190 Best Restaurants in Mexico

Just by the beach, the Coral Bar and Grill is the on-site restaurant of the Flying Cloud Hotel and part of the XTC Dive Center. The place is open all day, offering Mexican breakfasts, international food for lunch and dinner, and even some vegan dishes. It also works as a beach club and has theme nights every Tuesday and Friday. 

The go-to place for brunch outside of the big resort restaurants, this European-style café and bakery is the perfect stop for a quick coffee, pastry, or a slice of pizza. Vegetarian and vegan dishes are available, as well as nonalcoholic cocktails. 

Sayulita institution Don Pedro's has wonderful pizzas baked in a wood-fire oven, prepared by European-trained chef and co-owner Nicholas Parrillo. Also on the menu are consistently reliable seafood dishes, yummy salade niçoise, and tapenade. The mesquite-grilled filet mignon is just about the best around; it comes with baby vegetables, mashed potatoes, and pita bread. The pretty second-floor dining room, with the better view, is open when the bottom floor fills up, usually during the high season (November to May). During high season they also have dance classes and dancing to Latin tunes, currently on Monday, and live flamenco guitar on Thursday. This is a good spot for breakfast, too.

One of the more upscale choices near Médano Beach, Edith's is the sister restaurant to popular The Office. The Caesar salad and bananas flambé are prepared tableside at this colorful and much-loved restaurant, while Wally's Special, a medley of lobster, shrimp, and fish, is one of the most ordered items on the menu. As good as the food is, the atmosphere is even better. Families dine in early evening, so come in later if you're looking for a less crowded experience.

Locals come here for weekend brunch. They serve truly authentic huevos rancheros and all those delicious dishes that make traditional Mexican cuisine so hard to resist. They host live music on certain days.

It's on a noisy street corner, but the seriously good food and generous portions make this a local favorite. The molcajete—a sizzling black pot of tender flank steak, grilled green onion, and soft white cheese in a delicious homemade sauce of dried red peppers—is served with a big plate of guacamole, refried beans, and made-at-the-moment corn or flour tortillas. If you're into simpler fare, the unadorned grilled fish fillet is fresh and delicious.

Called "Camellito" by locals, this restaurant is famed for having Tulum's freshest seafood—and the jammed parking lot is testament to its enduring popularity. Fish or shrimp tacos are light and fresh, but the full splendor of the place is expressed by its whole grilled or fried fish, served with generous mounds of rice, beans, and plátanos. Come hungry. The lively scene and tropical ambience are a Mexican original.

An institution known for its classic Mexican cooking, today El Cardenal has locations all over the city, but the branch to try is on Calle Palma, in a three-story building in the florid style of the late 19th century. Inside, the atmosphere (think beige walls and white tablecloths) and food are old school; the best time to come is breakfast, when trays of pan dulces make for a pleasant prelude to eggs or chilaquiles. Another location in the neighborhood can be found at Marconi 2.

The homemade ice cream and sorbet at El Colón have been keeping locals cool since 1907. Served in a pyramid-shape scoop, the tropical fruit flavors (like chico zapote, a brown fruit native to Mexico that tastes a little like cinnamon and comes from a tree used in chewing-gum production) are particularly refreshing. The shop also sells cookies and fresh candies—the meringues are exceptional. There are five locations throughout the city, and while the one on the Plaza Grande is the oldest, the one on Paseo de Montejo is the most popular, especially on warm evenings. 

This two-story palapa restaurant, named “The Drunken Sailor,” is always packed with locals and tourists alike. It’s no wonder: the location across from the marina is the perfect spot to watch the sunset while enjoying a ginger mint mojito or tamarind margarita. Several dishes feature unexpected Vietnamese and Costa Rican influences, such as the panko-crusted fish taco with ginger cream and the shrimp enchilada with coconut pineapple sauce and fried plantains. The shrimp burger on homemade bread comes with chili lime fries and pairs well with an ice cold michelada (salt-rimmed Mexican beer with lime, spices, and hot sauce). Timid palates must overcome any hesitation and try the best dessert in Los Cabos: the avocado-lime chocolate cream pie on graham cracker crust.

At this glorified food court, more than 20 culinary offerings are at your disposal, ranging from Mexican and Greek to Spanish and Italian. Savor wine, cheese, or tapas while the little ones dig into gourmet hot dogs, creamy gelato, or treats from the candy shop. In this two-story industrial-style building, grab what you want and converge back at the table with the meal of your choice; sushi, barbecue, and Oaxacan cuisine are top picks. The organic market is great for meals-to-go, and the assortment of tacos and regional dishes explore the best of Mexico’s gastronomy in a unique environment.

Open since 1955, Café Bagdad occupies a long narrow room in an 18th-century house on the Plaza de la Aguilita, one of several plazas in Centro's rundown and hectic but charming eastern side. Coffee beans are toasted and ground on-site and simple but hearty comida corrida (all-inclusive meals that include soup of the day, rice, beans, tortillas, and fruit juice) comes at an affordable MP80.

This aptly named eatery is a welcome respite from El Centro's busy streets. House specials include grilled seafood with rice, fish fillet with coconut cream, and smaller dishes like ceviche or aguachiles (spicy lime shrimp). Many of the dishes can be prepared with your choice of mango, tamarind, or guava salsa. A small wooden bridge leads into a palapa (thatched roof), which is colorfully decorated with turquoise chairs, mosaic flooring, seashell lamps, and a bamboo bar. Relax to the sounds of a cascading waterfall, skirted by palm trees and tropical plants. Note that menus are in Spanish, and the staff doesn't speak much English.

El Patio de Mario serves traditional Mexican food in a clean, calm environment with a gorgeous open patio and friendly staff. Forget what you know about Mexican food; come here and try their birria or menudo, exquisite soups of pre-Hispanic origins. Open for breakfast or lunch, it also sells raicilla to go.

Come to this cozy place for the pizza, stay for the cocktails and the live music. If pizza is not your thing, though, a wide variety of salads, pastas, and steaks are also available and well-served.

An outpost of Eladio's in Mérida, this lively bar and restaurant on the malecón is popular with beachcombers and cruise-ship passengers. You can sample typical Yucatecan dishes like longaniza asada (baked sausage) and pollo pibil (citrus-pickled chicken) while seated beneath a tall palapa on the beach. As you’d expect, fresh seafood dishes are also on the menu. Tasty appetizers are free with your drinks, and there are plenty to choose from. Live music every afternoon except Tuesday adds to the party atmosphere.

This charming colonial-era café is open to the street, with regulars, families, and digital nomads regularly making appearances. It’s bustling, maybe a bit too bustling for some folks to focus on work, but the price-to-quality ratio is impressive, as is its selection of Mexican-style hot chocolate, which range from spicy to sweet to bitter. Whether you're looking for molletes, chilaquiles, or pan dulce, this place has it all, served quick and delicious. 

For an informal bite on any given evening, there's nothing like Food Park PV. Here you'll find a variety of snacks, beer, live music, and good vibes, all in a refreshing outdoor atmosphere.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.