303 Best Bars in Mexico

This reggae bar serves deep-dish pizza that gets rave reviews, and the Mexican-inspired meals provide something for every palate.

Keeping with the glamorous style of Café des Artistes, this small but classy bar is the perfect place to enjoy a cocktail or martini before heading to the theater or to a nightclub. P'yote Lounge is a celebration of the Huichol, the Indigenous people of the Jalisco/Nayarit region, and is named after the psychotropic cactus central to the Huichol vision of the world.

The legendary Palladium still brings crowds on weekends and is one of the few remaining places that keeps very late hours. Things don’t get underway until 10:30 pm and they usually keep going until about 4 am. A waterfall cascades down from the dance floor, which is considered by many to be Acapulco's best. It's also surrounded by 50-foot-high windows, so dancers have a wraparound view of the city. The club is popular and tends to favor a young crowd.

With 20 years of history in Puerto Vallarta, the Palm is a household name in PV's gay scene. The drag queen shows have no equivalent in the area, but music shows are also of high quality. They're closed during the summer.

The massive Papas & Beer attracts a rowdy college crowd. There are daily specials on shots and cocktails, as well as regular drinking contests. Live music takes place on weekends. 

Papas & Beer, one of the most popular bars in Baja California, draws a young, energetic spring-break crowd for drinking and dancing on the beach. The $5 beers and mechanical bull make for an entertaining combination.

The restaurant downstairs has beach access, a swimming pool, and lively dance contests at night. The open-air bar upstairs affords a spectacular bay view and it's a great place to watch bungee jumpers as they plunge from the 165-foot platform right next door.

To mingle with locals and hear great music for free, head to the Parque de las Palapas. Every Friday night at 7:30 there's live music that ranges from jazz to salsa; lots of locals show up to dance. On Sunday afternoon the Cancún Municipal Orchestra plays.

If dancing to the likes of romantic trios of the 1940s is your style, don't miss the Tuesday-night ritual at Parque de Santiago, where older folks and the occasional young lovers gather for dancing under the stars at 8:30 pm.

In the early 2000s, this became one of the first bars to draw hip crowds from other parts of town to Centro. Since then, things have calmed down, but the bar remains a pleasant spot for an afternoon beer and a lively spot for live music, which might range from salsa to hip-hop to cumbia, on weekend nights after 9 pm. For a complete listing of upcoming events, visit their Facebook page.

At this long-standing, high-energy, Friday-only "danceteria," DJs spin 1980s pop classics, disco, and techno while the flamboyant patrons, a fairly even mixture of gays and straights, compete in theatrical dance-offs. Prepare to sweat.

Piano Bar Galería, in the Hotel Sunscape Dorado Pacífico, has a wonderful happy-hour pianist playing romantic songs nightly from December to April and July and August.

Although it caters mostly to guests of the Privilege Aluxes hotel, you can also visit this architecturally modern bar that plays chill-out music by day and has live music at night, just make sure to book a table (or a palapa) in advance via email. The fish tacos are a perfect cerveza accompaniment. Try to stop by for the gorgeous sunset.

Players is the best sports bar in the Zona Romántica for tourists and expats alike to gather together to watch football, basketball, and even hockey games.

An emblematic pulquería of the colonia Doctores, Hija de los Apaches is a perfect place for a prefight drink before wandering a block over to Arena México. Serving up mugs of fermented agave, flavored in house with pureed fruits and vegetables, Hija de los Apaches turns into a salsa club most evenings of the week. There's no doubt it's a lively, down-to-earth, singularly Mexico City kind of place.

The hotel Quinta Real has one of Mexico's most unusual and romantic bars, a candlelit haunt literally built into the old bullring.

"Reinas" means "queens" in Spanish, and this place is about making everybody feel like a queen. It's owned by a Dutch entrepreneur who found in Puerto Vallarta his home and an LGBTQ+ scene that was looking for a bar like this one. Come here to have a drink and make some friends, before going somewhere else for a dance.

The famed cervecería opened this flagship cantina in 1928, three years after Corona beer was launched. Still a popular hangout for people who live or work in the neighborhood, it is one of the friendliest joints in town, and now boasts three other locations in Centro (all inexplicably within a two-block radius) and another in the Zona Rosa. Try a torta of pulpo (octopus) or pierna (roast pork leg) with your giant mug of beer. Photos on the wall show the clientele reacting to the 1986 World Cup at the heartbreaking moment defeat was snatched from the jaws of victory by the national team.

In the heart of Oaxaca, this bar has not changed for the last 50 years. The owner, El Chato, has seen successive governments come and go (one of his favorite things to talk about) while his bar has continued with its steady service of cocktails and beers, fried potatoes, and fish empanadas. While neither trendy nor classy, the Salon de la Fama offers a glimpse into one what life used to be like in Oaxaca. The silent service given by El Chato and his wife allow the conversation to flow. Although he must have heard millions of stories, El Chato isn’t one for spilling the beans, so he will let you do the talking.

This long bustling bar ranks among the city's most popular pool halls. Since there's often a wait for the tables (it's two-for-one games before 4 pm), the bar area is an always buzzy gathering spot. There are often contemporary photography exhibits on the walls, and pretty good pub fare is served, too.

Juan Hernández opened Salón Tenampa in 1925, and was the first to introduce mariachi, originally a folk music of his home state of Jalisco, to Plaza Garibaldi. Now Plaza Garibaldi is the place to hear (and hire) not only mariachis, but also groups playing regional music styles from around Mexico. Spend the night under Salón Tenampa's historic brick arches sipping on tequila and hiring the mariachis by the song (prepare, if you can, to sing along). 

A great place for sunbathing and enjoying great gourmet food with tasteful lounge music playing in the background, Sapphire is not as spectacular (nor as crowded) as the other big beach club in the area, Mantamar. Here, the swimming pool is smaller, but more intimate, and customers have access to free Wi-Fi, lounge chairs, umbrellas, a bottle of water upon arrival, and Oshibori towels.

A small bar with delicious cocktails, Scotch is a great place to stop after dinner in Polanco. Although ccasionally filled with smoke from cigarettes or sparklers, the music and the vibes make up for that.

The Animal House ambience at Señor Frog's at night includes loud music and a bar-dancing, bead-throwing, balloon-hat-wearing, anything-goes drinking scene. During the day, the pub grub is better than you'd expect, the drinks are flowing, and the waiters are always entertaining. You'll find two locations here, near the Punta Langosta and the International cruise terminals.

What's called simply "Frog's" by the locals is a good old-fashioned free-for-all for the young and the restless. There are black lights on the walls, barstools shaped like thong-clad women's butts, and a giant-screen TV above the dance floor. Expect foam parties, ladies'-night Friday, or, in the high season, beach parties with bikini contests and other shenanigans. 

Known for its over-the-top drinks, Señor Frog's serves up foot-long funnel glasses filled with margaritas, daiquiris, or beer, which you can take home as souvenirs once you've chugged them dry. Spring breakers adore this place and often stagger back night after night. For $29 you get your entrance cover, food menu, and a yard of beer.

For a family-friendly atmosphere where you can order in English your choice of food and beverage and watch sports on big-screen TVs, head to Shooters, a rooftop bar overlooking the main square. It's open daily from 10 am to 11 pm, for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Take your pick from the sporting events shown on seven big-screen TVs at the consummate sports bar in Todos Santos. Enjoy the scrumptious burgers here, too.

Catch the sunset at this rooftop lounge while enjoying a "Margarita Guaycura," made with lemon, tequila, orange liqueur, and the local spirit, damiana. There's a pool, too, you can swim in or relax beside, should you visit during the day.

Slim's calls itself "the world's smallest bar," and you'll be lucky to get a seat at this kitschy four-seat space that plays honky-tonk music and serves $3 beers and tequila shots. Signed dollar bills line the walls and ceiling, and a buzzing, standing crowd loiters out the door and onto the Boulevard Marina sidewalk each evening, vibing off its energy.