Best restaurants in Merida

Mérida has much to offer visitors looking for ancient history and culture. But it is also a gourmet city, with bastions of haute cuisine and a plethora of street stalls, markets and traditional dining rooms that use regional products and traditional Mayan recipes. Here are the best restaurants in Merida.

La Chaya Maya

Ask almost anyone in Mérida for a list of their favorite restaurants and Chaya Maya will definitely be on the list. The restaurant takes its name from a spinach-like leaf that is used in traditional Yucatán dishes in Mérida. Located in a colonial house in the historic center of the city.

Calle 62 at 57, Centro Merida, Yucatan. Hours: Monday to Friday: 8am to 10pm. Reservations: 999 9284780

K’u’uk

Among the upscale line in the best restaurants in Merida, K’u’uk celebrates the gastronomic history of the Yucatán Peninsula with strange and wonderful creations, taking advantage of advanced culinary techniques in the process. A tasting menu includes a honeyless meliponin-bee honey cookie with passion fruit and cream pollen and Balcheé (a Mayan ceremonial drink made from fermented honey and pineapple), a dish of Creole suckling pig, and a ‘fake fossil’ made with ginkgo leaf, pollen, nopal cactus, seaweed and a dehydrated fish.

488, Av Rómulo Rozo, Itzimná, 97100 Mérida, Yucatan. 1.30 – 10 pm. 999 944 3377

Pola Gelato Shop

If you like ice cream, take a break at Heladeria Pola. If you are bold enough, try its “frijol con puerco” flavor only available on Mondays. They also have all kinds of unusual flavors like blue cheese and applesauce, which is very good. Don’t hesitate to ask for a taste, if only out of curiosity, they will offer it to you without any problem. For the less adventurous, there are more classic flavors that are also very tasty.

467D, Calle 55 x 62 y 64, Centro, 97000 Mérida, Yucatan. 12 – 10 pm 999 923 1107

Los Almendros

Popular for serving classic Yucatan dishes, Los Almendros is well visited and is an excellent introduction to the region’s gastronomy. The place is informal and relaxed, while the costs are reasonable. Among the most requested dishes on the menu, try the poc-chuc, which is basically grilled pork marinated in citrus, served with chunks of pink onion, vinaigrette and eggs with sausage. Los Almendros also offers daily specials. This restaurant has been in the list of the best restaurants in Merida for decades.

Rosas & Xocolate

Rosas and Xocolate is a boutique hotel with a stylish modern restaurant. The water garden and outdoor tequila bar are ideal if you want to escape the heat, while the rooftop terrace hosts live jazz in the evenings. In the restaurant, cleverly designed touches on Mexican classics are chic and subtle, a philosophy that is even applied to the aguas frescas with flavors like chaya, cucumber and lime, and kiwi with hoja santa pepper. Order the Menú Degustación, a six-course tasting menu that ends with the restaurant’s signature chocolate pie.

480, Paseo de Montejo 480, Zona Paseo Montejo, Centro, 97000 Mérida, Yucatan. 8 am – 12 am. 999 924 2992

El Apapacho

An “apapacho” is a hug, a kiss, an embrace. More than a restaurant, this is a small bohemian universe, with its patio with beautiful colored murals, a bookstore corner with engaged literature (feminist, queer, philosophy, etc.) with sofas to rest quietly and a 2nd floor which is an exhibition room. Try the chicken tecolota, bread that has been bathed in butter, with frijoles, chilaquiles, cheese, onion, lettuce and avocado.

Calle 62 354 x 41 y 43, Centro, 97000 Mérida, Yucatan. 8 am – 10 pm. 999 923 1385

Wayan’e

A brightly painted place serving Yucatán-style tortas (juicy stuffed sandwiches), tacos with chicken cutlets in poblano chili sauce, scrambled eggs with chaya, and aguas frescas, Wayan’e has long been an indispensable Mérida favorite. Go early if you want to choose from the entire menu and take a seat at the counter, which is pressed in by locals anointing their tacos with loads of habanero chile salsa. Service stops when the food runs out, usually around 2pm. This is one of the best restaurants in Merida, tacos-wise.

412, Calle 59 408, Centro, 97000 Mérida, Yuc.

Amaro

This neighborhood restaurant is located in and around a courtyard in the house where Andrés Quintana Roo, the politician who was responsible for Mexico’s Declaration of Independence in 1787, was born. The menu is extensive and includes pastas, pizzas and vegetarian dishes like curried eggplant, but traditional Yucatecan cuisine is the highlight. Amaro’s specialties include cochinita pibil and sopa de lima, a refreshing soup of shredded chicken, tomato, sweet green pepper, onion and lime juice. In the evening, take in trova acts under the flowering trees in the courtyard, highlighting the musical influence of nearby Cuba on the Yucatán Peninsula.

Calle 59 #507 Por 60 y 62, Centro, 97000 Mérida, Yuc.

Mercado Santos Degollado

Once you have exhausted the list of the best restaurants in Merida, it’s time to go local. West of the center is the second Mercado Municipal of the city. It is much smaller than its giant brother, but therefore also a lot clearer! Here, too, there is a separate section for meat, fruit and vegetables, as well as a great food area with exclusively delicious mini restaurants. Here you can feast to your heart’s content and enjoy your Mexican delicacies in a pleasant atmosphere. Also at the second Mercado Municipal we have our recommendations for you. Your first stop at this market should be Panucho Yucateca, a small taqueria with a garden in the adjacent park. You’ll get all kinds of tacos and tortas here, but your main focus has to be on one particular taco: Queso Relleno.

C. 70 s/n, Parque Santiago, Centro, 97000 Mérida, Yuc.

Mérida Yucatan