5 Best Restaurants in San Miguel de Allende and the Heartland, Mexico

This family-owned restaurant is known for its friendly service and casual atmosphere. It has great breakfast options, including eggs Benedict and waffles, which are available until noon to aid late risers. At lunch and dinner light fare predominates, including salads and sandwiches, but there are full meals as well, such as grilled chicken with lovely steamed veggies, and the popular chiles en nogada (mild chili peppers stuffed with an elaborate ground-meat mixture and topped with walnut sauce and pomegranate seeds). Desserts are all made in-house. Don't miss the new rooftop bar, up several flights of stairs, with exceptional downtown views.

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.

Well situated on the pedestrian portion of 5 de Mayo near El Centro's star attractions, this narrow, festive restaurant can accommodate most appetites for a casual nosh. The glass display case holds many desserts (including apple strudel, homemade flan, and ice cream), as well as soups and sandwiches and such typical Mexican snacks as tacos and gorditas (cornmeal cakes with a savory stuffing). From the ceiling, papier-mâché clowns hang from balloons and swing from trapezes. It opens at 10 am for a late breakfast and stays open until 10 pm (until midnight Thursday through Saturday), and no alcohol is served.

A wrought-iron mariposa (butterfly) overlooks the entrance of this cafeteria-like local favorite. Although it's been popular since the 1940s for breakfast, coffee and cake, or a light Mexican lunch of tacos, tamales, enchiladas, or tortas (sandwiches), the food is underwhelming. Cakes can be stale or simply nondescript, although the tacos are good. It's more of an institution than a culinary experience. Don't plan on this for a main meal.

As you sit at umbrella-shaded tables in a gracious courtyard framed by bougainvillea, serenaded by Mexican music, you'll be transported back to a simpler Mexico. The margaritas are good, and the menu is interesting, from a well-developed pozole verde (a rich soup made with hominy) to juicy cochinita pibíl (pork baked in banana leaf) with black beans and the traditional pickled onions. The enchiladasMéxico Lindo and enchiladas mineras are also crowd-pleasers. The restaurant is out in the quiet residential neighborhood of La Presa de la Olla, a nice neighborhood for a walk, and it opens at 9 am for breakfast if you're out early.

It can get chilly in winter; make sure to wear warm clothing.