972 Best Restaurants in Mexico

One of few Russian restaurants in the city, Kolobok showcases cuisine from Russian immigrants who came to Mexico after various Eastern European diasporas. A small space featuring just 10 wooden tables, the decor is homey with Russian music playing and murals depicting the Russian countryside, and the food is as authentic as it gets in Mexico. You can order a tasting menu, or à la cart. 

Thanks to a hot-pink-and-turquoise exterior, you can't miss this restaurant, which features a palapa-covered bar that opens onto a dimly lit garden dining area. Kondesa puts a modern spin on classic dishes, and the menu emphasizes fresh fish, with favorites like the Kondesa kake (an interpretation of crab cakes made with lionfish) and seafood-filled enchiladas. A full cocktail list complements any meal, so if you can't make it for dinner, stop in for a drink. DJ's spin music on certain nights.

Helmed by warm and gracious owner-hosts, the restaurant in the Hotel Posada Edén Costa is widely considered the best in Huatulco. Its menu is certainly more varied than the competition, with French, Mexican, and Italian dishes—all well prepared. The huachinango en crema de poro (red snapper with a creamed leek sauce) is wonderful as is the boeuf bourguignon; the creamy almond-paste ice cream with fruit sauce is memorable. The bar has a fine selection of artisanal offerings such as Fidencio mezcal from Santiago Matatlán, Oaxaca. The hotel's serviceable rooms (the largest have full kitchens) are beloved as long-stay havens by snowbirds from the United States and Canada.

Food in this "Old House" is exquisite, the location is serene, and the service is very good. Located inside Hotel Solar de Las Animas, it's open to the public.

This restaurant overlooking the cathedral might not have the best food in Morelia, but it has the most iconic view. All-glass windows separate four-top tables from a wraparound balcony, where you can have a predinner drink. The menu is a bit stuffy, but not offensively so—its core is formed by Mexican dishes with some fusion touches. The tequila list is extensive, and you'll find a half-dozen high-end mezcals, too. Both the bar and restaurant close at 5 pm on Sunday.

This contemporary Spanish tavern plates up Mexico City's top tapas, alongside paella and other delicacies. The jamon serrano is freshly carved and the red wine is full bodied; both are made to be shared. Fran's bar is relatively small, so make a reservation or prepare to wait.

This colorful restaurant set in a historic building in the trendy La Cruz district is filled with hanging plants, climbing vines, and eccentric paintings and folk art. Although popular for every meal of the day, the restaurant is especially known during the day for crepes, omelets, salads, sandwiches, pizzas, and traditional Mexican dishes. Note that the restaurant is cash only.

Eat on a covered patio overlooking a grassy lawn and a small pool at this low-key restaurant. In addition to Mexican standards, the menu has Italian pasta dishes. Service is friendly, and there's live music—ranging from Mexican pop and rock to blues, jazz, guitar, and harp—most nights.

Near the malecón's north end, this world-famous franchise restaurant with a fun-loving atmosphere has a bit of a sea view from its second-floor dining room and a Caribbean flavor. Like its Havana namesake, La Bodeguita sells Cuban rum and cigars, and the music (canned during the day, live at night)—like the cuisine—is pure cubano. Try the mojito, a signature Havana drink of lime juice, sugar, white rum, and muddled fresh mint leaves.

This homey bistro offers what may be the best dining value in San Miguel, with a three-course pre-fixe menu at less than MX$200, including a glass of wine or beer. You'll start with a homemade soup or fresh salad, then choose a main course such as Mediterranean shrimp or tacos de alambre: steak, chicken, or fish grilled with onions, bell peppers, bacon, broccoli, and cheese. For dessert, there are classic French favorites, including flan, crepes, and chocolate mousse. The friendly owner personally supervises both the kitchen and the dining room—in fact she might wait on your table. La Brasserie shares space with the popular Café de la Parroquia, which serves traditional Mexican fare for breakfast and early lunch.

Dress warmly in the winter; it's in a covered outdoor courtyard.

This unassuming spot beside a gas station near the border of Condesa and Roma has developed a loyal following for its hearty and affordable birrias (meat stews). The signature dish is the birriamen, basically a Mexican-Japanese fusion of flavor packed with tender pork carnitas, onions, cilantro, and spices, but other delicious options include quesabirria tacos oozing with melted cheese, and the restaurant's spin on chilaquiles, birraquiles.

With driftwood tables overlooking Half Moon Bay, swings at the lively bar, and salsa music keeping things moving, this might be the perfect beach restaurant. The usual Mexican fare—quesadillas, empanadas, burritos, and fish tacos with handmade tortillas—is perfectly fine, but the food isn't the point. It's all about the location. Directly on the beach, this place takes full advantage with two big upstairs terraces that provide sweeping views of the water. Lounge chairs are scattered on the sand for customers' use, and there's a small pool to keep the kids busy while you have another margarita. Climb the ladder to the two-seater tower table, 15 feet above the sand, where your drinks are delivered in a bucket on a rope.

In the 1950s, this local favorite was a bohemian hangout that attracted renowned bullfighters along with Mexican songwriter Agustín Lara and his lady love, María Félix. You can see their photo over the bar and sample the same dishes that made the place famous back then: shark tamales, seafood casserole, or shrimp prepared with sea salt, curry, or garlic. The restaurant is smackdab in the middle of Playa Caleta, and there are free lockers for diners who want to take a swim, as well as banana and wave-runner rentals.

This fresh fusion restaurant, in a 1673 building, is at once minimalist, eclectic, international, French-influenced, and tasty. Each dish is marked on the menu with its own nationality. A recipe for disaster? Not in the case of the arrachera fusión, a variation on the classic Mexican marinated steak that includes avocado, goat cheese, and a chipotle–red wine salsa. The menu includes a large selection of creative pizzas. The wine list changes every couple of months, each time featuring a dozen wines from Mexico and other countries. There's live music Friday and Saturday nights. It closes early on Sunday, at 7:30.

La Capilla is a truly Oaxacan experience. Sitting under a palm roof listening to the animals play in the petting zoo and the children playing in the gardens, you can enjoy platters of traditional Zaachilan food: mountains of fabulous cooked meats, cheeses, and vegetables will come your way.

The scent of sizzling steak wafts from the door of this open-air restaurant. Portions are huge; the mixed grill for two, four, or six people comes with beans, tortillas, and salsa—a super deal. A beautiful wooden staircase leads to the second-floor terrace that overlooks the marimba players who entertain most afternoons. To see the floor show on Friday and Saturday nights, make reservations in advance.

For authentic Mexican food visit this spot serving traditional dishes from the southern state of Oaxaca. Try the enchiladas, the memelas, or the amazing guacamole with chapulines (grasshoppers). The food is great, but the traditional Mexican market atmosphere is unbeatable. 

The waiters that dance at night and the faux-rustic Western scheme can come across as a little too Disney, but the Mexican dishes from the kitchen's firewood grill are authentic and excellent. The arrachera (skirt steak) and other regional cuts arrive with kettle beans, quesadilla, and guacamole; the rib eye and American cuts have sides of corn on the cob and baked potato. Fresh-fruit margaritas and piña coladas are served by the pitcher. During the day, clowns come and go, offering children balloons.

Seafood soup and grilled fish are options at the "House of Lobster," but clearly the lobster, fried Puerto-Nuevo style, is the star. This is one of the best spots in town to try the deep-fried recipe created by Susana Diaz Plascencia in 1956; otherwise, try their fresh lobster steamed or stewed with seafood and salsa inside a traditional molcajete stone. Most wooden tables in the large dining room are covered with platters of fried or grilled lobster and all the standard accompaniments like rice, beans and paper-thin flour tortillas. Start with the clam chowder or jumbo shrimp wrapped in bacon. The medium-size lobsters tend to be a bit more flavorful than the larger ones. There's an actual wine list here, and it has several Baja wines. On a hot day opt for the tart margaritas.

The oldest portions of this 16th-century mansion were built using stones torn down from the Templo Mayor, which lies just feet away. At lunchtime, you may want to reserve a table on the atmospheric second-floor terrace overlooking the Zócalo, cathedral, and national palace, or simply stop at the ground floor patio for a drink in the shade of the towering cathedral across the street. The menu is a mishmash of international (Cornish game hen) and Mexican (cilantro soup).

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.

Located across the street from Malinalco's striking Agustino de la Transfiguración convent, this convivial taverna filled with whimsical artwork and lush hanging plants serves creative, eclectic fare with both Mexican and Mediterranean influences. You might start with beef carpaccio seasoned with lemon and olive oil or marinated-tuna tostadas with chipotle dressing, before graduating to grilled pistachio-crusted sea bass with roasted vegetables or linguine with a sauce of goat cheese, basil, and white wine.

From the street-level bistro, a dramatic staircase leads up to a small cocktail bar and dining room overlooking 5th Avenue. A stone waterfall is the focal point of the latter, and an open layout provides nearly every table with a breeze from the water. Start with a savory-sweet fig salad or a portabella mushroom slow baked and served on country bread with a truffle spread and a cheese coulis, then follow up with favorite mains like tangy poblano chicken or duck carnitas served with flavorful (though not spicy) green salsa. If a cocktail sounds nice at the end of the day, the mojitos here are excellent.

Perched atop Puerto Peñasco's highest point, this restaurant has the best views over the bay and the town below. There's indoor dining, but the long outdoor terrace overlooking the sea is the place to be, especially at sunset, when it can be packed with locals and visitors alike. A wide-ranging menu includes everything from nachos and quesadillas to flaming, brandied jumbo shrimp.

Many are drawn to this restaurant for its dramatic setting in an early 19th-century former Jesuit college that now contains a museum filled with pre-Hispanic artifacts and exhibits, but the superbly crafted traditional Pueblan food is excellent, too. Start with a breakfast of eggs in a stew of poblano chiles, corn, and epazote, or later in the day, try the pork chalupas or guacamole with chapulines (grasshopper) followed by chicken in a green pumpkin-seed mole sauce. There are also a number of international dishes, too, like tuna tartare, and bananas Foster for dessert.

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.

La Cascada y Bosque, simply known in town as “Cascada,” is a wonderful place for breakfast or lunch even when the waterfalls are just a water drop. The jungle setting here is spectacular and begs for a stroll before or after your meal. For breakfast you can choose typical Mexican dishes or the American-style breakfast with bacon and eggs. For lunch, you should try their fish and empanadas.

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.

Polished wood, crimson carpets, and hanging lanterns are the backdrop at this restaurant inside the Hyatt; some entrées, like tamarind duck, have an Asian flair. But the food here is better termed international, especially on Wednesday and Thursday. Start with the paper-thin carpaccio before the garlic shrimp.

La Cevichería is one of the best seafood restaurants in the Marina Vallarta area. It's not as tasty as other places in town but definitely more stylish. Its Nayarit-based cuisine offers flavors not easily found in PV.