Muss Cafe ★ 4.5
Muss Cafe on Miguel Hidalgo is Aurora Tostado and Stefano De Bellis's 2019 specialty cafe, sourcing organic Finca Las Nieves beans from the Sierra Sur.
Signature drink: Pour over Finca Las Nieves
Coffee shops, bakeries with seats and the places Oaxaca lingers in over a cortado.
Where to sit and slow down
Cafe Brujula Alcala ★ 4.5
Cafe Brujula Alcala on the Andador is the founder location of the in-house Oaxacan specialty roaster, with Sierra Norte and Pluma beans roasted small-batch.
Signature drink: Filter Sierra Norte
Cafe Brujula Garcia Vigil ★ 4.4
Cafe Brujula on Garcia Vigil is the roastery branch with in-house Oaxacan beans, a small-batch Probat roaster on display and pour-overs every morning.
Signature drink: Filter coffee, beans bagged
Cafebre ★ 4.3
Cafebre on Manuel Bravo is the Centro specialty roaster pouring Mixteca Alta and Sierra Norte beans in small lots, with a Reforma second branch since 2024.
Signature drink: Pour over Mixteca Alta
Boulenc ★ 4.6
Boulenc on Porfirio Diaz is the cafe and sourdough bakery courtyard with masa-madre breads, mushroom banh mi and a sit-and-stay terrace inside an old hotel.
Signature drink: Sourdough toast and filter coffee
Marito y Moglie Cafe ★ 4.4
Marito y Moglie Cafe on Pino Suarez is the Centro pour-over and brunch room famous for Turkish eggs, ciabatta sandwiches and pastries from the in-house oven.
Signature drink: Pour-over and Turkish eggs
Santa Hierba ★ 4.3
Santa Hierba in Jalatlaco on Cinco de Mayo 505 is the plant-based cafe with vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free plates in a tropical rooftop courtyard.
Signature drink: Plant-based brunch and herbal teas
Nanita ★ 4.2
Nanita in Jalatlaco is the plant-based cafe on Ninos Heroes 312, with vegan chilaquiles, pozole verde, burritos and the slow comida corrida of the barrio.
Signature drink: Vegan chilaquiles and pozole
Pan:am Abasolo ★ 4.2
Pan:am on Abasolo is the Centro all-day cafe with chilaquiles, enchiladas suizas and a bakery counter of fresh waffles, scrambles and Oaxacan pastries.
Signature drink: Chilaquiles and waffles
Pan:am Reforma ★ 4.1
Pan:am Reforma on Belisario Dominguez is the second branch with the in-house bakery, chilaquiles and Oaxacan pastries baked fresh for the morning crowd.
Signature drink: Bakery and brunch
Suculenta ★ 4.0
Suculenta on Porfirio Diaz is Paulina Garcia and Daniel Lopez's food gallery, with jellies, edible oils and a kitchen of wild Sierra Norte mushroom plates.
Signature drink: Wild Sierra Norte mushroom plates
Comala Cafe ★ 4.0
Comala on Pino Suarez is a Centro courtyard cafe-restaurant-bar with all-day Oaxacan plates and a mezcal-leaning bar that runs to 1am most nights.
Signature drink: Mezcal-aged espresso and Oaxacan plates
Pan con Madre ★ 4.6
Pan con Madre on Quetzalcoatl is Oaxaca's sourdough pioneer (masa madre), a courtyard cafe-bakery with cardamom spirals, focaccia and a wood-fired oven.
Signature drink: Sourdough loaf and pour over
Comedor Yolis (Mercado Sanchez Pascuas) ★ 3.9
Comedor Yolis at Mercado Sanchez Pascuas is one of the slate of breakfast counters (Yolis, Lupita, Nelly, Chonchita) inside the local market on Porfirio Diaz.
Signature drink: Tejate and chocolate
El Volador (Plaza de la Danza) ★ 4.1
El Volador is one of the Plaza de la Danza tejate stands in the Jardin Socrates, where the prehispanic cacao-and-maize drink is whisked to a foam by the lake.
Signature drink: Tejate
Nieves Manolo ★ 4.4
Nieves Manolo on Macedonio Alcala is the Velasco-Cuevas family's 1953 nieves stand, with leche quemada, tuna and sorbete by the Jardin Socrates lake.
Signature drink: Nieve de leche quemada and tuna
Chocolate Mayordomo ★ 4.3
Chocolate Mayordomo on Mina and 20 de Noviembre is the 1956 Tlacolula family chocolate house, with chocolate de agua and pan de yema for dunking on demand.
Signature drink: Chocolate de agua
Mezcaloteca tasting room ★ 4.7
Mezcaloteca on Reforma is the appointment-only library tasting room with 100-plus family-producer mezcals, opened in 2010 to educate palates on traditional.
Signature drink: Mezcal flight by appointment
Hierba Dulce ★ 4.3
Hierba Dulce on Porfirio Diaz is a tranquil plant-based cafe in Centro with Oaxacan ingredients on a fully vegan menu, named after the local sweet-leaf herb.
Signature drink: Vegan plates and herbal tea