Tlayudas Libres ★ 4.7
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.
Try: Tlayuda
Vendors, food trucks and stalls: the cheapest, fastest, frequently best food in Oaxaca.
Don't-miss vendors
Tlayudas Las Animas ★ 4.4
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.
Try: Tlayuda
Lechoncito de Oro ★ 4.7
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.
Try: Tacos de lechon (suckling pig)
Pasillo de Humo (Mercado 20 de Noviembre) ★ 4.6
Pasillo de Humo inside Mercado 20 de Noviembre is the smoke-alley grill where vendors over wood coals char tasajo, cecina enchilada and chorizo to order.
Try: Tasajo, cecina enchilada, chorizo
Mercado Benito Juarez chapulines row ★ 4.3
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.
Try: Chapulines
Itanoni memelas counter ★ 4.6
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.
Try: Memelas and tetelas
Memelas Dona Vale (Mercado de Abastos) ★ 4.6
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.
Try: Memelas with morita chile
Tamales oaxaquenos at Mercado Sanchez Pascuas ★ 4.3
The tamal counter inside Mercado Sanchez Pascuas runs banana-leaf tamales oaxaquenos (mole negro, amarillo, rajas) from 6am, the Oaxacan breakfast standard.
Try: Tamal de mole negro
Comedor Yolis (Mercado Sanchez Pascuas) ★ 4.0
Comedor Yolis is one of the slate of fondas inside Mercado Sanchez Pascuas (Lupita, Nelly, Chonchita), with the freshest morning memelas and tlayudas.
Try: Memelas, tlayudas, tamales
Tejate vendors at Mercado Benito Juarez ★ 4.3
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.
Try: Tejate (maize-cacao drink)
El Volador (Plaza de la Danza) ★ 4.1
El Volador in the Jardin Socrates lake plaza is one of the tejate stands serving foamed prehispanic cacao-and-maize drink with totopos by the bandstand.
Try: Tejate
Nieves Manolo ★ 4.4
Nieves Manolo on Macedonio Alcala is the 1953 stand for leche quemada, tuna and sorbete sorbets, scooped to order by the Velasco-Cuevas family generation.
Try: Nieve de leche quemada
Esquites and elotes Zocalo carts ★ 4.0
The Zocalo evening carts roll out esquites (cups of corn with mayo, queso fresco, chile) and elotes on the cob, the canonical Oaxacan plaza-evening snack.
Try: Esquites and elotes
Chocolate de agua at Mayordomo ★ 4.3
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.
Try: Chocolate de agua
Chiles de agua stuffed at Mercado 20 de Noviembre ★ 4.2
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.
Try: Chiles de agua rellenos
Empanadas de amarillo street vendors ★ 4.3
The empanada-de-amarillo vendors at Plaza Llano fold thin masa around mole amarillo with quesillo and hierba santa, the late-afternoon Oaxacan classic.
Try: Empanada de mole amarillo
Book street food in Oaxaca
Oaxaca Streets Food Tour with 14+ Tastings
Experience the real Oaxaca on this evening food tour through lively street stalls and neighbourhood kitchens. With 14+ tastings, discover the bold flavours beloved by locals.
The Mezcal Journey
Our experience is a full immersion in the mezcal culture and all the tradition that surrounds it. Transportation, agave fields, artisanal distillery, mezcal tasting & ...
Oaxaca: Taste Mole & Authentic Mexican Flavors
Explore Oaxaca’s colorful streets and markets! Taste a variety of local dishes, from handmade tlayudas to rich black mole, while learning the stories and flavors behin...
Oaxaca: Food and Markets Tour
Taste the real traditional food at Oaxaca's markets, which are some of the best places to try traditional Oaxacan cuisine. Try local Oaxacan food and traditional sweet...