More Beauty in Oaxaca, Mexico – and Our Recommendations for You
In January 2020, just weeks before the pandemic lockdown, Charlie and I journeyed to Oaxaca, Mexico. If you haven’t read Part One of our travelogue, you missed our recommendation for a stellar food tour and photos of our visit to a mezcal palenque. Check it out and come back!
Try the Many Variations of Mezcal
During our visit to Emigdio’s palenque with Mezcal Vago, he generously shared his spirits with us and also allowed us to purchase from him directly. (He siphoned it out of tanks with a hose and sent us home with plastic water bottles full. I love it.) We then visited Vago’s tasting room back in Ciudad de Oaxaca, where we were fascinated by the incredible variations in flavors distilled from the many different types of agave plants.
Of the many reasons to visit Oaxaca, if you’re a mezcal lover, this one is the best: nowhere else in the world can expose you to more versions of spirits from agave. Dozens of varieties of mageuy, both cultivated and wild, are on display in the bottles you’ll find in Oaxaca.
Our Tasting Room Recommendations
Make no mistake, any restaurant you enter will have mezcal by the glass and cocktails, too. We talk more later about our eatery recs, and we certainly recommend you take advantage of the creative bartending happening in the city whenever you dine out.
But if you want a bottle for your Airbnb, or three or four to take home, we suggest you try some flights at these excellent tasting rooms.
La Mezcaloteca
Reforma 506, across from the botanical gardens and down the street from Casa Oaxaca
website and reservations
This cozy sliver of a tasting room is packed full of bottles and knowledge — the bartenders have a wealth of information about types of agave, distillation processes and regional varieties. Make a reservation (I believe they are required) and plan to take your time. Your bartender will likely ask you to describe what else you like to drink — beer, wine, spirits — and from your answer he will customize flights for each person in your party.
Our insight: the door stays locked, so when you arrive, find the buzzer and they’ll let you in. ALSO, don’t make the mistake we did and drink all your samples then try to enjoy a lovely dinner at the famed Casa Oaxaca. 🙂
In Situ Mezcaleria
Morelos #511 Centro – Ruta Independencia, a few blocks from the Zócalo
website
The truth is, we didn’t enjoy In Situ nearly as much as our tasting experience at Mezcaloteca; the service was courteous but impersonal. Still, this spot is worth visiting especially if you’re confident enough to make your own selections. The menu is extensive and varied, and we didn’t leave empty handed. Plus, the walls are covered with excellent examples of the graphic arts found throughout the city.
Our insight: consider making this stop after you’ve learned a thing or two from La Mezcolateca or a mezcal tour. It’s an easy detour during an afternoon of wandering El Centro or after surviving the gauntlet of the zócalo.
La Mezcaloteca labels its own bottles (right), and is thorough in listing all the data you need to understand the mezcal inside. Its bartenders (center) will show you botanical drawings of the agave varieties and maps of where they’re grown. But worthy bottles abound, and you can find tasty spirits to try all over the city center and beyond.
Mole is Just the Beginning
Oaxaca is famous for its seven moles, but attempting to count the real number of variations of this thick, spicy sauce may prove as fruitless as trying to resist sampling them all.
Chefs and street vendors across Oaxaca all have their own personal favorite recipes, many handed down for generations. Mole is a quintessential Mexican wonder, a carefully balanced medley of some combination of peppers, nuts, spices, fruits, herbs and yes, sometimes but not always, chocolate.
We definitely intended to try as many moles as possible during our week’s stay in the city, not a particularly difficult feat and one that took us to several restaurants that we can confidently rank among the best in the world we’ve ever visited. Along the way we discovered a number of amazing foods that quickly become favorites: tetelas, tortillas, roasted pepitas, tlayudas, huitlacoche.
Our Oaxaca Restaurant Recommendations
Just a handful of eateries that we personally visited and can highly recommend.
<< Baltazar Tetelas & Memelas
Jesús Carranza #113, RUTA INDEPENDENCIA
I’m not sure how we stumbled across this gem around lunchtime one afternoon, but walk through the outer door and you’ll find a shady, comfortable interior courtyard and a charming staff. The food was amazing, but you know what really stuck with me? The brilliant green agua fresca, slightly sweet and bursting with flavor from fresh green lemongrass.
Casa Oaxaca el Restaurante
Constitución #104-A Centro
website
This one shows up on all the best-of lists, for good reason. It’s elegant, sophisticated and mannerly; a subdued atmosphere with a wow menu. Make reservations weeks early unless you plan to arrive early. Ask for a seat on the top floor to enjoy open air dining and a beautiful evening view.
Itanoní >>
Av Belisario Domínguez 513, Reforma
Hailed by Alice Waters as one of her favorite restaurants, this tortilleriá is out-of-the-way from the center of town but well worth the few pesos for a cab ride. Comals gather just inside the door, heating a colorful variety of organic and heirloom corn tortillas. Try a few — your server is happy to offer her suggestions — and wash them down with a simple, cold Mexican beer. Inexpensive lunch fare elevated.
Tierra del Sol Casa >>
Reforma 411, RUTA INDEPENDENCIA, Centro
website
This lovely airy restaurant serves amazing traditional Oaxacan snacks, soups and moles, but old-fashioned it is not. Each dish is graced with the elegant modernity of Chef Olga Cabrera Oropeza, and served by the most gracious and accomodating staff. Make a reservation to ensure a table on the rooftop — while we were there one evening, a birthday processions came through on the street below, complete with marmotas (giant puppets) and fireworks. I don’t exagerate when I tell you it was magical.
Boulenc
Calle Porfirio Díaz 207, RUTA INDEPENDENCIA, Centro
Having actually been to France and eaten “real” croissants, I would never have imagined Mexico to be the source of some of the absolute best pastries I’ve ever eaten. But Boulenc was so good, we made a point to stop by the bakery more than once. There’s a full-fledged café with tables but we were happy to stand in line to select from the counter, to take home or to eat standing just outside on the sidewalk. If available, you must try the almond croissant. It’s to-die-for, and better than much of what I had in Paris. 😮
<< Criollo
Calzada Madero 129
website
Oh, Criollo. Our favorite meal in Oaxaca and one of the top we’ve eaten anywhere. Its sister in Mexico City, Pujol, is considered one of the best in the world, and if that’s the case I can’t wait to make my way there one day. The funny thing about our meal there is that I can’t even tell you what we ate. It was our last night in Oaxaca, and I decided not to slip into “Instagram mode.” I took no notes and almost no photos, just immersed myself completely in the exquisite experience that began as soon as we walked in.
Seated in a courtyard, tucked into tremulous shadows while moonlight plays on trees and grasses,we were joined by only a spare few, lending an intimacy to the space and the service. Servers presented the chef’s menu in small, perfectly plated courses, paired with cocktails, beer and wine. Each seemed more beautiful and more delicious than the last, from the delicate garnishes down to the rustic, handsome clay plates. In case you can’t tell, I fell in love with Criollo. Go, and you will too.
We Welcome Your Suggestions!
These are only a few of the places we visited in Oaxaca, and our time there was limited, so we undoubtedly missed many more gems. If you’ve a Oaxacan recommendation, please share with us! We fully intend to return to the city soon, and are always open to new ideas.