19 editor picks in Oaxaca.
In Oaxaca the bar means mezcal first, and the best rooms treat the spirit like wine, with single-village and single-maker pours. Sabina Sabe on 5 de Mayo and Selva Oaxaca on Macedonio Alcala in the Centro historico mix mezcal into a serious cocktail list, while Mezcaloteca on Reforma and In Situ on Vicente Guerrero run tasting-led mezcalerias. For a different tradition, Pulqueria Jalatlaco on Aldama pours pulque in Barrio de Jalatlaco.
19 cocktail bar places in Oaxaca we have eaten in, sorted by editor score. All cuisines in Oaxaca · Cocktail Bar across every city.
Drink Sabina Sabe house cocktail
Sabina Sabe on Cinco de Mayo 209 is named for Mazatec medicine woman Maria Sabina, a cocktail bar with one of the world's largest mezcal collections.
Drink Selva cocktail with mezcal, hoja santa and Oaxacan cheese
Selva on Macedonio Alcala is on the 50 Best Discovery list, a creative cocktail bar with Oaxacan-ingredient drinks and mezcals from small distilleries.
Drink Five-mezcal educational flight
Mezcaloteca on Reforma has poured by appointment since 2010: small-batch mezcals from family producers, agave cooked in earthen ovens, no chemicals used.
Drink Ulises Torrentera-curated flight
In Situ on Vicente Guerrero is Ulises Torrentera's mezcaleria with 180-plus mezcals and the author often behind the bar pouring on his own flights all night.
Drink El Jolgorio Tobala flight
Mezcalogia on Garcia Vigil is the Casa Cortes family's El Jolgorio and Nuestra Soledad mezcaleria, with a kitchen of Oaxacan plates and 200-bottle cocktails.
Drink Wild-agave mezcal flight
Cuish on Diaz Ordaz is Felix Hernandez Monterrosa's mezcaleria since 2009, with wild-agave mezcals downstairs and a small art and live-music room upstairs.
Drink Mezcal de pechuga
La Casa del Mezcal on Flores Magon is the 1935 cantina behind Mercado Benito Juarez, with a long mezcal counter and old-cantina feel in central Centro.
Drink Neta Spirits flight
Neta Tasting Room on Cinco de Mayo 506 in Jalatlaco is the official Neta Spirits showroom, with mezcal flights, small plates and barrio-evening rhythm.
Drink Mezcal cocktail and craft beer
Comala on Pino Suarez is a Centro courtyard restaurant-bar with all-day Oaxacan plates and a mezcal-and-cocktail bar that runs to 1am most nights of the week.
Drink Oaxacan stout
Oaxaca Brewing Co on Tinoco y Palacios is the city's flagship craft taproom from two Baja-California-trained brothers, with stouts, IPAs, fruit ales.
Drink Pulque-cerveza and IPAs
Oaxaco Cerveceria on Allende is a small Centro taproom with house IPAs, pulque-cerveza and a wood-fired pizza kitchen, run by a husband-and-wife team.
Drink Mezcal pairing
El Destilado on Cinco de Mayo runs a long mezcal and Mexican-sake pairing alongside the tasting menu, with one of Oaxaca's deepest fermented-drink lists.
Drink Mezcalarita
La Mezcalerita on Macedonio Alcala is a small mezcal-cocktail room near Plaza de la Soledad with a strong mezcal-cocktail menu and craft beer.
Drink Los Amantes mezcal flight
Los Amantes on Macedonio Alcala is the mezcaleria from one of the city's older mezcal brands, with a poetry-and-cocktail program in a small Andador room.
Drink Los Danzantes mezcal flight
Los Danzantes runs an in-house mezcal bar program from its distillery, pouring single-village mezcals (Santiago Matatlan) alongside the restaurant menu.
Drink Mezcal sour
Casa Oaxaca Cafe on Garcia Vigil 407 is Alejandro Ruiz's casual second room, a daytime cafe with mezcal sours and Casa Oaxaca classics at half the price.
Drink Pulque curado de tuna
Pulqueria Jalatlaco on Aldama serves traditional pulques and curados (tuna, mango, apio) with a small botana, the most local-feeling drink room in the barrio.
Try Mezcal cocktails
Sabina Sabe on Cinco de Mayo 209 runs until midnight most nights as a 50-Best-Discovery cocktail bar named for Maria Sabina, with multiple drinking rooms.
