- Huge salads
- Great wine list
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This bright, sunny café on Mérida's restaurant row is an appealing spot for a cappuccino, latte, or tea, paired with an avocado toast, yogurt and fruit, or a pastry.
Calle 47 465, Mérida, Yucatán, 97000, Mexico
Known For
- Cheerful atmosphere
- Delicious pastries
- Variety of coffees and teas
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Sun. No dinner
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This vintage Yucatecan restaurant with high colonial ceilings and an elegant atmosphere is a longtime local favorite. The combinado yucateco (Yucatecan combination plate) is a great way to try different dishes like cochinita pibil, longaniza asada (grilled pork sausages), escabeche de Valladolid (turkey with chiles, onions, and seasonings in an acidic sauce), and poc chuc (slices of pork in a sour-orange sauce). In fact, Los Almendros invented some dishes that have become regional classics—including the cheese soup, which is also spectacular. A live trio performs daily from 2 to 5 pm.
Calle 50A 493, Mérida, Yucatán, 97000, Mexico
Known For
- Classic Yucatecan dishes
- Spectacular cheese soup
- Reasonable prices
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Inside a colonial-era building, this small (just five tables) family-run restaurant is decorated with Mexican crafts and has an enormous menu of familiar favorites like burritos and fajitas. Grilled fish and steak are served with rice and shredded lettuce, as are the rolled tacos and enchiladas topped with red or green chile sauce. If you’re an early riser, stop by for French toast or a breakfast crêpe.
Calle 59 6, Campeche City, Campeche, 24000, Mexico
Known For
- Traditional Mexican favorites
- Hearty breakfasts
- Good selection of coffees (but no alcohol)
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Sun.
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Chef Jorge Melul, a master baker, has become known on the island for his breads, cakes, and pastas, made from organic, local grown ingredients. For a memorable meal, start with shrimp tempura dipped in chipotle cream or homemade pesto and then order the fish cooked in white wine and topped with spinach and pears. The daily catch is purchased directly from the fishermen who dock on the shores. If it's just ambience you're after, head to the rooftop Luuma bar for a reasonably priced basil mojito or ginger margarita.
Calle Igualdad s/n, Isla Holbox, Quintana Roo, 77310, Mexico
Known For
- Fresh seafood
- Rooftop bar
- Beachside setting
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Traditional Yucatecan dishes—like panuchos (fried masa cakes stuffed with beans and piled high with shredded meat, lettuce, sour onions, and other toppings) or chile mestizo (poblano pepper stuffed with shredded meat)—are the specialties here. Although waitresses dressed in colorful regional-style skirts will explain the dishes, if you're unsure what to order ask to see the album containing photos of top dishes with multilingual captions. Lunches and dinners are finished off with a complimentary tamarind margarita, and a guitar trio performs some evenings. This is also a great place for breakfast. You can try plain agua de chaya here—in other restaurants, it's often sweetened with pineapple.
Calle 8 267, Campeche City, Campeche, 24000, Mexico
Known For
- Colorful local flavor
- Attentive service
- Stylish colonial decor
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The menu here is as an encyclopedic take on Yucatecan cuisine, with everything from salbutes to start to manjar blanco (a milk-based delicacy) for dessert. Before sitting down to eat in the courtyard or one of the rooms that open onto it, explore the modest displays on regional food in the colonial-style building and Maya-style houses in the garden. There are also cooking demonstrations, including those using the traditional method for cooking cochinita pibil, buried in a pit in the ground.
Calle 62 466, Mérida, Yucatán, 97000, Mexico
Known For
- Traditional Yucatecan dishes
- An elegant setting in a colonial-style building
- Cooking demonstrations
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This bakery just a few blocks north of Parque Santa Ana is a great place to start your day with a light breakfast of a pastry and a coffee. It has a small garden and plenty of seating if you want to linger for awhile at your laptop. The decor is an inviting updated colonial style with pasta-tile floors and more contemporary touches, such as the steel staircase leading up to the second-story seating. You'll only wish it didn't close so early—at 1 pm during the week and 2 pm on the weekends.
Calle 43 485, Mérida, Yucatán, 97000, Mexico
Known For
- Coffee drinks
- Garden
- Delicious pastries, savory and sweet
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: No dinner
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Don't let the bare walls and basic furniture fool you—this restaurant, a few blocks east of Parque Mejorada, offers one of Mérida's best dining experiences. Chefs Xóchitl Valdés and Selena Cárdenas have impressed gourmets with their celebration of corn, the basis of many of the dishes served here. Before you leave, stop in at the adjacent store, which sells local honey and honey products, from candies to shampoo.
Calle 59 437A, Mérida, Yucatán, 97000, Mexico
Known For
- Oaxacan favorites
- Freshest and best ingredients
- Excellent value
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Sun. No dinner
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$$$ | Centro | Mexican
In the evening this patio restaurant is bathed in candlelight and the glow from tiny white lights decorating the tropical shrubs. Much of the menu, as well as the decor, is geared toward tourists—you can even buy a Pancho's T-shirt on your way out. Although you won't find authentic Yucatecan dishes at this lively spot, the tasty tacos, fajitas, burritos, and other dishes will be pleasantly recognizable to those familiar with Mexican food served north of the border. Waiters—dressed in white muslin shirts and pants of the Revolution era—recommend the shrimp flambéed in tequila, and the tequila in general. Happy hour is weekdays from 6 to 8 pm.
Calle 59 No. 509, between Calles 60 and 62, Mérida, Yucatán, 97000, Mexico
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: No lunch.
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Wonderful smells waft from this small corner establishment, where scenes of old Italy and the Yucatán adorn bright yellow walls, and patrons pull padded folding chairs up to yellow-tile tables or take their orders to go. Pizza is the name of the game here, but tortas and pastas are also served.
Calle 23 208, Ticul, Yucatán, 97860, Mexico
Known For
- Impressive variety of pizza
- Fun, informal vibe
- The only nighttime dining option in town
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: No lunch
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On any given day, the flavors at this little historic-center gelato shop vary, but you can typically expect between five and ten sorbets and the same number of gelatos. In addition to classics like chocolate and chocolate chip, you'll find options inspired by regional cuisine and produce—perhaps, chocolate with chiles, flan, pineapple with chaya, or lemon with rosemary. If it's not too hot, enjoy your sorbet or gelato in Parque Santa Lucía, just a block away.
Calle 55 467D, Mérida, Yucatán, 97000, Mexico
Known For
- Locally inspired flavors
- Excellent gelato and sorbets
- Cheerful store
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At the town’s most comfortable eatery, tables draped in white linen sit under a wide palapa that's surrounded by plants and with a burbling fountain. In a small hut in the back, the cooks make tortillas by hand, and menu highlights include locally made longaniza (a tasty grilled pork sausage) and excellent sopa de lima. A small shop sells carefully selected and cleverly displayed local folk art.
Calle 27 299, Izamal, Yucatán, 97540, Mexico
Known For
- Longaniza (a local sausage)
- Folk art
- Traditional atmosphere
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Residents of Izamal have strong opinions on which restaurants make the best panuchos, salbutes, papadzules, and other local specialities, but Restaurante Muul is on many short lists. The atmosphere is no-frills, though the location is convenient, right on the main plaza just steps from the ex-convent.
Calle 28 300, Izamal, Yucatán, 97540, Mexico
Known For
- Location on the main plaza
- Local specialties
- Good value
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Grab a seat in this palapa restaurant directly across from the water and watch the day's catch come straight from the docks. The menu features local specialties like ceviche, seafood soup, fish fillet stuffed with shrimp, and breaded seafood rolled into a ball and deep-fried. In season (July–December) you can order lobster and octopus cooked several different ways. With a seashell-strewn floor and plastic tables, it's far from fancy, but you're sure to leave satisfied. Owner Diego Núñez and his family also operate Río Lagartos Adventures and can arrange a variety of tours.
Calle 19 134, Río Lagartos, Yucatán, 97720, Mexico
Known For
- Quality seafood
- Beachy vibe
- Lobster and octopus in season