137 Best Restaurants in Mexico

Open to the ocean air, the wood-and-palm exterior of this restaurant looks right at home on Conchas Chinas Beach. The menu is a mixed bag of Mexican specialties such as chile relleno, international cuisine add-ons like chicken masala, and seafood dishes like the delicious crab enchiladas with chipotle sauce. There are wonderful views of waves crashing on or lapping at the shore at its bar El Set. If you're driving, look for the sign for Hotel Lindo Mar on the coast highway.

It's worth making your way south to Cuidad Universitaria to dine at this distinctive and generally untouristy venue inside the UNAM faculty club, with a terrace that overlooks beautiful gardens and volcanic rocks. Open to the public and especially enjoyable for a late afternoon lunch, the restaurant serves a diverse, affordable menu of globally inspired dishes, such as penne pasta with a puttanesca sauce, panela cheese enchiladas with mole verde, and roasted rosemary chicken with a Chardonnay reduction. A buffet is offered on weekends.

El Coral serves generous portions of seafood in a relaxed environment facing the beach. It's a favorite among those heading out on a tour of the Marietas Islands and for surfers who come to ride the waves at El Anclote.

Dark mahogany furniture, crisp white table linens, exquisite blue-and-white Talavera place settings, and refined service strike a note of restrained opulence at this 18th-century estate whose dining rooms surround a central courtyard with fragrant gardens and a circular fountain. Although you'll find European-influenced classic fare like chateaubriand for two and crispy calves' brains in brown butter, the Mexican delicacies are the stars—consider the crepes of huitlacoche, or a jewel-like dish of escamoles panfried in butter and herbs. The dessert cart, which displays everything from rich chocolate cake to Bavarian cream with strawberries and cajeta (goats-milk caramel), is a must. Even if you don't come for a full meal, try to drop by for cocktails and appetizers in the beautiful courtyard.

At night, candles flicker at white-skirted tables with comfortable cushioned chairs, and tiny white lights sparkle in palm trees surrounding the multilevel terrace. This riverside restaurant is recommended for breakfast and for the evening ambience. If you're not into a romantic dinner, belly up to the intimate bar for a drink and—on Friday and Saturday evening—live jazz.

A favorite of expats and locals, this restaurant has an extensive breakfast menu that includes whole-wheat French toast and cheese crepes. For lunch or dinner try the vegetarian tacos, linguine with clams, or one of the many salads. Pies, cakes, and pastries are baked on-site daily. You can savor your healthy meal or sweet snack (and take advantage of free Wi-Fi) while enjoying a sea view through the back windows. New Rock 'n Java spots—Noodle Bar and Sushi and Tex-Mex Island Grill (both in the nearby Mega Shopping Center)—round out the offerings of this popular Cozumel brand. Pay in pesos for a lower bill—the exchange rate here is not the best.

This elegant restaurant at the inn of the same name is beautifully designed in hues of pink and brown, with long-stem roses on every table. Chef David Segovia's menu is an haute interpretation of Mexican and Yucatecan cuisines, with sauces incorporating local chiles, tamarind, and hibiscus (or jamaica) flowers. There are also pastas, salads, and sandwiches if you'd like a lighter meal. You can sit in the formal dining room, the more casual open-air patio, or the rooftop bar. 

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 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.

One of Guadalajara's most famous dishes is the torta ahogada, literally a "drowned sandwich," and Tortas Toño serves the best in town. It’s a baguette filled with pork meat served in a bowl with lots (and we are talking lots!) of hot tomato sauce on top.

This Italian restaurant stands out for its elegance, excellent service, extraordinary steaks, and noteworthy pizzas and cocktails. There's a great brunch on weekends and live music every night.

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. 

This funky café, where expats and locals congregate, serves up smoothies, baked goods, tacos, homemade ice cream, and everything in between. The breakfast menu spans acai bowls, eggs Benedict, pancakes, and fruit plates, and for lunch and dinner you'll find blackened fish tacos, coconut shrimp, burgers, and vegetable wraps. Set back from the little plaza, the colorful garden is a pleasant place to have a coffee, and its location by the ecological center makes it the closest thing Akumal has to a downtown. If you fall in love with a local stray, the owner will help you get the paperwork to take your new pet home. The restaurant is open until 10 pm and has free Wi-Fi. This is the only place in town where happy-hour specials include food. Stop by between 4 and 6 pm any day of the week for pizza, taco, and drink specials.

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. 

Facing Parque Hundido with a view of nothing but trees (okay, and some parked cars and an EcoBici stand), Village Café is a great place to unwind and take in a bit of tranquillity in one of the busier parts of the city. Massive windows open to the sidewalk, where diners take their time on sandwiches, coffees, and pastries. An antique magazine stand occupies the center of the café, providing ample reading material. The dark, green tub chairs are inviting, as is the shaded atmosphere.

Healthy and nutritious food with lots of flavor is what has crowds coming here every morning for breakast. There is no guarantee that there will be space for you to sit at any time in particular, but there's always takeaway to be eaten at the boardwalk. Don't miss the smoothies!