Itanoni Flor del Maiz ★ 4.7
Itanoni on Belisario Dominguez is Amado Ramirez Leyva and Gabriela Fernandez Orantes's criollo-corn tortilleria since 2001, where rainbow maize lands.
Signature: Memelas, Tetelas, Tlayudas
Bistros, trattorias, taverns and neighbourhood rooms: the mid-tier places where Oaxaca actually eats.
Where to eat well, no fuss
Zandunga Sabor Istmeno ★ 4.4
Zandunga on Garcia Vigil runs Tehuantepec-isthmus food in a corner-room courtyard, with garnachas and banana-leaf tamales since 2002 on the Andador strip.
Signature: Garnachas istmenas, Tamales tehuanos
La Teca ★ 4.5
La Teca in Reforma is Deyanira Aquino Pineda's 30-year Istmo institution, a five-table room where banana-leaf tamales and garnachas arrive on enamel plates.
Signature: Garnachas istmenas, Tamales de mole tehuano
Yu Ne Nisa ★ 4.3
Yu Ne Nisa (Land and Water in Zapotec) on Amapolas runs Istmo cooking in a quiet Reforma residential strip, with cocina de autor takes on Tehuano classics.
Signature: Totopos istmenos, Chile relleno de marlin
Restaurante Catedral ★ 4.2
Restaurante Catedral one block from the cathedral runs a generous courtyard with live music nightly and a seven-moles platter on the standard menu.
Signature: Seven moles, Chile relleno, Sopa azteca
Las Quince Letras ★ 4.4
Las Quince Letras on Abasolo near Santo Domingo is Celia Florian's women-owned mole room since 1992, where the mole negro runs more than thirty ingredients.
Signature: Mole negro, Duo de moles
La Olla ★ 4.3
La Olla on Reforma is Pilar Cabrera's twenty-year converted-house room two blocks from Santo Domingo, the kitchen that built the Casa de los Sabores school.
Signature: Mole oaxaqueno, Chiles rellenos, Sopa de guias
Los Pacos ★ 4.2
Los Pacos on Abasolo with a rooftop terrace runs seven moles on one tasting board (negro, coloradito, amarillo, verde, chichilo, manchamanteles and rojo).
Signature: Seven moles tasting, Tlayuda
Cabuche ★ 4.2
Cabuche near the Zocalo is an inviting Oaxacan room with a deep pulque, mezcal and craft-beer list and a 100-peso two-course comida corrida lunch daily.
Signature: Comida corrida, Mole oaxaqueno, Pulque mezcal flight
Comala ★ 4.1
Comala on Pino Suarez is a Centro restaurant-bar with a leafy courtyard, serving Oaxacan plates from morning to 1am, with a mezcal and craft cocktail list.
Signature: Tetelas, Memelas, Mezcal cocktails
Hierba Santa Cocina Oaxaquena ★ 4.0
Hierba Santa on Independencia is a Centro Oaxacan kitchen that runs around the namesake leaf, with a mole program and a Pacific-catch second course.
Signature: Sopa de hierba santa, Pescado a la talla, Mole oaxaqueno
El Asador Vasco ★ 4.0
El Asador Vasco on the Zocalo's upper Portal de Flores is Oaxaca's long-running Spanish-Basque grill with a balcony table over the plaza for nights out.
Signature: Chuleton, Paella, Bacalao al pil-pil
El Sol y La Luna ★ 3.9
El Sol y La Luna on Pino Suarez is the Centro wood-fired pizza room with handmade pasta, a long-running Italian table at a quiet end of Cinco de Mayo.
Signature: Wood-fired pizza, Handmade pasta
Mezcalogia (kitchen) ★ 4.3
Mezcalogia on Garcia Vigil is the Casa Cortes family's El Jolgorio mezcaleria with a strong kitchen of Oaxacan plates and a 200-bottle mezcal cocktail bar.
Signature: Tlayuda, Tetelas, Mezcal cocktails
El Destilado ★ 4.5
El Destilado on Cinco de Mayo runs share-plate a la carte beyond the tasting menu, with Mexican sake, natural wine and an in-house mezcal pairing flight.
Signature: A la carte share plates, Mezcal pairing