Oaxaca’s deep culinary heritage is, like in many places, a result of its geography: a big valley formed by small ones, all surrounded by mountains, rich soil and warm weather. In fact, this valley reminds us of a clay pot, where many ingredients are mixing, aging and melting together to become something new over the heat of the fire. Oaxaca’s best restaurants are firmly rooted in this unique geography and layered history of the state.
Here, food is more than just sustenance; it’s a living link to the past and an expression of community – and it’s a source of immense pride. From the foundational significance of corn, prepared in countless forms, to the complexity of its celebrated moles, Oaxaca is all about depth. To highlight this profound connection between land, culture, and cuisine, our local team has rounded up their essential spots in the city, for tlayudas, memelas, mole, and beyond.
Memelas de San Agustín: Curbside Service
Similar to sopes in other parts of Mexico, the thick corn tortillas of memelas are our favorite Oaxacan breakfast, especially at Memelas de San Agustín. This small stall doesn’t have an official name – people just started referring to it this way since it’s located right behind the Iglesia de San Agustín. But it’s become a beloved destination for delicious versions of its namesake dish. Traditionally, memelas – essentially thick corn tortillas that are pinched around the edges and in the middle, making the texture slightly uneven so that their toppings (and their juices) stay in place – are topped with pork lard, quesillo, and some spicy tomato salsa. But nowadays, demand dictates that vendors add beans, meat, and veggies. At this food stall, all are exceptional.
Owner Audelia Melgar Cruz started out with a simple stall in November 1984. She only had a small table, a little wooden portable stove (anafre), a comal (a large round griddle, often made of clay), and all the recipes she had learned from her great-grandmother, which included tinga de pollo (shredded chicken cooked with tomato and guajillo), papa con chorizo (potato and chorizo) and, the crown jewel, salpicón: a cold salad made of cooked shredded beef, onion, cilantro, tomato, and lots of avocado, which manages to be both hearty and fresh. –Read more on Memelas de San Agustín from CB Oaxaca contributor María Ítaka here.
Cuish: The Art of Sipping Mezcal
Felix Monterroza is the fourth generation to make and sell mezcal, and he is the founder of Cuish, a mezcal brand and expendio (a place where they both serve and sell mezcal, and another name for a mezcalería) that has sold a wide variety of high-quality mezcales since 2008. It’s one of the best mezcalerías in town.
Located away from the main tourist drag, Cuish has two separate bars spread across a sprawling, semi-open space that has the feel of a large village house, a place where people can rest from the heat beneath the shade with a drink in hand. Frequented by an artistic crowd of painters, writers, and musicians, the expendio is equally as known for its exhibitions, live music gigs, and conferences as it is for its excellent mezcal tastings. –Read more from CB Oaxaca contributor María Ítaka here.
Tacos del Carmen: The Stew Queens
It’s not entirely clear why El Carmen Alto is a street-food hub, but it’s probably related to the fact that, back in the 1970s, the Plaza del Carmen used to host a weekly open-air market where people from all over the Oaxaca Valley would bring their produce. This market turned out to be so popular that it eventually moved into a permanent building, named Mercado Sánchez Pascuas, where it still operates today.
Hitting up one of the many stalls to grace El Carmen Alto is a Oaxaca street food-must. For the best tacos, we frequent the square’s Tacos de Cazuela del Carmen Alto. The tacos come in all flavors and are complemented by different salsas, beans, and guacamole, all held together with handmade tortillas, made al momento. At Cazuela, the focus is on homemade stews rather than the classic Oaxacan flavors at Tradicionales Tacos del Carmen, which is right across from the church, serving plain chorizo, squash blossoms, mole or chile relleno. –Read more on Tacos del Carmen from CB Oaxaca contributor María Ítaka here.
Aguas Casilda: Fresh Take
In 1926, 16-year-old Casilda Flores Morales opened her tiny aguas frescas (fruit-flavored water) stall on the square that would later become Benito Juárez Market. Almost 100 years later, her grandaughter now sells the mix of fresh fruit pulp, water and sugar (if needed) to at least three generations of Oaxacan families. Get classics like orange, passion fruit, or mango, or Casilda’s signature flavors like squash water, horchata with prickly pear, watermelon, and cucumber with peppermint. –Read more on Aguas Casilda from CB Oaxaca contributor María Ítaka here.
Barbacoa Obispo Cocina Rural: The Tri-Cornered Tetela
Throughout Mexico, both foods and drinks are centered around corn, a tendency that’s most evident in Mexico’s wide assortment of antojitos, or “little cravings,” which vary impressively across the country’s 32 states. In Oaxaca, if you’re blessed with a stroke of luck, you’ll get the chance to sample tetelas, a hyper-local, tri-cornered antojito hailing from the state’s westernmost region of the Mixteca. And at Obispo Cocina Rural restaurant in Oaxaca’s peaceful San Felipe neighborhood, two of the best Mixtecan traditions come together on one plate: tetelas and barbacoa.
To make a tetela, a corn tortilla is swiped with a layer of red bean purée flavored with fragrant avocado leaves and moderately spicy red Costeño chiles. Each side is then folded inward, creating a neat triangle, and the tetela is griddled on the comal until burnished and warm. In addition to the tetela sencilla – “simple tetela” – the bean-filled triangles are also available mounded with the restaurant’s excellent Mixtecan barbacoa, made from free-range mutton that’s seasoned simply with unrefined salt and cooked underground in a traditional hot stone-lined oven for 8-10 hours until meltingly tender. –Read more on Obispo from CB Oaxaca contributor Lauren Rothman here.
Lazduá: The Best Nieves
In Oaxaca, nieves are not only the ideal summer dessert, they also encompass hundreds of years of experience, especially in the Zapotec village of Tlacolula. Nieves could be easily mistaken for ice cream, though they are actually closer to sherbet because of their ingredients (fruit extract) and texture (icier). Lazduá adds a new touch to old family recipes with favorites like the lush espadín tropicoso (pineapple, worm salt and mezcal), lime with spearmint, and almond cappuccino. –Read more on Lazduá from CB Oaxaca contributor María Ítaka here.
El Rito: Myths, Mole, and Chocolate
There are some foods that have the power transport us to other states of mind and can even make us reflect upon the cycle of life itself. This is the case of both chocolate and mole, which, as two of the most important and ceremonial foods in Oaxaca, represent a ritual journey from seed to table in which vital – and sacred – ingredients like cacao, chili, seeds, and fire play a key role in our existence. Flor Heras, co-owner of the El Rito family business and head chocolatier of Reina Negra Chocolate, wakes up every day with the goal to keep chocolate and mole evolving and resurrecting with the same passion the Mayans put into the preservation of their myths.
Their chocolate ranges from traditional high-percentage cacao tablets to innovative Reina Negra bars featuring unique ingredients, while the El Rito shop offers a complete sensory experience with cacao in various forms, alongside their meticulously crafted authentic Oaxacan black and red mole. Through their excellent offerings, the metaphors in our myths about food and cooking are reenacted every day in places like El Rito –Read more on El Rito from CB Oaxaca contributor María Ítaka here.
Garnachas La Güera: Tropical Oaxaca
In most parts of Mexico, garnacha is the term used for unidimensional deep-fried snacks. But those from Juchitán (a village in the tropical Isthmus of Tehuantepec) are a whole different story. They are cookie-sized deep-fried tortillas topped with tender, seasoned beef, covered with chipotle salsa and the isthmus’s celebrated aged cheese. If Oaxaca is a state, Juchitán is like its own country within it. And Garnachas La Güera is a well-kept ambassadorial secret, amongst the best Oaxaca restaurants. –Read more on Garnachas La Güera from CB Oaxaca contributor María Ítaka here.
Ancestral: Weekend Tlayuda Cravings
While we love grabbing tlayudas from street vendors at the market, we are particularly fond of the classic tortilla-oriented dishes at Ancestral. A much-loved Oaxacan street snack, a tlayuda is a wide, crunchy tortilla – think larger and thicker than a taco, thinner than a tostada – topped with meat, quesillo cheese, avocado and beans. It’s kind of like a pizza, but infinitely better, as is all that Ancestral does. –Read more on Ancestral from CB Oaxaca contributor María Ítaka here.
Cangreburger: Fast Food Artistry
It is 6:30 pm – the workday of most of the taco, quesadilla and memela vendors in the city is over, but “The Artist’s” shift has just begun. Every day, as the dusk light bathes the streets, Caleb Santiago sets up his food cart and by 7 pm, he is ready for another night of juicy hamburgers and hot dogs. Among all the late-night hamburger stalls sprawled across the city, Caleb’s is something else.
Initially known as just “Cangreburgers,” this little SpongeBob Squarepants-inspired cart has been feeding Oaxacans for years. But don’t let the cartoonish name fool you – Caleb’s burgers are serious business, a meticulous layering of quality ingredients and an array signature condiments. In fact, Caleb has developed a fiercely loyal audience that spans locals, returning travelers, and even the city’s own chefs clocking out for the night, all drawn in by the artistry found in his late-night offerings. –Read more on Cangreburger from CB Oaxaca contributor María Ítaka here.
Levadura de Olla: Ancestral Kitchen
One of Oaxaca’s most refreshing food projects, Levadura de Olla is mountain food at its best. Thalía Barrios blends the herbal tones of the quelites (greens) and edible flowers of her hometown with the hearty flavors of smoked salsas and vegetables of the Sierra Sur. Barrios cooks the food of her heritage with an understanding of the current transitions happening in the food industry: plump pumpkin tamales, juicy stews of mushroom and bright salads dotted with seasonal produce and flowers. –Read more on Levadura de Olla from CB Oaxaca contributor María Ítaka here.
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