Best Restaurants in Guanajuato Mexico

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For such a small city, there are tons of fantastic restaurants in Guanajuato Mexico that totally blew me away.

Whether you’re looking for traditional Mexican fare or something a little bit more international, there are plenty of places around Guanajuato to keep you full (and caffeinated and perhaps a little bit tipsy, too!).

I was visiting Guanajuato as part of a Spanish immersion tour and it included a lot of these restaurants. I also checked out some of them on my own.

Best Cafes in Guanajuato Mexico

Cafe Conquistador

Positos 35, Zona Centro

Hours: Daily 8am-11pm, until 10pm on Sundays

Cafe Conquistador is roasting up some of the best coffee beans I’ve had in Mexico. You can head into their larger branch to see some of the roasting in action and to have a cup of freshly made coffee. You can also buy the beans.

There is a smaller shop where you can buy beans and a cup of coffee as well, but there isn’t really any seating, so it’s a good spot if you only want to have a take-away cup. 

Cafe Tal

Temescuitate 1 4, Zona Centro

Hours: Monday-Friday 7am-midnight, Weekends 8am-midnight

This is another great coffee roasters in Guanajuato. There are a few locations around the suburbs and I enjoyed the beans that I bought from them. I believe the above-listed address is the most centrally located branch.

Biga Pan Artesanal

Nueva Ayuntamiento 1, Zona Centro

Hours: Tuesday to Saturday 10am-8pm, Closed Sundays & Mondays

While this isn’t really a cafe, it is the best place in town to get good bread and more luxurious pastries. If you want to have a nice breakfast or you want the best bread in town, be sure to grab a roll of sourdough from here. 

They also make and jar their own jams and sauces that are really great and have unique flavors using local ingredients whenever possible.

Cafe Carcamanes

Plazuela de Callejon de Carcamanes 8

Hours: Monday to Saturday 8:30am-10pm, closed Sundays

This is av great little coffee spot which also happens to be in the same building as a really fantastic mezcal bar. But let’s start with coffee in the morning, shall we?

The coffee here is strong and has a wonderful taste. I particularly enjoyed their espresso, but they also have Americanos, lattes, and cortados, too. 

In addition to coffee, this is a great place to have breakfast. They have a full breakfast menu with tons of healthy options as well as classic Mexican breakfast options and even some pancakes (called hotcakes here in Mexico).

The outdoor patio seating area is perfect on a cool sunny morning.

Best Bars in Guanajuato Mexico

Metate y Salmiana

Positos 79, Zona Centro

Hours: Monday-Saturday 4pm-midnight, closed Sundays

This is a sort of restaurant and bar combo. The upstairs area is Salmiana and the downstairs is Metate. Upstairs is where to head if you want to try all different types of agave drinks and only want a few different bar snack options.

If you want to eat really delicious tacos, head to Metate on the first floor. It still has a nice bar vibe and there are plenty of drinks options, but there is also slightly more of a restaurant vibe. 

The menu at Metate allows you to pay 150 Pesos per person and eat all the tacos and appetizers that you want. It is a really great option for both meat-lovers and vegetarians and vegans. They have really delicious mushroom and huitlacoche tacos. They also have slow-roasted pork and confit duck tacos. 

Some of the starters on the menu that you can have unlimited access and that I really loved include guacamole, fried chickpeas with a delicious salt rub on the outside, and elotes (Mexican street corn).

Ocazzo

Positos 37-43, Zona Centro

Hours: Tuesday-Sunday 11am-11pm, closed Mondays

I loved this little bar so much I went back a few times. I have never had pulque as good as the pulque at this bar, and I’ve tried a lot of pulque. The places where I’ve had this thick alcoholic agave drink here in Mexico City have always been a disappointment.

This one, on the other hand, is a lovely light texture and very tasty. They also have flavored pulques which change daily. Those are also very delicious and they are all very reasonably priced at under 40 Pesos for a full glass.

Best Street Food Restaurants in Guanajuato Mexico

Fuente de Baratillo

Nueva Ayuntamiento 2, Zona Centro

This little plaza has a few cute shops, but if you’re on the hunt for street food, this is where you want to come for pretty much everything.

The tamales here are absolutely delicious, especially the savory ones. 

I tried the cheese and jalapeño and there were also a few with chicken and mole. The texture of the tamal was perfection: moist but still firm and it was filled to the max with cheese and sauce (I hate when there isn’t much filling in a tamal!).

They also have sweet tamales like strawberry, piloncillo (raw sugar cane) or cinnamon. I didn’t love the strawberry, but would definitely be open to trying other sweet flavors they had. Again, it was packed with filling and the texture was perfection.

To the left of the tamal woman, you’ll find some seriously great guisado tacos. This taco stand, which is right across from Los Campos restaurant, is a great place for breakfast. Yes, tacos for breakfast.

They are usually open from about 8 am until they run out (which is usually around 2pm). The tinga is my personal favorite, shredded chicken with chipotle salsa, however, you can’t go wrong with any of the options they have listed.

There’s a small sign above the shop that says Gorditas “Andrea” with a list of all of the fillings that they offer. I found two gorditas to be just the right amount.

At night, head to the corner of Callejon de Cabecita in this little square for amazing late-night tacos. The taco stand is called Don Geras and their bistec and campechano tacos might just be the best I’ve ever had in Mexico.

CarnitaSam

Interior del Mercado Hidalgo, Avenida Benito Juarez, Centro

There are a few locations of this famous Guanajuato carnitas spot, but the one that I loved the most was located inside Mercado Hidalgo. There are actually tons of great places to eat Mexican street food inside this market, but this one can’t be missed.

Grab a few mestizo tacos, which is all the white meat or ask for surtido if you want all parts of the pig (the skin is confited and truly like butter). The salsas pair perfectly with it.

Guacamayas

Interior del Mercado Hidalgo, Avenida Benito Juarez, Centro

This isn’t exactly the name of a stand, but if you see CarnitaSam, look directly across from the stand and you’ll see orange signs that say Guacamayas. These are a type of torta that are local to Guanajuato and they are meaty and delicious. 

I don’t recommend trying to have both guacayamas and carnitas tacos for the same lunch unless you’re really really hungry. But they are really delicious and definitely worth checking out.

Guacamayas are made with chicharron (pork crackling), lettuce, tomato, avocado, sometimes cheese, and a heavy dose of spicy salsa. It’s messy and will likely fall apart as you eat it, but it is worth the sauce dripping down your arm.

Alonso Market

Calle de Alonso 22, Zona Centro

This little food hall in the downtown area of the city doesn’t look like much from either the outside or the inside, but it has one of the best tortas I’ve ever had.

They have a few different menus for the different stalls, but the waiters take your order for any of them, so you don’t have to worry about going up to different stalls for every individual dish you want.

There are stalls making meat tacos, delicious tortas, burgers, as well as seafood tacos and tostadas. They also have beer, which seems to be something not many taco restaurants around Guanajuato have. I highly recommend checking this out one evening.

Mercado Embajadores

Embajadoras 26, Zona Centro

This is a really great place to go for breakfast. There are little stalls all over the insde of the market everyday where you can have traditional guisados (stews) inside tacos or gorditas. The gorditas are grilled on the comal (flat top over fire) and then sliced open and filled with whatever you want.

There are meat and vegetarian/vegan options. I had the blood sausage (rellena), but this wasn’t my favorite place for it. I recommend trying the chicharron if you like meat, or the huitlacoche if you want a veggie option.

Taqueria Chela y Chuchita

Calle de Alonso 27, Zona Centro

Hours: Monday-Saturday 11am-midnight, Sundays 5pm-11pm

I had never had a chuchita before, but I really loved it. It’s basically like a quesadilla, but packed full of meat and instead of using Oaxaca cheese, they fill it with queso fundido (like a melted cheese sauce). 

In addition to a few chuchita options, they also have tons of tacos, quesadillas, and vegetarian options, too. 

When I visited, they were still waiting on their liquor license, so although chela is in the name, it’s not on the menu. They did say that I could BYO if I wanted.

Best Restaurants in Guanajuato Mexico

There are tons of great restaurants in Guanajuato Mexico, but these are the ones that I would revisit over and over again. 

Truco 7

Del Truco 7, Zona Centro,

Hours: Daily 8:30am-11pm

This restaurant tops all of the lists for best restaurants in Guanajuato and after visiting I can see why. The restaurant is enormous, so there’s always a table available, even for large groups. It’s also very affordable with most dishes costing well under 150 pesos. 

The menu is large enough with options for vegetarians, vegans, gluten intolerant people, and meat lovers alike. They make great guacamole and I had the steak with a side salad and refried beans. Most main dishes are served with tortillas, too. You definitely won’t leave this place hungry.

Casa Ofelia

Del Truco 11, Zona Centro

Hours: Daily 8am-11pm

Right next door to Truco 7 is a restaurant I liked even more. Similarly, this is a menu full of Mexican classics like chile relleno, sopa Azteca, echiladas, and chilaquiles.

They also have healthy soups and salads and some of the best guacamole I’ve ever had (we were on something of a guacamole tour while eating in Guanajuato).

The interior is really interesting and each wall seems to have a different theme. The desserts and housemade drinks are also really delicious here.

Cafe Bossanova

San Fernando 153, Zona Centro

Hours: Daily 10am-11:30pm

If you want a light lunch or feel like something a little bit more international, Cafe Bossanova makes seriously delicious crepes (and guacamole!). I had the vegetarian crepe with spinach, cheese, and mushrooms and it was delicious.

They serve every dish with a nice spicy salsa and chile oil to drop onto things. I also like the fact that you can sit outside in the square and enjoy the sunshine, listen to music from local buskers, and people watch while you eat.

Los Huacales

Subida de San José 2-17, Alameda

Hours: Tuesday-Sunday 9am-8pm, closed Mondays

This is a perfect spot for lunch. They have a huge menu of all types of freshly made corn-dishes like tacos, huaraches, and quesadillas with all types of toppings. They have a huge selection for vegetarians, but also plenty of meat options, too.

I liked this restaurant because nothing was too heavy or greasy. The quesadillas were cooked in a flat-top grill so they were crunchy on the outside but nice and juicy and cheesy on the inside. I had a rich and delicious soup as well that I really enjoyed.

Frida’s

Calle de la Galarza 76

Frida’s is my absolute favorite restaurant in Guanajuato for breakfast. If you don’t want to have guisado tacos from the market or Fuente de Baratillo, then this is the place to go. 

They make amazing coffee and huge plates of chilaquiles. I highly recommend the chilaquiles with salsa verde and their seriously juicy arrachera steak.

For something lighter, they always seem to have a deal on 2-for-1 omelets. 

Los Campos

Plaza Baratillo, De La Alameda 4a, Centro

Hours: Tuesday-Sunday 2pm-10pm, closed Mondays

This was 100% my absolute favorite restaurant in Guanajuato. Los Campos is a little cave-like restaurant and they are making some of the most creative and delicious modern Mexican dishes while still remaining very affordable. 

I had the pork chop al pastor style. It was an enormous piece of meat with amazing seasoning, a delicious sauce, and a perfectly grilled pineapple beneath it. 

I also highly recommend their margaritas. It’s the tastiest one I’ve had in a very long time.

Be sure to finish off your meal with their desserts. When a friend of mine recommended this restaurant to me, she proclaimed it was the best dessert that she’d ever had in Mexico (and she lives in restaurant-rich Mexico City!). My friends and I ordered one of each of the desserts and I think she may have been right.

The desserts change on a regular basis depending on season and ingredient availability, but we had a chocolate tart, a chocolate pana cotta, and a caramel tart with an herb ice cream that was the best thing I’ve ever tasted.

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