21 Best Restaurants in Yucatán and Campeche States, Mexico

On the inland side of the barrier island, a charming little house painted sky-blue and cherry-red contains El Cuyo's best restaurant. Here, Oscar Flores, who presides in the kitchen, and his English wife, Cathy Sissens, lead guests—never more than 20 on any night—on a nine-course journey through Mexico's culinary regions, with Cathy sharing some background on each mole, ceviche, or taco that's served. The owners can accommodate most dietary restrictions; just let them know when you make reservations, which are required. 

Shaded by a giant palapa roof, this open-air restaurant is an inviting spot for lunch or an early dinner (it closes at 7 pm). Though you'll find the same Yucatecan dishes (pollo pibil, sopa de lima) here as elsewhere, the preparation is excellent. Best of all is the poc chuc—little bites of pork marinated in sour orange, garlic, and chiles and grilled over charcoal. There is also a Mérida location if you don't want to make the trip to the original one. 

A henequen plantation in the 17th century, this beautiful hacienda just outside Mérida serves some of the best regional food around, primarily attracting well-to-do Meridanos for a leisurely lunch (let that be your guide on what to wear). Start with sopa de lima, then move on to standout mains like poc chuc (slices of pork in a sour-orange sauce) or cochinita pibil—both served with homemade tortillas—perhaps followed by dessert, which comes with a complimentary digestif. After your meal, stroll through the gardens where peacocks roam. If you’d like to spend the night, the hacienda has six handsome suites, but you'll need to book ahead for weekends and holidays. There are also two locations of Hacienda Teya in the heart of Mérida: one at the Paseo 60 mall and the other on Calle 60, across from Parque Santa Lucia.

The patio of this historic home glows with candlelight in the evening, but during the day, things feel a lot more casual. Although the menu has a few fish or meat dishes (cochinita pibil, say, or butterfly chicken breast in a cream sauce), the emphasis is on vegetarian dishes such as chaya soup (made from a green plant similar to spinach), stuffed mushrooms, spinach lasagna, and avocado pizza. Prices are reasonable, and service is excellent. Expect live music in the open-air courtyard daily between 8:30 pm and midnight.

Apoala is one of the best choices for Mexican food on the lively restaurant-lined Parque Santa Lucia. The menu includes both Oaxacan and Yucatecan dishes—moles and beef dishes from the former, ceviches and cochinita pibil from the latter. The presentation is elevated without being fussy.

Though it serves good basic pastas, salads, and burgers, as well as some Mexican bar-food favorites, this restaurant's popularity is primarily due to its delicious cocktails, aguas frescas, and lively atmosphere. You can dine outside, enjoying the activity on Paseo Montejo, or inside, where the people-watching is just as interesting.

Campechano families come here to enjoy a light supper, perhaps a delicious sandwich claveteado of honey-and-clove-spiked ham, along with a typical drink like agua de chaya, a mixture of pineapple water and chaya (a leafy vegetable similar to spinach). The dining area is a wide colonial veranda with marble flooring and tables decked out in plastic tablecloths. No alcohol is served, and you simply mark your choices on the paper menu (note that for tacos, "m" means maíz, or corn; for tortillas, "h" stands for harina, or flour). On weekends, try the tamal torteado, a tamale with beans, tomato sauce, turkey, and pork wrapped in banana leaves—although not listed on the menu, it's available on request. 

This elegant colonial house on the south side of the main square specializes in hearty Yucatecan cuisine, with such menu highlights as pollo X'catik (chicken baked in butter cream) and lomitos de Valladolid (cubed pork loin in a tomato-chile sauce). If you're not feeling quite so adventurous, you can choose from mar y tierra (meaning, basically, surf and turf) options. The small front dining room is stylish, but we recommend snagging a table in the leafy back courtyard—it's perfect for lunch on a hot afternoon. El Atrio keeps long hours, opening at 7 am and going strong until 11:30 pm.

K’u’uk, which means "sprout" in Mayan, is chic in every sense of the word, from the suave waiters to the molecular gastronomy dining experience in a historic mansion facing the Monumento a la Patria on Paseo de Montejo. The presentation is artistic—picture dollops of baby pumpkin dusted with goat cheese the texture of powdered snow, potatoes slices as thin as tissue paper, and desserts sprinkled with dehydrated berries or honey-soaked seeds. Many of the Yucatecan options are prepared in a custom-built pibil oven, allowing for a modernized way to impart a traditional smoky flavor. Plan to stay awhile, since dining takes between two and three hours.

Calle 8, which runs along the north side of the historic center and roughly follows the route of the old sea wall, is now a bit of a restaurant row, home to this and other eateries. Seafood is the specialty here, though it also has a number of signature cocktails, like the Pregonero, made with a chile liquor, tamarind, and pineapple.

This cantina at the corner of Calles 62 and 49 is popular with locals, expats, and visitors thanks to its large courtyard and likewise large cocktails. You'll be offered free bar snacks as long as you keep ordering drinks, though it's worth trying some of the delicious (if basic) ceviches, enchiladas, and tacos, too. Live bands play most evenings. 

Residents of Mérida have strong opinions on who makes the best salbutes and panuchos, two signature Yucatecan dishes, and La Poderosa is at the top of many lists. All the seats at this restaurant in the southern part of Centro—near San Sebastian's square and market—are outdoors, and it's an especially lovely spot on warm evenings. Its evening hours also make it stand out from some other popular casual eateries, which are often open for breakfast and lunch only. A meal of three or four empanadas, panuchos, or salbutes, accompanied by a soda, will only set you back about $5. Note: There are several restaurants in Mérida named La Poderosa. The one you want is the one in San Sebastian.

This vintage Yucatecan restaurant with high colonial ceilings and an elegant atmosphere is a longtime local favorite. The combinado yucateco (Yucatecan combination plate) is a great way to try different dishes like cochinita pibil, longaniza asada (grilled pork sausages), escabeche de Valladolid (turkey with chiles, onions, and seasonings in an acidic sauce), and poc chuc (slices of pork in a sour-orange sauce). In fact, Los Almendros invented some dishes that have become regional classics—including the cheese soup, which is also spectacular. A live trio performs daily from 2 to 5 pm.

Inside a colonial-era building, this small (just five tables) family-run restaurant is decorated with Mexican crafts and has an enormous menu of familiar favorites like burritos and fajitas. Grilled fish and steak are served with rice and shredded lettuce, as are the rolled tacos and enchiladas topped with red or green chile sauce. If you’re an early riser, stop by for French toast or a breakfast crêpe.

Traditional Yucatecan dishes—like panuchos (fried masa cakes stuffed with beans and piled high with shredded meat, lettuce, sour onions, and other toppings) or chile mestizo (poblano pepper stuffed with shredded meat)—are the specialties here. Although waitresses dressed in colorful regional-style skirts will explain the dishes, if you're unsure what to order ask to see the album containing photos of top dishes with multilingual captions. Lunches and dinners are finished off with a complimentary tamarind margarita, and a guitar trio performs some evenings. This is also a great place for breakfast. You can try plain agua de chaya here—in other restaurants, it's often sweetened with pineapple.

The menu here is as an encyclopedic take on Yucatecan cuisine, with everything from salbutes to start to manjar blanco (a milk-based delicacy) for dessert. Before sitting down to eat in the courtyard or one of the rooms that open onto it, explore the modest displays on regional food in the colonial-style building and Maya-style houses in the garden. There are also cooking demonstrations, including those using the traditional method for cooking cochinita pibil, buried in a pit in the ground.

Don't let the bare walls and basic furniture fool you—this restaurant, a few blocks east of Parque Mejorada, offers one of Mérida's best dining experiences. Chefs Xóchitl Valdés and Selena Cárdenas have impressed gourmets with their celebration of corn, the basis of many of the dishes served here. Before you leave, stop in at the adjacent store, which sells local honey and honey products, from candies to shampoo. 

In the evening this patio restaurant is bathed in candlelight and the glow from tiny white lights decorating the tropical shrubs. Much of the menu, as well as the decor, is geared toward tourists—you can even buy a Pancho's T-shirt on your way out. Although you won't find authentic Yucatecan dishes at this lively spot, the tasty tacos, fajitas, burritos, and other dishes will be pleasantly recognizable to those familiar with Mexican food served north of the border. Waiters—dressed in white muslin shirts and pants of the Revolution era—recommend the shrimp flambéed in tequila, and the tequila in general. Happy hour is weekdays from 6 to 8 pm.

At the town’s most comfortable eatery, tables draped in white linen sit under a wide palapa that's surrounded by plants and with a burbling fountain. In a small hut in the back, the cooks make tortillas by hand, and menu highlights include locally made longaniza (a tasty grilled pork sausage) and excellent sopa de lima. A small shop sells carefully selected and cleverly displayed local folk art.

Residents of Izamal have strong opinions on which restaurants make the best panuchos, salbutes, papadzules, and other local specialities, but Restaurante Muul is on many short lists. The atmosphere is no-frills, though the location is convenient, right on the main plaza just steps from the ex-convent.

This oasis of carnivorous delights serves tortas—Mexico's answer to the sandwich—and tacos at four locations in Mérida. In addition to ham and cheese tortas, you can get pork loin in smoky chipotle-chile sauce, chorizo sausage, turkey strips sautéed with onions and peppers, and several other delicious combos guaranteed to go straight to your arteries. If you don't speak Spanish, just point to one of 20 types of ingredients while they heat up your tortilla. Not a meat lover? Try some unusual combos, like chopped cactus pads sautéed with mushrooms, or scrambled eggs with chaya or string beans. All of the Wayan'e locations are casual and unassuming, with plastic tables and chairs, but most diners gather around the counter where the food is handed over. The restaurant closes when the food runs out, which is usually around 2 pm.