710 Best Restaurants in Mexico

This younger sibling to Galanga offers a more varied menu that includes both Thai and Vietnamese fare at slightly lower prices, but as with the original restaurant, the food is flavorful, expertly prepared, and delicious. The solarium-style space creates the feel of dining in an art nouveau birdcage, and there's outdoor seating on a side patio as well. Next door, the same owners run the hip and inviting Somsaa Wine & Tea Room inside a gracious old house---here you'll find an extensive array of drinks as well as flavorful desserts and creative Southeastern small plates.

Savor deftly crafted modern Japanese fare—yakitori skewers, oden and ramen bowls, tempura, udon noodle, raw shellfish, and sushi and sashimi—in this inviting, contemporary space with a variety of seating options, including private tatami rooms. The menu stand-outs are many, including a serrano-wagyu beef roll and shrimp mapo tofu. There's an impressive selection of cocktails, wines, and artisan beers to match the food.

This casual Spanish restaurant is known both for traditional tapas like tartar de atún con ajillo, croquetas de jamón serrano, and patatas bravas, and for its Iberian take on tortas, the classic Mexican sandwich. The tortas are among the best in the city, some with Mexican touches—like the secretaria (pork leg, chorizo, and cheese)—but the specialties are the calamar (chopped baby squid in chimichurri sauce) and vegetariana (a hearty stack of roasted eggplant and melted cheese). The small, stylish café has a long selection of artisanal Mexican beers, and may be the only tortería in town with a wine list.

At high meal times, travelers will find lines of locals and tourists alike extending out the door of this traditional Mexican restaurant in El Centro. While the decor is plain, the food is among the best in the city. Items worth testing include the queso fundido (cheese fondue) and the enchiladas. If you're staying in West Guadalajara, there's a second restaurant at 405 Terranova in Providencia.

This Playa institution, in a funky jungle garden with fountains, palmettos, and a rambling koi pond, is a favorite breakfast spot. The well-prepared, authentic Mexican selections include multiple styles of chilaquiles, a tart mix of meat, sauce, and egg on a bed of tortillas that will have you skipping lunch. It's popular for lunch and dinner as well.

The grande dame of Cancún restaurants delivers on the promise of its name, with candlelit tables and discreet waiters who will make you feel as if you've been transported to Italy. The fare includes homemade pizzas and pastas such as Bolognese-style lasagna; veal scaloppine and calamari steak in shrimp and lobster sauce are other options. The wine list is excellent, and the dessert truffle is a must for chocolate lovers. Be patient when waiting for your order, though, as good food takes time to prepare.

Busy and stylish, this is a popular classic in the Santa María la Ribera neighborhood, located in an older building that has retained its original high ceilings and tile work. Known for having slightly higher prices than usual for the area, it’s also recognized for excellent service, taste, and variety of traditional Mexican dishes, but the star is the barbacoa (slow-roasted sheep meat) and pulque.

This large, welcoming, thatched-roof eatery is open to the breezes of Playa Los Muertos and filled with wicker-covered chandeliers, art-glass fixtures, and lazily rotating ceiling fans. The menu meanders among international dishes with modern presentation: roasted stuffed chicken breast, pork loin, seared yellowfin tuna drizzled in cacao sauce. It's pricey, but the beachfront location and, in the evening, the low lights and romantic atmosphere, keep people coming back. Breakfast is popular with locals as well as visitors.

At the town's favorite lunch spot, glass walls replicate an oblong Maya house, which is surrounded by a profusion of plants. Seafood, with a campechano twist, reigns supreme here, and a truly ambitious meal might start with calamari, stone-crab claws, or camarones al coco (coconut-encrusted shrimp), perhaps followed by pan de cazón (a shark-meat casserole that's one of Campeche's most distinctive dishes) or robalo fish topped with puréed cilantro, parsley, orange, and olive oil. For dessert, the classic choice is the signature and impossibly sweet coconut cake. As the sun goes down, candles are set out on the white-linen tablecloths, and soft blue lighting illuminates the outside atrium.

Here, in the shadow of La Parroquia, you'll find some of the best-prepared traditional Mexican food in town. The guacamole is great, as are any of the enchiladas, the chiles rellenos, and the Yucatan specialty, cochinita pibíl (slow-roasted pork). Top it off with the homemade flan, a delicious preparation of an old standby, and celebrate another fabulous San Miguel day with one of the well-prepared margaritas. The sweeping cityscape, backed by mountains, is another enchantment.

Overlooking the town square, La Sirena serves an eclectic mix of dishes ranging from mini sliders and grilled grouper to hearty plates of barbecue pulled pork with shoestring fries. If you like Mediterranean food, opt for Greek specialties prepared by chef Anthony Chalas, who credits his skills to his years spent in Greece. The dip sampler—with homemade hummus and tzatziki—is simple and delicious, as is the Athena salad topped with a block of feta and kalamata olives. The keftedes (Greek meatballs) are outstanding. You can taste the quality here, reflecting Anthony's effort to buy only organic and fresh ingredients. There's live music nightly in high season and tequila tastings on Monday.

A sound track of light jazz plays in the background at this quaint, small restaurant facing Plaza Vasco de Quiroga. Sit at the outdoor tables under the arcade—or indoors, which feels like a shop from bygone days, with shelves packed with liqueurs, nuts, cookies, jams, candies, candles, and other items for sale. Coffee is made fresh from the espresso machine, but you can still get a free refill. The friendly and knowledgeable waiters will patiently explain the unusual dishes, such as huevos tarascos (fried eggs on a corn tortilla topped with corn kernels, thick melted cheese, and a dark chile negro sauce). For lunch or dinner get trout any style, salmon in four-cheese sauce, or mushrooms sautéed in garlic, chili, and tequila. The menu is refreshingly varied and the service refreshingly attentive.

Yucatecan cuisine reaches new and exotic heights at this Mayan-themed restaurant, with fabulous dishes prepared by chef Elviro Pol. The papadzules (tortillas stuffed with eggs and covered with pumpkin-seed sauce) are a delicious starter; for an entrée, try the poc chuc (tender pork loin in a sour orange sauce) or longaniza de Valladolid (traditional sausage from the city of Valladolid). The Yucatán Tour sampler platter will give you a little taste of everything. Finish off your meal with some maja blanco (white pudding), and xtabentún-infused Mayan coffee.

At this more casual and free-wheeling sibling to famed Rosetta restaurant and bakery, sit at one of the cozy café tables in the sun-filled, shabby-chic dining room and fill up on exceptional grilled, panfried, and oven-baked modern Mediterranean fare served on whimsical antique china. Highlights from the extensive menu include grilled rustic bread topped with tomato and anchovies, blistered-crust pizzas topped with eggplant and ricotta, and rabbit liver ravioli with a rabbit ragù. The bakery offers up different sweet and savory breads depending on the day of the week (the calamata olive bread on Thursday is notable).

Quick and reliably good, Las Tlayudas is a small sidewalk eatery specializing in Oaxacan cuisine. Come here for the tlayudas, of course—massive tortillas covered with beans, cheese, and meat. And don't miss a glass of mezcal or botana Oaxaqueña to wash down some chapulines (grasshoppers).

Chef Lori Dumm provides a unique take on Caribbean-fusion cuisine here, creating all of her own recipes and making every menu item from scratch. Starters like hibiscus flower empanadas served with avocado-xnipec dipping sauce make way for fried fish of the day served with jasmine rice and passion-fruit sauce or coconut shrimp with grilled pineapple. Breakfasts of French toast with skillet potatoes and eggs Benedict are equally divine. Those with dietary constraints will appreciate the variety of vegetarian and gluten-free options, including a vegan chocolate cake.

In a relaxing garden filled with retro decor, waiters in mesh trucker hats and black T-shirts deliver remarkable urban Mexican cuisine with a dash of Grandma’s secret recipes. Under the shade of a mango tree, start with the trio of salsas infused with orange and chipotle, served with a basket of freshly fried tortilla chips. Local breakfast favorites are the French toast and Costa Azul eggs (scrambled, fried, or baked) served with Dijon cream sauce. Or go straight to the lunch menu, featuring the pork shoulder sandwich, jicama mango salad with citrus cream dressing, and a cheese-and-vegetable stuffed poblano sandwich. All pastries are crafted in-house, including the sinfully divine churros, served with sweet milk.

With a chic terrace upstairs and a modern white-on-white interior space on the ground floor, Loretta is one of the few restaurants in the southern half of the city that consistently makes it onto critics' top dining lists. Celebrated chef Abel Hernández presents contemporary takes on classic Provençal, Tuscan, Greek, and Middle Eastern dishes, like pork belly confit–and–heirloom tomato crostini, followed by creative pastas, steaks, moussakas, seafood grills, and a generous selection of vegetable sides.

Stroll just a block south of Jardín Centenario's inevitable crowds to find this little gem with simple red-and-white-checked tablecloths and a front window lined with tantalizing displays of fresh-made cakes and pies. Indeed, sweets—as well as finely curated teas and well-crafted espresso drinks—are the specialty here, but you'll also find excellent breakfast, lunch, and dinner options, ranging from vegetable frittatas and mollettes with beans and ham in the morning to spinach-and-artichoke casserole and salmon burgers later in the day.

Centro's most famous tacos are available all day from this hole-in-the-wall puesto (stall), but are best experienced in the early hours of the morning after several rounds of beer. The tacos here are all beef and are small, so plan on trying at least three. The most famous is the braised suadero, but if you're feeling adventurous the taco de tripa (intestine) is really unmissable.

Ask any Cabo local where you should get dinner, and there's a good chance they'll suggest Los Tres Gallos. Fun, festive, and flavorful, it's a must-try for anyone seeking traditional Mexican cuisine. Set in a courtyard shaded by fruit trees, twinkle lights, and papel picado (colorful tissue paper flags), the menu is crafted from generations-old family recipes of classic heritage dishes such as cochinita pibil (slow-roasted pork) and molcajetes (stone bowls) filled with flank steak, shrimp, chorizo, nopal, and panela cheese.

The specialty of this trendy San Miguel de Chapultepec restaurant helmed by a veteran of famed eatery Pujol is food prepared with an open flame, such as grilled sirloin with an eggplant puree and roasted vegetables, but you'll also find a number of classic Mexican and Italian dishes, from shrimp aguachiles to house-made casarecce pasta with a hearty ragu sauce. Dining is inside one of the neighborhood's well-preserved 1930s homes, but there's also a pleasing sidewalk terrace bracketed by cacti and succulents.

Tucked away on a quiet street, this Ensenada restaurant is located in an 80-year-old house whose cozy dining room gives a glimpse of the home-turned-restaurant with local artwork and adobe archways piled high with books. Chef Miguel Bahena and Carolina Verdugo have created an innovative Baja fresh menu showcasing oysters with chili butter, squid ink risotto, confit duck with guava mole, and bay scallops with barley. Handmade tortillas are made Sanora style, slightly thicker to soak in the flavors. Weekend brunch draws a crowd, as does the tasting menu available in five- or seven-course pairings.

Run by Santiago Muñoz, formerly of the famous regional Mexican restaurant Nico's, this casually stylish rooftop restaurant showcases the talented chef's devotion to traditional preparations and ingredients (including the centuries-old nixtamalization process of producing corn tortillas). Highlights from the creative menu include barbecue-duck tacos, huaraches (oval-shaped masa tortillas) topped with braised oxtail, and grilled striped bass with pasilla chiles and heirloom tomatoes. There’s always an interesting selection of pre-Hispanic-inspired desserts, too. Downstairs, an on-site shop sells salsas, handmade tortillas, and other delicious products, and a festive taco bar serves up big portions of sensational short-order snacks that you can embellish yourself with the bountiful array of salsa.

With sprawling views of vineyards, this restaurant and open-air kitchen is shaded by a thatched palapa and surrounded by acres of farmland where chef Roberto Alcocer gathers ingredients. Beer, wine, vegetables, fruit, cheese, bread, meat, eggs, honey—nearly everything served is from the on-site farm, making this a true farm-to-table experience. Each plate is a work of art, including the deconstructed salad, the sweetbread tacos, the clam chowder mousse, and the catch of the day with edible flowers. The menu changes monthly, but expect to find a celebration of colors and textures from a kitchen that delivers dishes dribbled in squid ink, topped with egg yoke, or whipped into a foam. Three, six, and 10-course tastings are available ($70, $100, $150), which are reasonable considering the quality of the food. The desserts are not overly sweet, allowing you to taste the flavors rather than just the sugar.

Warm and inviting, with wooden tables and colorful chalkboards announcing the day's aguas frescas, this 10-table hot spot is a must if you're looking for an unbeatable breakfast or lunch. Standouts include traditional chiles rellenos, fish tacos, and delicious French toast. Portions are massive, so be sure to come hungry. A self-serve coffee bar guarantees you always have a full cup of joe. Once you move on to cold beers and mango mimosas, it's difficult to leave.