Best restaurants in Oaxaca City

Los Danzantes Oaxaca

★ Michelin$$$mexican

This Oaxaca favorite can count 25 years of history to its name, but that’s not stopping them from forging ahead with their own ideas and sense of refinement. Set in a dazzling, open-air courtyard, the space buzzes as personable servers guide locals and visitors alike. Start with a terrine of vegetables dressed with avocado puree, featuring product from the operation's organic garden north of the city, before moving to the mole sampler, which is a masterclass in sauce work. Salsa borracha is another can’t-miss sauce that shines with tender pork ribs. The tortilla and cafe dessert is a clever pl

🕐 Su-We 13:00-22:30; Th-Sa 13:00-23:30

Levadura de Olla Restaurante

★ Michelin$$Mexican, Traditional Cuisine

One could spend an entire afternoon or evening in the shaded, breezy courtyard of the young talent, Chef Thalía Barrios Garcia. Colorful and creative, she channels traditional Oaxacan recipes as well as memories from her hometown of San Mateo Yucutindoo. Local produce takes priority, evident in starters like grilled squash composed with a lush pipián blanco and spearmint. The tamales, which she learned from her grandmother, are peerless. A recent version was enriched with ricotta and enrobed in a duo of moles. Heartfelt, comforting cooking can further be found in delightful preparations like a

Labo Fermento

Bib Gourmand$$Asian

You won’t find another restaurant in Oaxaca quite like this one. Chef-owner Joseph Gilbert and his team are obsessed with fermentation and go to great lengths to make their own kimchi, shoyu, miso and more. Asian flavors course through the menu in the form of plucky pork wontons glossed in chili oil, Chinese barbecue pork buns and soothing dashi. One can’t-miss item is the fried chicken that’s marinated in shoyu, garlic and ginger and comes with a clever lemon aioli made with sardine stock. This is the kind of food best for sharing in a space that’s sunny, breezy and high-energy thanks to an o

Tierra del Sol

Bib Gourmand$$mexican

Chef Olga Cabrera is a force to know. A stone’s throw away from the famous church in Centro Histórico, Cabrera runs three different businesses within a single building. A bakery stocked with sweets perfumes the room, while her Atoleria pours cups of coffee and hot chocolate. The actual restaurant is further back, past the comals cooking tetelas, memelas, tacos and tlayudas, and up the stairs to the shaded rooftop. While serving dishes from her childhood and classics from today, she celebrates farmers and their products, and puts their stories front and center. Salsa made tableside is a welcome

La Olla

Bib Gourmand$$mexican

For a restaurant with decades of history behind it, La Olla looks rather ordinary and would be easy to pass by on the street without a second thought. Alas, Chef Pilar Cabrera is a name to know. A champion of traditional Oaxacan dishes and an ambassador for the region, she has run this restaurant and her own cooking school, Casa de Los Sabores, for over 20 years. A comal by the front door is your signal to start with the maiz sampler featuring squash blossom quesadillas and crispy plantain tacos smeared in a finely spiced coloradito. No meal is complete without the mole negro, which is wonderf

🕐 Mo-Su 08:00-22:00

Las Quince Letras

Bib Gourmand$$mexican

Mole is everywhere at Chef Celia Florián’s restaurant, which opened in 1992. You can find it served with plantains, inside large empanadas, and on top of enchiladas. But from amarillo to coloradito to verde, the one that shines brightest is her mole negro. Black as night, smoky, and tantalizingly charred, it needs nothing more except for a tortilla or a bit of rice. This recipe and many others have deep roots: Florián grew up on a farm in La Ciénega and learned to cook from her mother and grandmother. Another highlight is the wonderful garnachas istmenas, crispy masa cakes topped with tender s

🕐 Mo-Sa 09:00-21:00; Su 09:00-19:00

Xaok

Bib Gourmand$$Mexican

Right off a busy street, this restaurant looks like a stylish hotel from the outside. Further in, find a well-appointed dining room and a comfortable patio overseen by a friendly team that is equally happy to see you. Infused with global inspiration, the cooking here makes the most of local ingredients, prepares them with care, and presents them in style. Think roasted broccoli with hoja santa puree, gnocchi with oxtail stew, and a particularly good confit pork with mole negro and a banana and apple puree. A recent dessert of tiramisu made with Oaxacan coffee and mamey made for a perfectly swe

Zandunga

$$regional

Sunlight beams down through an open roof and into this colorful, spacious courtyard set with handsome wooden tables. Pottery, textiles and paintings by local artists adorn every wall in sight. Truly, this restaurant captures the vibrant spirit of downtown Oaxaca. It’s a lovely scene to take in while exploring a curated menu focused on traditional regional flavors. Start with the garnachas, the masa carefully fried and topped with tender, shredded beef and pickled cabbage, before moving on to the crispy plantains stuffed with queso and crema that are both tropical and savory. Tamales come prepa

Casa Oaxaca El Restaurante

$$$mexican

In the shadow of the Templo de Santo Domingo de Guzmán, Chef Alejandro Ruiz’s two-story restaurant buzzes with all the energy of a new opening. And yet, the stoves have been firing for more than two decades and have drawn attention from all corners of the world. Stylishly dressed, guests opt for the spacious rooftop patio where attentive servers are quick to make salsa tableside. The menu spins local ingredients and Oaxacan flavors with international touches, and nothing comes out of the kitchen looking anything less than beautiful. Desserts, like the platano Colorado with banana cream and mez

🕐 Mo-Su 13:00-23:00

Nois

$$$Mexican, Contemporary

There are several ways to experience this ambitious, two-story restaurant. The ground floor is a chic lounge where bartenders shake and stir potent, boozy drinks. Up the winding staircase, find an open kitchen committed to crafting a serious tasting menu focused on seafood. To be clear, this is a team that likes to take risks and keep diners on their toes. Familiar ingredients like Oaxacan cheese, chintextle, starfruit, and hoja santa are deployed in imaginative, daring ways. Recent highlights include wild-caught tuna tataki rolled in vegetable ash as well as a refreshingly homey buffalo taco

Crudo

$$$$Fusion, Mexican

There is nothing quite like this intimate counter, certainly in Oaxaca and possibly beyond. Chef Ricardo Arellano has crafted a creative omakase that fuses Japanese flavors with local ingredients and preparations. What does that look like? It means nixtamalized papaya might come with your kampachi. Or maybe tuna will arrive seared with binchotan and set in a chicory leaf brushed in charred onion puree. An eel handroll is dressed in a smoky-sweet puree made from the pulp of agave. The menu is on the lighter side but the lasting impression and ingenuity is nonetheless impressive and at no point

Aguamarga

$$$$Mexican

Formally known as Aguamarga Theobroma Lab, this spot, which calls itself a gastronomic laboratory, is located in downtown Oaxaca. The setting is sleek but warm with two wood counters and a stainless-steel workstation, though the strawberry milkshake-pink courtyard draws all the attention. Once dark, the warm lighting casts a magical spell.The inmersión en theobromas is an experience unlike any other. This beverage-focused procession serves a scant few bites but is impressively intentional and very clever; successfully demonstrating the nuances of cacao's innumerable flavor profiles. Chef Olga

Adamá

$Middle Eastern

Don't come to Adama expecting traditional Mexican cooking. Instead, this welcoming spot specializes in Middle Eastern cuisine. Tucked away down Callejon Adama street, this restaurant entices the city's growing population of foreigners making their home in this creative, colorful city. Chef Hagar Aviram may set a laidback tone here, but her cooking is spot on, reflecting authentic. The tightly edited menu features a number of dishes intended for sharing. Ingredients are sourced locally from nearby farms for simple, authentic plates like falafel with tahini and lamb kebab. End on a sweet note wi

Brio

$$Mexican, Mediterranean Cuisine

With its terraced setting overlooking a church in the center of the city, Brio looks and feels very Oaxacan. It's fitting, then, that the menu echoes the tribute to the region with its focus on local dishes and ingredients given a hint of Mediterranean flair. The wood-fired grill is the centerpiece, with all proteins kissed by the flames. Begin with an appetizer such as the roasted beet salad set atop chile de agua cream sauce and chamomile honey alongside sliced tomatoes and apples. Then, bone-in pork chop benefits from the wood fire, but the peanut mole is the last word. Crème brûlée is give

Asador Bacanora Oaxaca

$$$Mexican

As you approach this charming spot tucked away on a small but colorful side street, the smell of the grill is the first clue you’ve arrived. Expect a large Mexican menu with a few European touches and a focus on steaks. Dialed-in executions and nuanced flavors are seen from start to finish in dishes like tostones rellenos, a savory-sweet plate of plantain dumplings in a deep, rich mole negro sauce. Steaks steal the spotlight, though main dishes still shine, as in the impossibly tender short ribs with a beer and piloncillo reduction glaze. End on a lighter note with the airy chocolate mousse wi

Ancestral Cocina Tradicional

$$Mexican

Nestled in a grove of trees under a thatched roof, this spacious, outdoor restaurant in the Barrio de Xochimilco neighborhood has been something of a hidden oasis since 2017. The flavors are fairly classical, as Chef Miguel Mijangos takes inspiration from his grandmother, his childhood, and beyond. An opening volley of local cheese compressed with tomato and herbs, a jar of pickled vegetables, and warm, crispy tostadas is a treat all on its own. The cooking gets creative in dishes like plantains stuffed and garnished with queso and crema and finished with mole coloradito. With a flair for attr

Criollo

$$$$Mexican, Traditional Cuisine

Chefs Enrique Olvera and Luis Arellano are the culinary forces behind this magical oasis that is also part of a guest house listed as a UNESCO heritage. Entirely outdoors, the dining room is a straight-edged work of smooth concrete and a canopy of trees and Edison bulbs stretched over handsome wood tables set with flickering candles. Chirping birds and burning incense add to the romance. Serving only a tasting menu, the kitchen leans on traditional Oaxacan recipes and local ingredients. Dishes like their quesabirria with shrimp, pickled cabbage, and guacamole are on point. Refresh your palate

Teocintle-Tika'aya

$$$$Mexican, Contemporary

Just south of the Mercado de La Merced, this tiny little nook of a restaurant is a surprise in every way. With just a handful of tables and no menu in sight, the tasting pulls inspiration from Oaxaca’s Mixteca region. The young chef Toño García cooks with the maturity of someone much older, as he brings refined flair to indigenous preparations. His colorful, accomplished dishes wouldn’t be out of place in far ritzier settings, starting with the avocado croquette crowned with nopales. Fish and plantain wrapped in hoja santa in an aguachile pulls flavors from Mexico and beyond.Reservations made

Itanoní

$regional

There are few addresses better than this one that offer such an up-close view of tortilla-making excellence. Chef-owner Gabriela Fernandez Orantes has been celebrating heirloom varietals of corn since opening back in 2001. The menu is chock full of memelitas, tetelas, quesadillas and more, and everyone is welcome to stand close, right by the kitchen, and watch as chefs work with fresh masa that’s been nixtamalized and stone-ground in house. Pressed, shaped and slowly cooked on a hot comal, tortillas of all kinds arrive garnished and stuffed with melted cheese and paired with the likes of squas

🕐 Mo-Su 07:00-14:00

Barbacoa Obispo Cocina Rural

$Mexican

The name slightly gives it away, as barbacoa cooked underground in a hot stone-lined oven is certainly a big deal here. However, Barbacoa Obispo Cocina Rural, where Oaxacan cuisine is front and center, also shines a spotlight on birria and jabali, which can be served as memelas, blandos, quesadillas, or tlayudas, as well as tacos al vapor. Decisions aren't easy with so many tempting offerings, but hits include barbacoa blandos (your choice of meat), surtidos (with a blend of cuts), or meat-filled tetelas. Of course, their weekly specials designed for sharing at the table are also a good idea.

Alfonsina

$$mexican

At several points en route to this hidden restaurant, you will wonder if you’re lost. But hold steady: A half hour’s drive south of Oaxaca city and down several bumpy dirt roads, this humble, reservation-only destination is as close of an invitation into someone’s home as you’re going to get. Chef Jorge León and his mother Doña Elvia run this idyllic, breezy backyard with tables set under a canopy of trees. The tasting menu is by no means formal or lengthy. Rather, expect a leisurely procession of traditional, comforting dishes like a tamal filled with spiced green beans or grilled local fish

Vianda

$$Mexican

Drive 30 minutes north of Oaxaca to the village of San Jose del Mogote to find this gem. Vianda is a charming and welcoming spot, set within a house that belongs to Chef Teutli’s parents. It's simple but inviting, with wood tables arranged on a pleasing patio. Meanwhile, the menu is a celebration of the area's agricultural heritage, celebrating local products prepared in creative, untraditional ways. Order croquetas de calabaza (pumpkin croquettes flecked with chapulines) or costilla glaseada (roasted pork rib with cooked agave, green tomato marmalade and mole costeño). Bring cash, as the Inte

Almú

$Mexican

For an adventure off the beaten path, make the trek to this rustic countryside kitchen south of Oaxaca City. More than once, you will wonder if you’re headed in the right direction, up until you find an expansive shed with an open-air dining room surrounded by plants, trees, and pottery. Sweet smoke wafts from the kitchen, which is powered by burning logs that cooks move around with their hands. The offerings are traditional: Crispy memelas, hearty enmoladas enrobed in mole, and sizeable tlayudas stuffed with local cheese. Excellent tableside salsas enliven everything they touch. It goes witho