972 Best Restaurants in Mexico

Although this cozy, discrete café is in Roma Norte, it's at the southern end of the less frenetic neighborhood, making it a nice option for a relaxed coffee break or a light snack. The artisan house-baked goods here are superb, from sourdough pizzas to flaky croissants and other French pastries.

Part bakery, part restaurant, you won't be disappointed whether you stop here for a quicker bite or a full sit-down for dinner. The star of the show is the roulette, a round, flaky pastry reminiscent of a croissant and served plain or with savory or sweet toppings and fillings.

This family-run restaurant specializes in simple seafood and Mexican dishes like fajitas and oven-baked shrimp. There isn't much here in the way of decor, but the staff is friendly, the food is fresh, the beer is cold, and the value is good. The tasty daily specials are a bargain and attract both locals and visitors.

Even in low season, Fredy's, next door to the Hotel Posada de Roger, is packed full of Mexican families, gringo friends, and local businesspeople. Your mug of coffee will be refilled without having to beg; service is brisk, professional, and friendly. Breakfast is the meal of choice, with pancakes and waffles, Mexican specialties, omelets, and eggs Benedict with thick slices of ham. The lunch menu is abbreviated but offers soups, salads, burgers, nachos, and quesadillas. Eat on the pretty covered patio, or inside, where big plate-glass windows let you keep an eye on busy Calle Basilio Badillo.

Although there's a small indoor dining room, the big draw here is the expansive patio with a retractable glass roof, tall ivy-covered walls, and tables of varying sizes. It's a great place to relax or work on your laptop for a few hours, and there are enough tasty pressed-sandwich (try the Croque Madame), salad, and soup options to make a meal of it. Later in the day, the drinks of choice shift from espresso-related to beer, wine, and cocktails.

The scent of fresh-baked French baguettes and a picture-perfect display of croissants, éclairs, colorful candies, and ice creams greet you at this café-bistro just off San José del Cabo's main square. In the creperie area, the cook tucks delicate crepes around eggs and cheese, ground beef and onions, or shrimp and pesto. If you choose to eat in, salads, pizzas, and other standard fare are offered. The patisserie has a well-designed drink menu of fine wines and tequilas and a full list of organic coffee and tea-based drinks.

This bright blue-and-pink palace feels like a home, with its nicely stuccoed ceilings, hand-painted tiles, and upstairs porch with a harbor view. Unique family recipes include foil-wrapped shrimp or fish prepared estilo delfín—steamed in orange juice, herbs, and spices. Gaston, the operatic owner, can easily be coaxed into singing traditional rancheras in a baritone as rich and robust as the food.

At this unpretentious, cozy spot on the north edge of Roma, the short menu of tapas-size plates changes according to what chef Giuseppe Lacorazza picks up that morning at the city's leading seafood market. The focus is always on sustainability and fresh produce---think bonito crudo with tamarind and tangerine, smoked-mackerel quesadillas, steamed clams with spring peas and basil, or Veracruz-style shellfish stew. 

It's no surprise that this impossibly hip Asian fusion hot spot originated in Tulum, as it feels a bit more suited for that crowd than what's typically found in Cabo. But Funky Geisha's presence marks an exciting change in the local party scene---it's no longer limited to just spring breakers or sea dogs---and diners can enjoy a variety of sushi, curry, noodles, and rice dishes while wiggling their toes in the sand and gazing in awe at a nightly fireworks display just steps away.

Run by an Italian couple who have lived on the island since 2005, Gelateria Montebianco serves a wide variety of gelatos, as well as tasty desserts like tiramisu. It's the place to take a break and enjoy what many consider the best ice cream on the island.

Nothing beats walking down the malecón with an ice cream in hand ... or in this case, Italian gelato. Choose among 28 artisan flavors at Giulietta e Romeo.

Much loved by locals, Doña Julia makes dozens of varieties of gorditas day and night—it seems there's nary an hour when the place isn't full of people, in part because of the rock-bottom prices. In the wide-open entrance to the simple shop, you'll watch a woman shaping your fresh tortilla with her hands before putting it on the open fire. Many fillings are available, such as delicious regional specialties like beef tongue, rice with mole (a rich dark sauce, not an underground animal), rajas con queso (chili strips with cheese), and cactus. There are other locations around the city, including one on Avenida 5 de Mayo.

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.

Established in 1976 by owners whose grandparents emigrated from Lebanon to Mexico in 1930, this casual spot with red tiles and hammered-tin light fixtures serves some of the most authentic and flavorful Middle Eastern food in the city. A rewarding way to approach a feast here is to share a variety of smaller and larger plates—kibbeh, jocoque, baba ghanoush, fattoush, shawarma, and alambre-style grilled shrimp among them.

As soon as you walk down the dramatic staircase at this elegant restaurant, you know you're in for a memorable experience. The gamberi saltati (sautéed shrimp with spinach, artichoke, and Asiago cheese) appetizer is a standout here, as are entrées such as the fettuccine carbonara in truffle sauce or the risotto. Other memorable dishes include the sea bass baked in “papillote” and the veal chop with potato, broccoli, and wild mushrooms. The circular dining room has artistic lighting and views of the wine cellar and open-air kitchen. Saxophone music adds a dash of romance.

Celebrity chef Tadd Chapman and partner Miguel Guerrero joined forces to relaunch this traditional Mexican restaurant in its new location and with fresh new culinary techniques. Opt for lunch specialties of Baja fish tacos and black scallop ceviche, and for dinner, try the seafood risotto, or the grilled NY strip with habanero chimichurri. Exceptional breakfasts—ranging from stuffed French toast to chilaquiles prepared four ways—are served from 8 to noon for about $10.

Look beyond the lumpy wall with peeling paint behind the tiny exposed kitchen—that's fairly normal in buildings over 300 years old. At this tiny hole-in-the-wall you'll find healthful, vegetarian (mostly vegan) tabbouleh, falafel, hummus, and other delicious Middle Eastern dishes at bargain prices. The baklava and other honey-nut-phyllo desserts are also very tasty. You can also order small or giant falafel sandwiches and salads.

There are only five small tables and three bar stools, but if the place is full you can order to go and eat outside at one of Guanajuato's many lively little plazas.

Built in the 17th century on the site of a mulberry farm, this hacienda has been transformed into one of Mexico's most elegant dinner spots. The atmosphere outclasses even the food, which consists of both Mexican classics and more experimental dishes that incorporate Spanish and Mediterranean influences. Live music in both the dining and bar areas, which might take the form of a string quintet, a lone pianist, or a strolling mariachi band, adds to the experience.

The main draw at one of Cancún's first restaurants is the setting—namely, in a replica of a 17th-century hacienda, complete with a courtyard fountain, flowering garden, and strolling mariachi band. The traditional menu includes tortilla soup, tasty chicken fajitas, and rib-eye steaks. This is a popular place for large groups, so it can get boisterous—especially once guests begin sampling some of the 110 types of tequila. There's live mariachi music from Tuesday to Saturday from 7 to 10:30 pm. Sunday brunch is served from 9 to 2.

The flower-filled grand patio in this perfectly restored hacienda a 15-minute drive north of the city offers inviting outdoor dining shaded by umbrellas. The house specialty is carnitas, chunks of pork stewed overnight and served with oodles of guacamole, beans, and homemade tortillas. There's live mariachi music many evenings, and musicians perform in the bar, too, which serves a lighter menu and is open later.

Ivy climbs blond, hacienda-style columns, and chandeliers bathe in a romantic light in the second-floor dining room of this stunningly restored boutique hotel and restaurant. The chef has a restrained hand when it comes to salt and spices; recipes are straightforward yet neither bland nor boring.

Built to resemble a sprawling hacienda, this restaurant is warm and intimate, with comfortable high-backed chairs and Mexican paintings. Menu highlights include the goat-cheese-and-mango salad, Tampico chicken breast, New York steak with stuffed pepper, and annatto-seasoned grilled pork chops; a kids' menu is also available. Traditional dances from Mexico and the Caribbean are performed on various weeknights in the restaurant's patio section.  Enjoy the breakfast buffet from 8 to 2 on Sunday.

Chef Lalo Pino is one of the most interesting characters you'll meet in La Paz, and his food reflects that. Perhaps because both his menu of craft tacos and the concept of Hambrusia (which is slang for hungry, like "munchies") were inspired by growing up on the peninsula before there were supermarkets and accessible ingredients from the mainland. Order a variety to try, or put your fate in Pino's hands by going the omakase route and he'll bring out six of his personal favorites. The dishes are lightly Asian-inspired, simply because "umami goes really well with tacos."

By day it looks like a hole-in-the-wall, but when the sun goes down, the rummage-sale-meets-taco-stand atmosphere of this open-air local favorite truly comes to life. Get beyond the ghoulish silhouette logo—ahorcado means "hangman" in Spanish—and you'll find that the food is pretty good. One of the few area restaurants open late, it's packed until closing, usually around midnight. Old pots, baskets, antique irons, sombreros, and other tchotchkes hang from the walls and rafters. Quesadillas come with vegetarian fillers such as flor de calabaza (squash blossom), nopales (cactus), and rajas (poblano chilies), while meatier house specialties include beef tongue tacos in mustard sauce, cochinita pibil tacos, Cantonese-style beef rib tacos, and cuchiviriachis—a tostada filled with cheese and meat and roasted for a perfect melt. This is the place to get a chilled Corona for a handful of pesos.

You'll find surprisingly authentic Creole and Cajun fare at this festive New Orleans--style restaurant in the historic city center that's decorated with photos and paintings of jazz musicians and indeed features live bands in the evening from Wednesday through Saturday. Oysters fried, roasted, or on the half shell are a must for fans of bivalves, but also consider such classic recipes such as seafood gumbo, barbecue ribs, and blackened redfish along with po'boys and burgers. The original location is in San Miguel de Allende.

High-profile locals and visitors alike are drawn to this contemporary steak house’s Vegas–meets–Beverly Hills style. The spectacular menu features glazed duck, Maine lobster, and Kobe beef served with aged Vermont cheddar cheese. When you get past the glass meat cooler in the lobby, you’ll encounter the dimly lit interior dominated by white stone, with cedar beams adding a touch of warmth. (All that stone creates echoes; ask about patio seating.) The concept here is impressive—steaks are aged in-house for 21–28 days, then grilled and broiled to perfection. Save room for dessert. Waiters deliver a tower of cotton candy with the check. (Try not to faint when you see the total.)

Follow your nose to this Mexican grill house, where locals gather for some of the best-tasting steak in town. The open-air restaurant is filled with the sounds of mariachi music blaring from the radio, and a mounted bull's head hangs above the plastic tables and chairs. The main draws are the huge cuts of beef, pork, and chicken served with baskets of corn tortillas, baked potatoes, and ripe avocados. This might just be the tastiest arrachera (skirt steak) you'll find on your vacation. There is a second location on Calle 1ra Sur.

When locals, be they Mexican or expat, ask each other where to eat, the answer is very often, "Let's go to Hecho!" Both the service and the food are consistently good. Choose one of the side dishes (including onion rings, garlic mashed potatoes, cactus salad, green salad, and many more) when ordering a burger, or two side dishes for the well-prepared salmon fillet, ginger chicken, or tender arrachera steak. Favorite desserts include the monster brownie topped with vanilla ice cream, peanut butter pie, and crème brûlée. On weekends musicians often serenade diners on the pretty outdoor patio, which has a retractable roof high above the café tables. One of the two inside rooms—both of which open onto the plant-filled patio—has booths; the other, larger room has tables for four or six diners.