325 Best Restaurants in Mexico

Come to this sophisticated steak house for the finest cuts of the famous Sonoran beef. You won't break the bank, as the prices here are quite reasonable. The specialty, rib-eye steak, is aged for 28 days. Vegetarians can graze on a variety of salads or opt for cream of green chili soup. The restaurant is a good spot for a late-night meal—it's open until 1 am.

Italian food may just be Mexico's favorite international cuisine, but it's still rare to find house-made pasta that's as delicious and reasonably priced as the noodles served at this stylishly contemporary trattoria that draws foodies from far and near. Favorites include agnolotti stuffed with shrimp, mascarpone, and spring peas in a light olive oil-herb sauce, and tagliatelle with a rich short rib-and-red wine ragout. There's also a well-chosen list of mostly Italian wines. There's a second location in Zavaleta, on the west side of Puebla.

A truly local joint that seems out of place in the Zona Hotelera draws crowds in the morning for its smoothie bowls and later on for its tacos and burritos. Forget your own private booth at this 24-hour place—you’ll eat at long tables and really get to know your fellow diners. This hangout sits a short distance from Cancún’s party central, but it’s a world away in style. Partiers converge here for a quick after-hours bite.

In addition to the fresh Southern California cuisine, many come to this restaurant to connect with the charming owner Susanna who moved to Rosarito years ago to open a furniture shop. Her love for fine food prevailed, thus turning her store into a restaurant that makes people feel right at home. From the moment you try the fresh-baked bread with homemade butter and tapenade, you know you’re in for a memorable meal. Everything here is made from scratch including salsas and vinaigrettes. Entrées are beautifully prepared, like the grilled salmon with strawberries and spinach or the pork rips with a spicy pineapple sauce. Susanna’s rich flan is made with Grand Marnier and three types of milk, a dessert perfect to share. Larger groups can request the private table in the wine cellar, ideal for private parties.

Indian and Pakistani cuisine are not easy to come by in Mexico City, much less of the high quality variety, but Tandoor is a welcome exception. The exquisitely decorated space, featuring items from India and Pakistan, is welcoming and intimate with plenty of space between tables. Mirrors line the ceilings, and the large windows on the first floor face out to a lovely residential street. Upstairs is romantic and even quieter.

A beautifully redone adobe home sets the stage for this classy dining experience on an open courtyard under the stars. A lengthy tequila list tempts diners to savor the finer brands of Mexico's national drink, and an extensive wine cellar will give you plenty of choices for what to sip as you sup. The menu offers modern Mexican cuisine with Asian influences; select from excellent regional salads made from produce grown on the restaurant's organic farm, then move on to seafood choices like baked lobster, tequila shrimp, or mesquite grilled catch of the day with pepper sauce. Another wonderful dish is the roasted bone-in pork shank served with Oaxacan green mole. The garden setting attracts mosquitoes, and the waitstaff requests tips in cash, so come prepared.

This big, airy Zapatista-affiliated café is a great place to linger over a cup of coffee or enjoy the simple prix-fixe meal (there are plenty of vegetarian options) that includes juice, soup, a main plate, and rice. The restaurant is surrounded by small boutiques, including Nail Ch'en, where you can buy neat handmade blouses, and Mono de Papel, where you can find books and magazines (with some titles in English), including several titles on the Zapatista movement. You can also buy a requisite T-shirt with the image of Subcomandante Marcos.

A favorite spot among the dwindling community of local Mexican residents, Tiki Santos can be a little difficult to find (the location shown on Google Maps is not correct), but if you persevere, you'll be rewarded with generous portions of classic Mexican seafood dishes at moderate prices. The decor is as basic as they come—plastic chairs on a dirt sand floor—but that's part of the charm. The food is just as good (if not better than) other restaurants in town charging double.

A pretty café on the border of Centro and Juárez, with a focus on farm-to-table cuisine, Tirasavia is a sweet, sunny spot for a coffee, breakfast, or a cold beer or glass of wine in the afternoon. Set in the street-level corner of a spare, glass-and-concrete modernist building occupied by architecture firms, photo studios, and a design company, this place is the happy cousin to its moodier, bolder neighbors and as pleasant a place as any for a quick refuel.

With folding glass windows opening out onto the foliage of trees overhanging the bustling zócalo, Tres Bistro offers a classy retreat from the bustling square. You can see the glitter of the twinkling lights and hear the music of the marimbas down below. The menu offers a range of traditional Oaxacan dishes alongside contemporary pastas, pizzas, lasagna, and seafood, so it's good for people traveling with young children who might not take to some of the more traditional Oaxacan offerings, while the adults can savor some different tastes. Unlike most upper-floor restaurants, this one also has an elevator.

For a light and healthy breakfast, look no further than this plant-based café. Bright, colorful, and filled with greenery, it's a can't-miss spot for vegetarian and vegan travelers looking for fresh smoothies, açai bowls, and the like. 

Refuel with a coffee and pizza of Neapolitan roots at the Koral Center food hall. Order a takeaway tiramisu and choose your coffee beans for a premium espresso. If you need something more substantial, head next door to Pan di Bacco for a proper Italian dinner. 

Open for more than 30 years in the Villa Serena neighborhood along the main highway, this quiet, open-air, palapa-covered restaurant offers standard fare, from beef and shrimp kebab to baby back BBQ ribs and lobster tail, with some Mexican specialties thrown in. If you grab an ocean-facing table, you can watch the cruise ships glide past. This restaurant has what most don't: a pool—perfect for dipping your feet while sipping a fruity concoction.

This cute hole-in-the-wall sushi and sake bar with several outdoor seats and a cozy interior turns out some of the best Japanese food in the city. There's a wide assortment of nigiri sushi, including bluefin tuna, spicy scallop, and sea urchin, plus creative maki rolls like kampachi with ume and asparagus, along with soft-shell crab tempura, yakimeshi with foie gras and eel sauce, rib-eye tataki, and teriyaki salmon-mushroom bowls.

This large restaurant is rather institutional-looking, but it's a great place to try regional specialties. There's a set menu—meals are designed for two or more, and typically include carne asada, ribs, tripe, vegetable salad, beans, and fresh flour tortillas. It's popular with both locals and visitors from across the border.

The oldest Japanese restaurant in Cancún serves the best sushi and sashimi in El Centro with a menu of traditional Japanese dishes like chicken teriyaki and tempura for those who prefer their food cooked. Large groups can order combination platters of sushi, sashimi, kushikatsu, and gyoza. The dining room is tranquil, with Japanese art and bamboo accents, but you can also call to have food delivered to your hotel room.

Near the main square, this unpretentious family-run restaurant is one of the oldest (and most affordable) eateries on the island, and it's considered one of the best places to try island-style food. There are quite a few tasty seafood dishes, including a huge mariscada for two that includes a fish fillet, a whole fish, a lobster, and octopus on a bed of shredded lettuce. The delicious seafood soup includes the freshest seasonal seafood and is an island classic. People come here for the food and not the ambience, so grab a seat at a plastic table, listen to the Mexican music, and take your pick from the extensive menu.

The restaurant attached to the culinary school at the Claustro Sor Juana is one of Centro's best-kept secrets and one of its few options for fine dining. The cooking here leans toward the traditional with well-executed moles and classic antojitos like corundas and gorditas, but the space, tucked inside the school's quiet campus, is old-world elegant and the service is impeccable.

Popular with the surfing crowd, this palapa-covered joint is right on Costa Azul beach, just south of San José del Cabo. Though their burger is the reason to come, the aroma of grilling lobster and tacos, and a soundtrack of surf tunes are why many return. The crowd can get downright rowdy. There's no question that owner "Big Tony" feeds you well for your pesos. With half-pound burgers, slabs of prime rib, or steak and lobster for two at under $30, you'll leave the beach a glutton, albeit a jolly one. Bring the kids in the daytime; they'll enjoy running from the dining table to the sand between every couple of bites. Sporting events sometimes blare on the TV, and live music is offered nightly.

Two Canadian women have teamed up to bring sophistication to San Patricio–Melaque's dining scene. East meets West in contemporary dishes such as tequila-lime prawns and corn, and Gouda-cheese fritters with a smoked jalapeño aioli. Favorite entrées include Szechuan prawns and prosciutto-wrapped chicken. The hours of operation are complex and subject to change; it's best to check the Web site or confirm by phone. There's often live music including jazz or blues.

In Sayulita, Panino's produces good brownies, croissants, and other baked goods just a few steps from the beach.

On Bucerías's South Side, a dedicated following snaps up the cinnamon rolls at Sweet Things Bake Shop.

Portions are large, and the cooking seems to have improved with time, although the main reason to visit is the lovely views of a solitary beach, uninhabited Coral Island, and the beaches of Rincón de Guayabitos. The hawk's-eye ocean view is especially wonderful around sunset. Order a full Mexican meal or just a shrimp or fish taco and a beer or cocktail. Changing daily specials like ribs, mashed potatoes, and corn on the cob, with a glass of wine or beer, are filling if unimaginative. Shrimp is prepared in a handful of ways; for kids there are hamburgers (or shrimp burgers) and fries or quesadillas. Food service begins at noon, although the stated opening time is 11:30 am.

For European-style chocolates, succumb to Xocodiva, in Zona Romántica.