# Recommendations for Good Eating in Mexico



## Hound Dog (Jan 18, 2009)

On occasion, I would like to both recommend and receive recommendations for restaurants, basic eateries and exotic food stores but also street food stalls all over Mexico in many places . I travel throughout Central and Southern Mexico and other places upon which I happen to land temporarily with some regularity. This web sight is not necessarily easily negotiable to accomplish the goals I might have of spreading the good news of unusual regional foods I have experienced - often repeatedly - in places less often traveled but treasures, nevertheless. Any ideas?


----------



## Isla Verde (Oct 19, 2011)

Hound Dog said:


> On occasion, I would like to both recommend and receive recommendations for restaurants, basic eateries and exotic food stores but also street food stalls all over Mexico in many places . I travel throughout Central and Southern Mexico and other places upon which I happen to land temporarily with some regularity. This web sight is not necessarily easily negotiable to accomplish the goals I might have of spreading the good news of unusual regional foods I have experienced - often repeatedly - in places less often traveled but treasures, nevertheless. Any ideas?


If this thread gets lots of good responses, we could make it a sticky.


----------



## alfaetrin (Aug 29, 2013)

Yes, and perhaps the criteria should be:
*Food is hygienic. If you or any of your party have ever caught a stomach bug there, forget it.
*Not a big restaurant chain. We all know what to expect in McDonalds, Sanborns, Denny’s etc
*Reasonably priced for what you get: obviously you will pay more in a smart restaurant than a street stall, but no ridiculous over-pricing.
*Not geared to the ****** tourist. A menu in English is okay, but I’m happy with spelling and grammar mistakes that show that the owners have made an effort, and it’s not just another US clone.

I’ll start the ball rolling, if you like, and if we’re doing it this way. 

If you want a decent, high quality meal in the north of Mexico City, on Montevideo, the Parilla Danesa is the place to visit. We have dined there many times, and the food is top quality Mexican fare, very reasonably priced, with a huge menu and always hygienic. Oh, and in thirty or forty visits I have never seen another non-Mexican face there. No connection, just a very satisfied customer.


----------



## Longford (May 25, 2012)

I don't think anyone of us should lay-out rules for what to include, and what not to. Opinions about any restaurant, independent, multi-location or chain can be helpful. And, after all ... they're just subjective comments. I will add that if one of the restaurants has a webpage it will be helpful to readers if the person offering the comment/recommendation post a link to it. Such as in the restaurant recommended @3, above, which has two locations: 

Parrilla Danesa - Un lugar a gusto para su gusto!! - Los esperamos

A "P.S." edit afterthought: The title of the discussion might be changed to something like "Restaurant Recommendations" otherwise people scanning the list of discussions might pass it by not knowing what it is; it's not descriptive of what we might be talking about. Just a thought.


----------



## GARYJ65 (Feb 9, 2013)

My first suggestion in DF
Los Chamorros de Tlacoquemécatl | Chilango.com

Great Chamorros, pork legs!
Also many more Mexican dishes

Hope you like it!!!


----------



## Isla Verde (Oct 19, 2011)

Longford said:


> A "P.S." edit afterthought: The title of the discussion might be changed to something like "Restaurant Recommendations" otherwise people scanning the list of discussions might pass it by not knowing what it is; it's not descriptive of what we might be talking about. Just a thought.


Good idea, Longford. What do you say, Hound Dog?


----------



## citlali (Mar 4, 2013)

I think Addreses and phones should be added if known so other people know how to find the places.

I think that if people say if the prices are inexpensive or expensive it is better as I like to try from the least expensive to the most expensive just say formal, expensive good value or not. Good value in my book is great food or lot of it for the menu. 
I am not interested in lots of food for the price but some people are so if we announce what is great about the place then peope can decide for themselves.
I also thingk we should specify if it is a buffet as I will not go to a buffet as a rule but there are exeptions for exemples in San Cristobal de las Casas there is LOS JARDINES DE SAN CRISTOBAL near Las Quintas on the road to Chamula. The atmosphere and location are very nice, the food good it is around 250 pesos per person so expensive but to me worst it as most of the food in San Cristobal is so so pseudo European or Argentinian. This place is a week-end place and a nice change.

My favorite in the area is MI CAFE in Amatenago del Valle. Going to Amatenango from San Cristobal it is on the right past the OXXO and thethe gas station.
It is owned by Joel who is an organic farmer . His family has organic ranches through out Chiapas. He tends to make, vegetarian but he does serve rabbit, lamb, chicken eggs but he tends to offer around 3 dishes all delicious and organic. not inexpensive but worth it. The place is very rustic but very clean.


----------



## Isla Verde (Oct 19, 2011)

Unless Hound Dog objects, I will change the name of this thread to "Restaurant Recommendations" or something similar.


----------



## Longford (May 25, 2012)

citlali said:


> I think that if people say if the prices are inexpensive or expensive it is better as I like to try from the least expensive to the most expensive just say formal, expensive good value or not. Good value in my book is great food or lot of it for the menu.


"Expensive", "Inexpensive," are descriptions which are subjective depending on the lifestyle of the person offering the comment. I'd prefer to see people simply post the price of the meal they're describing as being so good or provide a price-range of entrees, drinks or whatever is being recommended, or a link to the menu of the restaurant in question .... in the odd chance that the restaurant has a website (most restaurants in Mexico will not).


----------



## citlali (Mar 4, 2013)

You are correct about the subjective so a price range would be better.


----------



## Hound Dog (Jan 18, 2009)

_


Isla Verde said:



Good idea, Longford. What do you say, Hound Dog?

Click to expand...

_I am pleased Longford recomended that heading modification and was going to suggest the same but Longford beat me to it. Just a suggestion that, perhaps the heading might be "Dining Recommendations by Members" or something like that as some of the places I would recommend are not restaurants at all but what we Alabama ******** might call "eateries" ranging from huts on the street or the beach to fine, upscale restaurants. 

Anyway, change the heading in any way you think will make it more useful and appealing to the most viewers. I think we could have a lot of fun with a food oriented forum sub-section.

As to the suggestion that there be a hygiene criIterion applied by the person recommending a place to eat, if I were one recommending a place to eat anywhere in Mexico or the world for that matter, I'd want to recommend places I found to practice appropriate hygiene as those measures conformed to local standards but who the hell knows where one is going to receive tainted food anywhere in the world. The sickest I have ever been was after eating a meal served in the impeccably clean manse of a Presbyterian Church in Nice, France by the pastor himself back in the 1960s. I then took a train to Barcelona and by the time I got there i was so sick I was in bed for a week. On the other hand, I remember enjoying meals with new friends and acquaintances in Alexandria, Egypt also in the 1960s who were so poor that the toilet was in the kitchen (one set of pipes, you know) . They invited me to join them for dinner in their home and I spent as much time shooshing unbelievable swarms of flies off of my food as I did forking that food into my mouth. Deliicious homecooked Egyptian food and the most amicable hosts imaginable in an Alexandra slum. Never had a moment of digestive discomfort after that or any other of many meals in Egypt mostly purchased in fly-infested eateries of questionnable hygiene and I was in that country for a month.

I thank the poster for the comment about hygiene but I don´t think we are qualified to be the hygiene police. Our standards vary but everyone should be encouraged to participate. You would not believe the number of mediocre to bad restaurants some recommend on various Lake Chapala forums so, just remember, if you get to the front door and it doesn´t look or smell right for you, move on down the road and, later, try some other place a correspondent liked and recommended. You´ll probably have more good experiences than bad ones.


----------



## citlali (Mar 4, 2013)

Los Jardines de San Cristobal 250 pesos for bufffet plus drinks. they have a full bar. Clientes are mostly locals, people from Tuxtla and sometimes a few tourists Mexican and foreign. The cuisine is Mexican.

The owner is from the Tojolabal village of Las Margaritas and lives in the Tzeltal Village of Amatenango. He left Las Margaritas and lives full time in Amatenango de Valle although he is not indigenous nor a full Tzeltal. He was raised on a coffee ranch and he now has the women of the village raise chicken in a totally organic way and he buys and sell the eggs , he also has them male tortillas according to his instructions and also sell the tortilla. His name is Joel, he is very reserved but passionate about what he does and he is a most interesting character.

Mi Cafe 150 pesos offers cafe, tea, aguas no alcohol. Sometimes has beer or wine if he does not that day you can get the beer from OXXO. He also has some fruit wine.
The cuisine is Mexican but the owner cooks with what ever he has so you never know. There is a main dish which can be eggs , sometimes poultry or rabbit. It includes a fruit salad with honey and spices, sometimes it includes soups , tortillas and breads. He goes and pick the salad when you order and everything is extremely fresh and tasty.

The place looks like a little log cabin on the side of the road and eating there is a most pleasant experience.


----------



## citlali (Mar 4, 2013)

You are correct about the subjective so a price range would be better.


----------



## citlali (Mar 4, 2013)

I am sorrry my post is confusing.

The owner of MI CAFE is from Las Margaritas not the owner of Los Jardines.


----------



## Hound Dog (Jan 18, 2009)

citlali said:


> Los Jardines de San Cristobal 250 pesos for bufffet plus drinks. they have a full bar. Clientes are mostly locals, people from Tuxtla and sometimes a few tourists Mexican and foreign. The cuisine is Mexican.
> 
> *PLEASE NOTE: The owner of Mi Cafe is the person referred to below as having come from Tojolabal and the rest of that paragraph is about him, not Los Jardines de San Cristóbal which, while a really nice place, is not even remotely the same thing. Mi Cafe is on the main highway from San Cristóbal de Las Casas to Comitan de Dominguez, Chiapas just before you reach Amatenango and just after you leave the town of Teopisca which is famed locally for its many family restaurants mainly catering to large family crowds of Coletos on Sunday afternoons when the place is choc-a-bloc with families dining and having fun. This Mi Cafe restaurant is unique and special and almost everything you order there is grown locally. Don´t miss it if you are ever down there*.
> 
> ...


NOTE: Citlali meant to say thaa the owner of Mi Cafe


----------



## Isla Verde (Oct 19, 2011)

citlali said:


> The owner is from the Tojolabal village of Las Margaritas and lives in the Tzeltal Village of Amatenango. He left Las Margaritas and lives full time in Amatenango de Valle although he is not indigenous nor a full Tzeltal. He was raised on a coffee ranch and he now has the women of the village raise chicken in a totally organic way and he buys and sell the eggs , he also has them male tortillas according to his instructions and also sell the tortilla. His name is Joel, he is very reserved but passionate about what he does and he is a most interesting character.
> 
> Mi Cafe 150 pesos offers cafe, tea, aguas no alcohol. Sometimes has beer or wine if he does not that day you can get the beer from OXXO. He also has some fruit wine.
> The cuisine is Mexican but the owner cooks with what ever he has so you never know. There is a main dish which can be eggs , sometimes poultry or rabbit. It includes a fruit salad with honey and spices, sometimes it includes soups , tortillas and breads. He goes and pick the salad when you order and everything is extremely fresh and tasty.
> ...


I had the pleasure of dining at Mi Café a couple of years ago with citlali and can vouch for the quality and freshness of the food and the pleasantly rustic ambiance of the place.


----------



## Hound Dog (Jan 18, 2009)

Since we are on the subject of "good eats" in Mexico, I thought some of you miight like to hear of a unique place to visit in Chiapas if you are ever down that way. We really enjoy driving the Mexican Coast between Tehuantepec, Oaxaca and Tapachula, Chiapas and, last year, we discovered a place along that route that blew us away with some of the best fresh (and I mean fresh - never frozen sweet and succulent) shrimp cocktails we have ever tasted and we are from the Alabama Gulf Coast and the Atlantic Coast of France where great seafood is commonplace. 

As you head south along coastal highway 200 from Tonalá toward Tapachula, you take the road from Acacoyagua toward the ocean to Embarcadero Las Garzas which is within the Reserva Estatal La Encrucuada which is a reserve protecting some of the largest mangrove forests on the planet with mangrove trees reaaching as high as 25 meters. It is quite a long drive from highway 200, which is fairly distant from the coast, to Embarcadero Las Garzas through largely uninteresting towns of no note but worth the trip as it is at Embarcadero Las Garzas where one take a launch through the very impressive mangrove forests traveling about lagoons to the beaches on the ocean where one can find beachfront accomodations. Now, this thread is about eating, not sightseeing so this interesting thing about Embarcadero Las Garzas is, that here in this primitive boat launching port set among giant and mysterious mangroves interspersed with fishermens´ shacks and unasumming commercial establishments, we had some of the best shrimp cocktails we have ever tasted. Sweet, succulent, never frozen shrimp right out of the local lagoons served up in a shack near the embarcadero and so good that, when we head back to Chiapas this winter, that place is on our intenerary. We have been to Embarcadero Las Garzas only once and when we were there we didn´t haveethe time to take a launch to the Pacific but we intend t rectifiy that this winter. 

Nevermind the name of the seafood shack we visited as I am sure all seafood places, and there are a few, at the embarcadro are the same and if you want to know the price of a shrimp cocktail served at a mangrove port in the middle of nowhere in Chiapas, you shouldn´t be on the road in the first place.


----------



## alfaetrin (Aug 29, 2013)

Hmmm, I'm surprised that my suggestion that we only include restaurants known to be hygienic has not been well received. For me it is a crucial factor. In Acapulco, for example, we once ate in a nice looking restaurant in the old town just a block inland from the costera. The food was tasty and reasonably priced, and the restaurant had a good atmosphere. However, after leaving, I was laid low with a painful stomach bug for a week, which spoiled my enjoyment of the rest of that particular holiday.

On the other hand, when we are in Acapulco these days- and here is my next restaurant recommendation- we always visit Los Metates restaurant close to the Diana fountain. The food and service are first class, authentically Mexican through and through, a huge and varied menu, very reasonably priced and- most important of all- in our many visits there none of us has ever caught a stomach bug. I can't recommend this restaurant highly enough, for us it ticks all the boxes.

I couldn't find a website for Los Metates, but TripAdvisor has some excellent reviews of the place, including one from me!


----------



## Longford (May 25, 2012)

alfaetrin said:


> I couldn't find a website for Los Metates, but TripAdvisor has some excellent reviews of the place, including one from me!


Why not post your comments about the restaurant here, instead of directing us to a competing forum?


----------



## alfaetrin (Aug 29, 2013)

Hi Longford, happy to do so, although I'm not sure that TripAdvisor is a competing forum to this one! I just didn't want to bore people with too long winded a description of the restaurant. I thought that those who are visiting Acapulco and might be genuinely interested in more information could seek out more detailed reviews elsewhere.

Restaurante Los Metates, my TripAdvisor review:

With its central location, bustling atmosphere and wonderful Mexican food, this authentic eatery caters for Mexican and foreign tourists alike. We have dined here on many occasions over the past twenty years and have never been disappointed with the food.
Although usually busy, the service is always first class, and nothing is too much trouble for the friendly and efficient waiting staff.
The quality of the food is exceptional, with a very wide variety of dishes on offer. Whatever you order, you can be sure of food of the highest quality at a reasonable price.
Try the sopa de tortilla followed by the enchilada of your choice or, if you want something a bit spicier, go for the sopa Tlalpeña or pozole followed by mole rojo. The options are almost limitless from the wide ranging menu, which is available in English as well as Spanish.


----------



## grotton (Apr 20, 2012)

One of our favorite restaurants is Ilatina in Guadalajara. Ilatina is a quirky, trendy restaurant that serves a sort of Thai Mexican fusion. The quality of the food is always excellent and reasonably priced considering the quality and atmosphere (between 125-250 pesos.) If you are on a budget, avoid their cocktails as they are delicious, but not cheap. Ilatina is a spot in GDL to be seen so women and men tend to dress up.


----------



## citlali (Mar 4, 2013)

Grotton, do you have an address or some drirections, it sounds like a fun place to try,


----------



## grotton (Apr 20, 2012)

citlali said:


> Grotton, do you have an address or some drirections, it sounds like a fun place to try,


Here is their address and phone: Inglaterra 3128 | Col. Vallarta, Guadalajara 44220, Mexico, 01 33 3647 7774 They aren't too far from Fiesta Americana and they are right on the railroad tracks. Their sister restaurant Anitali is just down the street.


----------



## citlali (Mar 4, 2013)

Thanks!


----------



## lagoloo (Apr 12, 2011)

Many reviews I've read add a "price range" and also indicate what's included: for instance, salad, soup or dessert. There's a little Mexican restaurant in West Ajijic called Frida Azul which includes absolutely everything in the modest range of around 80 pesos for lunch.


----------



## Hound Dog (Jan 18, 2009)

_


lagoloo said:



Many reviews I've read add a "price range" and also indicate what's included: for instance, salad, soup or dessert. There's a little Mexican restaurant in West Ajijic called Frida Azul which includes absolutely everything in the modest range of around 80 pesos for lunch.

Click to expand...

_I second the vote for Frida Azul, a small and colorful outdoor eatery in West Ajijic where Frida and her mother cook up really good Mexican food at modest prices. This fun Mexican joint is within a couple of blocks of our home in that neighborhood known generally as Seis Esquinas ; a poor but enticing area also known among some as the "beehive". We have lived there for years and love the neighborhood which is adjacent to the lake for extended beach walks after comida to mitigate the fat gain whereever one may eat . The restaurant is locally famed for its chamorro but when you go there you get what they cooked that day. Doesn´t matter because everything they serve is good to delicious. Also very nice people.

To find Frida´s, drive to West Ajijic from Central Ajijic heading toward Jocotepec and they have a big sign on your left toward the lakeshore as you head west and are just leaving the Ajijic Village. The building is, as you would expect, painted in "Frida Blue" and if you miss it, when you get to Calle Rio Zula and a sign pointing toward the Danza Del Sol Hotel, turn left and immediately left again on the frontage road leading back east. Frida Azul is on the frontage road and they are open all afternoon as best I remember. A fine Mexican dining experience among amicable folks.

Lagoloo´s price range of around $80 Pesos per person sounds about right to me according to the amount of cerveza you wish to consume with your meal. Beer or wine will not be included but the place is quite inexpensive.


----------



## Hound Dog (Jan 18, 2009)

One of the things you must not miss if you travel to San Cristóbal de Las Casas, Chiapas, is tamal night every Saturday throughout the town. On Saturdays. many homes serve up tamales in huge steaming kettles from their premises starting about 6:00PM and going on for a few hours until sold out. Whole families pitch in in preparing and selling these tamales and the town is famed for supurb tamales of various kinds. Don´t expect a preponderance of the traditional fat, heavy cornbread tamales wrapped in corn husks although those are cetainly available. The best there, in my judgment, are the small tamales with chicken and pork cooked with saffron and other spices and wrapped in banana leaves which lend a special flavor to these delicious concoctions. 

If you are ever visiting San Cristóbal on a Saturday night, forget the fancy restaurant of which there are many in the city, and walk around the nearby neighborhoods seeking tamales made in private homes. It´s a gamble but most tamal vendors in private homes following this Saturday night ritual are very good at what they do as far as tamales are concerned. You can tell the homes that have tamales for sale on Saturday night by the red lanterns they hang in front of their home entrances. 

Take those tamales back to the hotel with some cold cerveza bought in a nearby aborrotes and have an incredibly cheap and delicious feast. The best in town on Saturday nights.


----------



## Isla Verde (Oct 19, 2011)

Hound Dog said:


> One of the things you must not miss if you travel to San Cristóbal de Las Casas, Chiapas, is tamal night every Saturday throughout the town. On Saturdays. many homes serve up tamales in huge steaming kettles from their premises starting about 6:00PM and going on for a few hours until sold out. Whole families pitch in in preparing and selling these tamales and the town is famed for supurb tamales of various kinds. Don´t expect a preponderance of the traditional fat, heavy cornbread tamales wrapped in corn husks although those are cetainly available. The best there, in my judgment, are the small tamales with chicken and pork cooked with saffron and other spices and wrapped in banana leaves which lend a special flavor to these delicious concoctions.
> 
> If you are ever visiting San Cristóbal on a Saturday night, forget the fancy restaurant of which there are many in the city, and walk around the nearby neighborhoods seeking tamales made in private homes. It´s a gamble but most tamal vendors in private homes following this Saturday night ritual are very good at what they do as far as tamales are concerned. You can tell the homes that have tamales for sale on Saturday night by the red lanterns they hang in front of their home entrances.
> 
> Take those tamales back to the hotel with some cold cerveza bought in a nearby aborrotes and have an incredibly cheap and delicious feast. The best in town on Saturday nights.


Mmmm, ¡tamales!, my favorite _antojito mexicano_!!


----------



## Shawndy (Nov 2, 2013)

Dante's in SJC is one of my favourites


----------



## citlali (Mar 4, 2013)

Where is SJC ? Where is Dante and what do they serve?


----------



## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

I do wish folks would not speak in initials, especially indicating geographical locations in the boonies of large countries. It is not helpful at all.


----------



## Hound Dog (Jan 18, 2009)

_


RVGRINGO said:



I do wish folks would not speak in initials, especially indicating geographical locations in the boonies of large countries. It is not helpful at all.

Click to expand...

_ A ggod point, RV. Just where the hell is SJC? When we figure out where SJC is, perhaps we can figure out where this Dantes Restaurant is if we have not lost interest altogether by then.


----------



## lagoloo (Apr 12, 2011)

I think that SJC is San Juan Cosala, the village across from the Racquet Club development way west of Ajijic.


----------



## RVGRINGO (May 16, 2007)

That is also my thought, but we are familiar with this little area. Other readers would not have a clue unless they also know our local geography. Also; there are many towns in Mexican states with the same name as a town in another state. So, it helps if the state is mentioned, as well as any other describing term or municipality; as in Ixtlahuacan de los Membrillos, Jalisco or Ajijic, Chapala, Jalisco, etc.

Now, back to the topic at hand. Later today, I will enjoy spaghetti and meat balls, possibly even better that that prepared by my Sicilian mother in law. I will have it at Pizzeria Toscana de Allesandro in Riberas del Pilar, Chapala, Jalisco. The pizza choices are many and varied, as are the salads, but I am a sucker for good pasta and equally good meatballs & sauce.


----------



## Shawndy (Nov 2, 2013)

Sorry folks.  When i posted SJC i meant San Jose del Cabo. That's the initials for the airport there. 

Dante's is an open air restaraunt that many of the locals got to when they want to celebrate a special occasion or watch a football (soccer) match. They feature most mexican delicasies but i love the ribs


----------



## makaloco (Mar 26, 2009)

Shawndy said:


> Sorry folks.  When i posted SJC i meant San Jose del Cabo. That's the initials for the airport there.


Los Cabos airport near San José del Cabo is SJD. SJC is the airport in San José, California.
Yet another reason not to use initials. ;-)


----------



## citlali (Mar 4, 2013)

This echange is funny and it demonstrate perfectly why using letters instead of the full city name is not a good idea.


----------



## citlali (Mar 4, 2013)

Any not to miss seafood restaurant in Mexico City? I bet there are quite a few and I would love to try a few of them soon.


----------



## JoanneR2 (Apr 18, 2012)

citlali said:


> Any not to miss seafood restaurant in Mexico City? I bet there are quite a few and I would love to try a few of them soon.


I really like Lampuga in La Condesa (Nuevo León), there is also one in Polanco. They do great pulpo a la parilla and I particularly like the tuna tostaditos. If you like Japanese food Tori Tori is good at here is a fantastic Japanese supermarket on San Luis Potosí a coup,e f blocks up from Insurgentes which does good fish for sushi and has an outdoor eating area.


----------



## citlali (Mar 4, 2013)

A Japanese Supermarket!! I have found heaven, boy I have to pay for extra lugagge, I am going to load up .
Thanks!!


----------



## MichelleRN (Nov 4, 2013)

Some people consider TV dinners and frozen pot pies 'good eating' and if you're one of them I've got some very bad news for you: I don't know about the rest of Mexico but the 2 major supermarket chains down the road from me (Calimax and Soriana) do not have TV dinners or frozen pot pies, we are talking horror! You will not find one TV dinner or one frozen pot pie anywhere in their store where I live.


----------



## citlali (Mar 4, 2013)

No tv dinner is a good thing in my book. There are plenty of local foreigners and Mexican who prepare food in our area and sell it if that is what you are looking for. I make everything from scratch and never go near the frozen section except in my own house so no problems there..


----------



## Longford (May 25, 2012)

There are several more well-read Mexican food/restaurant blogs on the www, and below is a sampling:

My Mexican Kitchen
GOOD FOOD IN MEXICO CITY
Mexico Cooks!
Mexico - Chowhound

And for an excellent and essential-for-expat's Spanish/English lexicon of food and ingredient terminology, try this:

http://www.rollybrook.com/lexicon.htm


----------

