There’s a saying in Mexico: “bueno, bonita y barato” (great, beautiful and cheap). These 3B’s are essential when looking for a place to eat in order to find what the locals like to eat.
Although non specifically known for its cuisine, San Cristobal is FILLED with delicious local and international food. I spent 7 weeks in the town hanging with locals and finding out all the locally loved bars and restaurants.
This list of places has been crafted from recommendations by local people I spoke with, expats who have lived here for years, and tour guides to help you find the greatest, tastiest and cheapest local restaurants and bars in San Cristobal.
My legend: costs for a meal, drink and 10% tip (customary in Mexico)
$ – up to $150 pesos
$$ – $150-250 pesos
$$$ – $250+ pesos
Mexican Food
🌮 Comal: $
A place with some of the highest praise I heard from locals. Set up as an open kitchen and only open Thurs-Fri, this restaurant serves the most delicious soups, sopes, tetelas and more with an authentic atmosphere. Look at the 170+ positive Google reviews which mirror this sentiment. David is truly a masterchef.
Location: Diag. Independencia 82 A, Barrio de Guadalupe
🌮 Casa de Willy: $
This place was always bustling with locals and all the tourists that I have ran into that spent any time in San Cris have mentioned how much they adored (and now miss Casa de Willy). There are so many items on the menu to choose from including chilaquiles, sopa azteca, and to drink, the pozol and tascalate are recommended.
Location: Real de Guadalupe 101, Barrio de Guadalupe
🌮 Dely Quesadillas: $
A hole in the wall restaurant run by some local women who make the tortillas by hand and provide a variety of fillings to choose from. An absolute gem to those who know it.
Location: Cuauhtémoc 11, Zona Centro
🌮 El Mesón del Taco: $
Recommended by some vendors at the market, this restaurant had a line when we rocked up. A great place to eat some traditional tacos and quesadillas, and to drink some horchata.
Location: Crescencio Rosas 32, Sta Lucia
🌮 El Tacoleto: $
This place was recommended multiple times as well for their megacoletas and árabes. Someone once told me that they handmake the tortillas too. They’ve made delicious salsas to accompany the food. It truly lived up to the hype.
Location: Francisco I. Madero 24, Zona Centro
🍲 El Caldero: $$
For some of “the best soups you’ll have in your life” (according to a tour guide), El Caldero is the place to go for soup. There are two locations, but I recommend the one on Calle Ejercito Nacional, as upstairs they have the interesting cocktail bar, Ginger Lab.
Location 1: Av Insurgentes 5-A, Zona Centro
Location 2 (recommended): Calle Ejército Nacional 20, Barrio El Cerrillo (same as Ginger Lab)
🌮 Taqueria El Carrito: $
If you are willing to put your mind to the test!
This place was clearly very popular with locals. My friend and I passed one afternoon and were drawn in by the smells and the promise that the food was good based on how many locals were inside.
However, we only looked at the menu after we sat down, resulting in us needing to choose between eating tacos of cheek, eye, tongue or brain. Thankfully there was the option of cochinita pibil (pork cooked in an underground oven, local to Yucatan), however I couldn’t leave without trying the weird taco fillings. I had one surtida (mixed taco) out of respect, and it was not awful (just an interesting texture).
Location: Hermanos Domínguez 8B, Sta Lucia
Bakeries
🥖 Horno Magico: $
Often visited by locals for their bread and baked goods, I had multiple people tell me this was their favourite because of the texture and flavour.
Location: Gral. M. Utrilla 7, Zona Centro
🥖 Roots Panaderia: $
Others told me their fave was Roots, a small local bakery with fresh baked goods for all your sweet and savoury needs. Their garlic, parsley and cheese baguettes were an addiction for me, and the pizzas were great. I’m not one for sweet pastries but they looked really good.
Location: Av Diego Dugelay, Barrio de Guadalupe
Cafes
I am not a coffee drinker so I cannot attest to the brilliance of these, however these places have come highly recommended by multiple people.
☕️ Libre Café: $
A small and affordable cafe with “the best coffee in town where you’re not paying tourist prices”. The coffee is roasted in-house.
Location: Real de Guadalupe 96, Barrio de Guadalupe
☕️ Café Ka: $
Another cafe that boasts the best coffee in San Cristobal. Their coffee comes from their family plantation and they also have their homemade distilled coffee liquor.
Location: Corner of Profa. María Adelina Flores & Av Diego Dugelay 15, Barrio de Guadalupe
International Food
San Cristobal has so many expats from around the world who have found their new home here in the city, and have brought their cuisines with them.
🇹🇷 Sultan-i Yegah: $$
A Turkish restaurant with delicious food (especially the Turkish Breakfast) and stunning outdoor and indoor spaces. They also hold events most Sundays which many of the local expats go to.
Location: Calle Canadá 2, Barrio de Mexicanos
🇻🇪 Reina Pepiada: $-$$
Absolutely delicious Venezuelan food and drinks. I looove arepas, so I visited this restaurant often. They also employ people who have had to leave Venezuela so a great way to help their community.
Location: Calle Dr. José Felipe Flores 2B, Zona Centro
Drinking, Dancing, Music
💃 Sultan-i Yegah: $$
Mentioned above, this Turkish restaurant holds events most Sundays which many of the local expats go to. These events include Middle Eastern or medieval music, jamming sessions, ecstatic dance and belly dancing. Semih also hosts workshops for marbling art (known as Arte Ebru).
Location: Calle Canadá 2, Barrio de Mexicanos
🍻 Cervecería Naufragio: $$
A very popular bar with artisanal beers on tap and the most delicious pizzas and tortas. Very popular with the locals and always busy. Go on a Friday night and enjoy the lively atmosphere and live music.
Location: Flavio A. Paniagua 76, Barrio de Guadalupe
🪩 Serendipia: $
This was the coolest nightlife space I found in San Cristobal. This is where you can find old school disc jockeys spinning tunes with their vinyls. A great place for great music and cheap cocktails.
Location: Benito Juárez 2, Zona Centro
🍹 Ginger Lab: $$
One of the most interesting bars I have visited. This place is a lab – they concoct different cocktails to capture the flavours of Mexico and beyond. Yes there is an aguachiles flavoured cocktail. You can try all the cocktails before buying with their droppers. Not as visited by locals as El Caldero downstairs, but definitely not a concept to be missed.
Location: Calle Ejército Nacional 20, Barrio El Cerrillo (same as El Caldero)
A taste-testing tour of San Cristobal’s best
If you want to get your mouth busy and do some taste testing at a number of these great restaurants, I highly recommend the Food Walking Tour of San Cristobal!
Run by a group of local men, this tour is offered at 12:30pm and 4pm everyday, in both English and Spanish. It takes about 3 hours because the guides show you so many local places to eat and drink. There is also the option to do this tour on bike or scooter.
This tour is vale la pena (very worthwhile). You pay only $250 MXN and get to visit more than seven different restaurants, cafes and bars.
The tour has a great mix of local cuisine and innovative gastronomy. You will get the chance to try mole, tostadas, barbeque, soups, micheladas, pox and cafe. There are also visits to different cuisine like Thai, Indonesian, Turkish, and a bar turning the cocktail experience on its head.
I did this tour twice while I was living in San Cristobal and loved the experience. Both times I did the evening tour and at the end we all went to El Naufragio, drank beers and listened to the live music.
All the guides are great, but if you get Claudio you’ll be in for a wild and eccentric adventure, that’s for sure. Say hi from me! Enjoy, and don’t forget to tip your guide.