Eat in Reforma, Oaxaca

Yu Ne Nisa ★ 4.4

Yu Ne Nisa (Land and Water in Zapotec) on Amapolas runs Ofelia Jimenez's Istmo cooking in a quiet Reforma residential strip, with cocina de autor.

Signature: Totopos istmenos, Chile relleno de marlin

La Teca ★ 4.5

La Teca in Reforma is Deyanira Aquino Pineda's 30-year Istmo institution, a five-table room where garnachas and tamales arrive on banana leaves.

Signature: Garnachas istmenas, Tamales de mole tehuano, Estofado

Itanoni Flor del Maiz ★ 4.7

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

Signature: Memelas de criollo, Tetelas de frijol, Tlayuda con asiento

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

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

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

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

Consejo Cervecero ★ 4.0

Consejo Cervecero is the Reforma taproom with a rotating lineup of Mexican craft beers, IPAs and stouts on a 12-tap wall and a snack-board program.

Santisima Flor de Lupulo ★ 3.8

Santisima Flor de Lupulo is a small Reforma craft brewery focused on hop-forward Oaxacan IPAs and pale ales, with a Friday-Saturday taproom service.

Itanoni ★ 4.5

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.

Try: Memelas, tetelas

Yu Ne Nisa ★ 4.4

Yu Ne Nisa in Reforma is the under-the-radar Istmeno-Zapotec room on Amapolas, with totopos istmenos and chile rellenos de marlin in a quiet street.

Why locals love it: A 20-minute taxi from Centro into Reforma residential blocks where few tourists go, Istmeno cooking with depth.

Tip: Take a taxi, the address is hard to spot from the corner of Amapolas and Coniraya.

La Teca ★ 4.6

La Teca in Reforma is Deyanira Aquino's home-kitchen Istmo room with five tables, no sign and 30 years of garnachas-on-banana-leaf cooking unchanged.

Why locals love it: Five tables in a Reforma residential street; no sign, no website; you knock at the door.

Tip: Book by phone the day before (951 515 0563); lunch only, 14:00 to 16:30.

Pan:am Reforma ★ 4.1

Pan:am Reforma on Belisario Dominguez is the leafier branch, with in-house bakery, chilaquiles, omelettes and a brunch terrace for the slow mornings.

Order: Bakery basket with chilaquiles verdes

Itanoni ★ 4.6

Itanoni in Reforma serves the Oaxacan breakfast canon from 07:00 daily: memelas with frijol, tetelas with hierba santa and a chocolate or atole de granillo.

Order: Memelas with frijol and quesillo, atole