Cheap Eats in Oaxaca

Itanoni Flor del Maiz

• ★ 4.7
• Mexican
• $
• Reforma

Itanoni on Belisario Dominguez is Amado Ramirez Leyva and Gabriela Fernandez Orantes's criollo-corn tortilleria since 2001, a room that nixtamalizes rainbow.

Boulenc

• ★ 4.7
• Bakery
• $
• Centro Historico

Order Sourdough country loaf

Boulenc on Porfirio Diaz is Oaxaca's masa-madre flagship, with a stone-mill country loaf, cardamom spirals and a vegan-marked menu in a hotel courtyard.

Mezcaloteca tasting room

• ★ 4.7
• Café
• $
• Centro Historico

Drink Mezcal flight by appointment

The Mezcaloteca tasting room on Reforma pours guided flights by reservation, a seated run through single-batch agave spirits from maestros mezcaleros.

Tlayudas Libres

• ★ 4.7
• Street food
• $
• Centro Historico

Try Tlayuda

Tlayudas Libres on Calle de Los Libres is Oaxaca's canonical late-night tlayuda stand, with cooking fires on the street and tasajo, chorizo and quesillo.

Lechoncito de Oro

• ★ 4.7
• Street food
• $
• Centro Historico

Try Tacos de lechon (suckling pig)

Lechoncito de Oro on Calle de Los Libres is Oaxaca's most famous lechon stand, with suckling-pig tacos, tostadas and tortas with pierna or chicharron.

Pan con Madre

• ★ 4.6
• Bakery
• $
• Centro Historico

Order Cardamom spiral

Pan con Madre on Quetzalcoatl is Oaxaca's sourdough pioneer, an open-kitchen bakery with cardamom spirals, focaccia and dulce-de-leche rolls on the counter.

Pasillo de Humo (Mercado 20 de Noviembre)

• ★ 4.6
• Mexican
• $
• Centro Historico

Try Tasajo, cecina, chorizo

Pasillo de Humo inside Mercado 20 de Noviembre runs charcoal-grilled tasajo, cecina and chorizo by the half-kilo from a dozen stands, 80-150 pesos a plate.

Itanoni memelas counter

• ★ 4.6
• Street food
• $
• Reforma

Try Memelas and tetelas

Itanoni's outdoor comal in Reforma sells memelas, tetelas and tlayudas hot off the wood-fired griddle with criollo-corn masa stone-ground in-house since 2001.

Memelas Dona Vale (Mercado de Abastos)

• ★ 4.6
• Street food
• $
• Centro Historico

Try Memelas with morita chile

Memelas Dona Vale at Mercado de Abastos is the famous comal counter with thick masa memelas topped with morita-chile sauce, asiento (pork lard) and quesillo.

Pasillo de Humo

• ★ 4.6
• Mexican
• $
• Centro Historico

Try Tasajo, cecina, chorizo

Pasillo de Humo inside Mercado 20 de Noviembre runs charcoal-grilled tasajo, cecina and chorizo by the half-kilo from a dozen stands, 80-150 pesos a plate.

Memelas Dona Vale

• ★ 4.6
• Brunch
• $
• Centro Historico

Try Memelas with morita chile

Memelas Dona Vale at Mercado de Abastos charges 15-30 pesos per memela with morita-chile sauce, asiento and quesillo on the comal, the budget breakfast.

Muss Cafe

• ★ 4.5
• Café
• $
• Centro Historico

Drink Pour over Finca Las Nieves

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.

Cafe Brujula Alcala

• ★ 4.5
• Café
• $
• Centro Historico

Drink Filter Sierra Norte

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.

Itanoni

• ★ 4.5
• Mexican
• $
• Reforma

Try Memelas, tetelas

Itanoni in Reforma charges 25-70 pesos for criollo-corn memelas and tetelas off the wood-fired comal, the best price-quality for traditional Oaxacan masa.

Cafe Brujula Garcia Vigil

• ★ 4.4
• Café
• $
• Centro Historico

Drink Filter coffee, beans bagged

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.

Marito y Moglie Cafe

• ★ 4.4
• Café
• $
• Centro Historico

Drink Pour-over and Turkish eggs

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.

Nieves Manolo

• ★ 4.4
• Café
• $
• Centro Historico

Drink Nieve de leche quemada and tuna

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.

Tlayudas Las Animas

• ★ 4.4
• Street food
• $
• Centro Historico

Try Tlayuda

Tlayudas Las Animas on Mariano Matamoros is the Thursday-to-Saturday-only tlayuda stand near Carmen Alto, a quieter neighbour to the Libres counter nearby.

Chocolate Mayordomo (Mina)

• ★ 4.3
• Bakery
• $
• Centro Historico

Order Chocolate de agua

Chocolate Mayordomo Mina is the 1956 family chocolate house from Tlacolula, with cacao milled to order, drinking-chocolate tablets and pan de yema on offer.

Cafebre

• ★ 4.3
• Café
• $
• Centro Historico

Drink Pour over Mixteca Alta

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.

Santa Hierba

• ★ 4.3
• Café
• $
• Jalatlaco

Drink Plant-based brunch and herbal teas

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.

Chocolate Mayordomo

• ★ 4.3
• Café
• $
• Centro Historico

Drink Chocolate de agua

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.

Hierba Dulce

• ★ 4.3
• Café
• $
• Centro Historico

Drink Vegan plates and herbal tea

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.

Mercado Benito Juarez chapulines row

• ★ 4.3
• Street food
• $
• Centro Historico

Try Chapulines

The chapulines row outside Mercado Benito Juarez on Miguel Cabrera lines a dozen vendors selling grasshoppers fried with garlic, salt and chile to take home.

Tamales oaxaquenos at Mercado Sanchez Pascuas

• ★ 4.3
• Street food
• $
• Centro Historico

Try Tamal de mole negro

The tamal counter inside Mercado Sanchez Pascuas runs banana-leaf tamales oaxaquenos (mole negro, amarillo, rajas) from 6am, the Oaxacan breakfast standard.

Tejate vendors at Mercado Benito Juarez

• ★ 4.3
• Street food
• $
• Centro Historico

Try Tejate (maize-cacao drink)

Tejate stalls at Mercado Benito Juarez whisk the maize, cacao, mamey seed and cacao flower into a foamed prehispanic drink, served cold from gourd bowls.

Chocolate de agua at Mayordomo

• ★ 4.3
• Street food
• $
• Centro Historico

Try Chocolate de agua

Chocolate Mayordomo's counter on Mina mills cacao on demand and pours chocolate de agua (water-mixed) into ceramic mugs with pan de yema for dunking.

Empanadas de amarillo street vendors

• ★ 4.3
• Street food
• $
• Centro Historico

Try Empanada de mole amarillo

The empanada-de-amarillo vendors at Plaza Llano fold thin masa around mole amarillo with quesillo and hierba santa, the late-afternoon Oaxacan classic.

Empanadas del Carmen Alto

• ★ 4.3
• Mexican
• $
• Centro Historico

Try Empanada de mole amarillo

Oaxacan empanada stall on Jesus Carranza, Centro, Oaxaca. Mole amarillo, hoja santa and shredded-chicken empanadas on a comal; under MXN $40.

Tamales oaxaquenos (Mercado Sanchez Pascuas)

• ★ 4.3
• Mexican
• $
• Centro Historico

Try Tamal de mole negro

The tamal counters inside Mercado Sanchez Pascuas charge 20-30 pesos for a banana-leaf tamal oaxaqueno (mole negro, amarillo, rajas) from 06:00 each morning.

Pan:am

• ★ 4.2
• Bakery
• $
• Centro Historico

Order Pan dulce platter

Pan:am on Abasolo bakes housemade bread and pastries each morning, paired with a breakfast room serving chilaquiles, waffles and pan dulce platters.

Chocolate Mayordomo (Mercado 20 de Noviembre)

• ★ 4.2
• Bakery
• $
• Centro Historico

Order Cacao tablet

Chocolate Mayordomo's Mercado 20 de Noviembre stall (Casetas 21-23) is the in-market branch of the 1956 chocolate house, milling cacao on demand and bagging.

Mercado 20 de Noviembre pan dulce row

• ★ 4.2
• Bakery
• $
• Centro Historico

Order Pan de muerto in October

Mercado 20 de Noviembre's pan dulce row runs the southwest aisle, with conchas, pan de yema and pan de muerto every October from a dozen Oaxacan home bakers.

Nanita

• ★ 4.2
• Café
• $
• Jalatlaco

Drink Vegan chilaquiles and pozole

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.

Pan:am Abasolo

• ★ 4.2
• Café
• $
• Centro Historico

Drink Chilaquiles and waffles

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.

Chiles de agua stuffed at Mercado 20 de Noviembre

• ★ 4.2
• Street food
• $
• Centro Historico

Try Chiles de agua rellenos

The comedor counters at Mercado 20 de Noviembre stuff chiles de agua (a milder Oaxaca-only chile) with quesillo and serve them fried in a tomato-garlic broth.

Cabuche (comida corrida)

• ★ 4.2
• Mexican
• $
• Centro Historico

Try Two-course set lunch

Cabuche on Hidalgo runs a 100-peso comida corrida lunch (two dishes, fresh fruit-water and coffee), the best-value full-table Oaxacan meal in Centro.

Tejate at Mercado Benito Juarez

• ★ 4.2
• Mexican
• $
• Centro Historico

Try Tejate (cacao-maize drink)

Tejate vendors at Mercado Benito Juarez charge 20-40 pesos for a gourd bowl of foamed prehispanic maize-cacao drink, the budget Oaxacan refreshment standard.

Chocolate Mayordomo (chocolate de agua)

• ★ 4.2
• Mexican
• $
• Centro Historico

Try Chocolate de agua

Chocolate Mayordomo on Mina charges 25-45 pesos for chocolate de agua in a ceramic mug, with pan de yema for dunking on the side for an extra 10 pesos.

El Volador tejate counter

• ★ 4.1
• Bakery
• $
• Centro Historico

Order Tejate

El Volador in the Jardin Socrates pours tejate, the prehispanic maize-and-cacao drink declared Oaxacan cultural heritage in 2023, with totopos on the side.