How eating works in Mexico
Food is one of the best reasons to go to Mexico, and the gap between a great food trip and a forgettable one usually comes down to timing and where you sit. Mexico runs on a different meal schedule, the best cooking is often at a market counter or a folding table on the sidewalk, and the menu at a hotel restaurant in Cancún tells you very little about what people eat in Puebla.
Mexican cooking is regional, built on corn, chiles, beans and squash, with layers added by Spanish, Lebanese, African and Asian influences over five centuries. UNESCO lists traditional Mexican cuisine as intangible cultural heritage, and Mexicans take it personally. Asking someone where they eat on a Sunday morning is one of the best conversation starters you have.
This page covers how meals work, tacos and street food, the main regional cuisines, how to order and pay, and how to eat with dietary limits or kids. For drinks, including tequila, mezcal and whether to trust the ice, see Drinks. For where to eat in the capital, see Eating in Mexico City.
Meal times: desayuno to cena
The single most useful thing to know: the main meal of the day is in the middle of the afternoon, and dinner is light and late. Plan around that and you will eat better and spend less.
| Meal | When | What people eat |
|---|---|---|
| Desayuno (breakfast) | 7–10 am | Coffee and pan dulce, or a full plate: chilaquiles, eggs any of a dozen ways, molletes, fruit, fresh juice |
| Almuerzo (late breakfast) | 10 am–noon | In central and southern Mexico, a hearty second breakfast: tacos de guisado, tamales, tortas, weekend barbacoa. In some regions and on some menus, almuerzo simply means lunch or brunch |
| Comida (main meal) | About 2–5 pm | Soup, rice or pasta, a main dish with tortillas, a drink and dessert. Business lunches stretch past 5 pm, especially on Fridays |
| Merienda (snack) | Late afternoon | Pan dulce with coffee or hot chocolate |
| Cena (supper) | 8–10 pm or later | Something light: tacos, tamales with atole, quesadillas, a sweet roll. In big cities, a sit-down dinner at 9 pm is normal |
Different from home
Show up for lunch at noon and many restaurants will be empty or still setting up. Show up at 6 pm and the market fondas may be closing while the night taco stands have not lit their grills. Seafood restaurants (marisquerías) are a lunchtime thing, and many close by early evening.
Different foods also keep different hours. Tacos de canasta and guisado sell in the morning. Carnitas and barbacoa are mostly morning-to-midafternoon foods, and barbacoa is a weekend ritual. Al pastor stands usually start in the evening and run late. In Mérida, cochinita pibil is a Sunday morning dish, and the best stands sell out before noon.
How Mexican food differs from Tex-Mex
Tex-Mex is its own regional cuisine, born among Tejano families in Texas, and it deserves respect on its own terms. It is also different enough from what you will find in most of Mexico that it helps to reset expectations.
- Cheese is white and fresh. Instead of yellow cheddar, you get queso fresco, stringy quesillo (Oaxaca cheese), panela, aged cotija or mild Chihuahua cheese. The closest thing to a queso dip is queso fundido, melted cheese (often with chorizo) that you scoop into tortillas.
- Corn tortillas rule in the center and south. Flour tortillas belong to the north, where Sonora makes them thin and enormous.
- The crunchy U-shaped taco shell is a US invention. In Mexico, crisp means a tostada (a flat fried tortilla) or tacos dorados (rolled and fried).
- Combination plates are rare. Rice is usually its own course, and beans arrive refried or brothy from the pot (de la olla). Nobody smothers everything in sour cream; Mexican crema is thinner and tangier.
- Burritos are northern, slim, and often hold one filling. The rice-stuffed giant is Californian. Fajitas started on Texas ranches; in Mexico you order arrachera (marinated skirt steak) or alambre.
- Chili con carne is not Mexican, and heavy cumin and chili powder are Tex-Mex signatures. Nachos were invented in Piedras Negras, Coahuila, in the 1940s, but in Mexico they are bar and stadium food.
- Free chips and salsa show up at some restaurants, especially in tourist areas, but they are not a given.
If you grew up on Tex-Mex, you are not wrong to love it. Just order the local thing when you are in Mexico.
Tacos by type
A taco in Mexico is small: two or three bites on a 4-inch (10 cm) corn tortilla, often doubled, topped at the stand with onion and cilantro, then finished by you with salsa and lime. Most people order three to five. The table covers what you will see on the boards.
| Taco | What it is | When and where |
|---|---|---|
| Al pastor | Pork marinated in chile and achiote, stacked on a vertical spit (trompo) and shaved off with a sliver of pineapple. It grew out of the spit-roasted meat Lebanese immigrants brought to Puebla | Evenings, everywhere; the signature taco of Mexico City |
| Suadero | A thin beef cut confited slowly in fat on a domed griddle, tender with crisp edges | Mexico City |
| Bistec | Thin griddled steak, chopped | Everywhere |
| Carnitas | Pork simmered in lard in copper pots. Order maciza (lean), cuerito (skin), buche (stomach) or surtida (a mix) | Morning to midafternoon; Michoacán is the home state |
| Barbacoa | In central Mexico, lamb slow-cooked in a pit wrapped in maguey leaves, served with its broth (consomé). In the north, often beef head | Weekend mornings; Hidalgo and State of Mexico |
| Birria | Goat or beef stewed in a chile adobo. Tijuana-style beef birria with cheese (quesabirria) and a cup of broth for dunking is the version that swept the US | Mornings; Jalisco and Tijuana |
| De canasta | "Basket tacos," filled with potato, beans, chicharrón or adobo meat and steamed in a cloth-lined basket. Soft, cheap and filling | Mornings, sold from bicycles in Mexico City |
| De guisado | A choice of stews (chicharrón in green salsa, tinga, rajas with cream, potato with chorizo) spooned onto a tortilla, often with rice | Breakfast to midafternoon |
| De cabeza | Steamed beef head meat: lengua (tongue), cachete (cheek), maciza (lean), and for the brave ojo (eye) or sesos (brains) | Everywhere; often late night |
| Tripa | Beef intestine, ask for it bien dorada (crispy) | Mexico City, Guadalajara |
| Campechano | Two meats together, often steak and chorizo or longaniza | Everywhere |
| Carne asada | Grilled beef over mesquite or charcoal, often on flour tortillas | The north: Sonora, Nuevo León, Chihuahua |
| Cochinita pibil | Achiote-marinated pork slow-cooked in banana leaves, topped with pickled red onion | Yucatán Peninsula, mornings |
| De pescado / de camarón | Battered and fried fish or shrimp with cabbage, crema and salsas | Baja California and the Pacific coast, midday |
| Gobernador | Shrimp and melted cheese in a griddled tortilla | Sinaloa and the Pacific coast |
| Árabes | Spit-roasted pork wrapped in a pita-like flatbread with chipotle salsa | Puebla |
| Dorados / flautas | Rolled and fried, topped with lettuce, cream and cheese | Fondas and markets |
How to order at a taquería
- Say how many and what kind: "Tres de pastor, por favor." For the standard toppings say "con todo" (with everything). For no onion, "sin cebolla."
- Add salsa yourself from the bowls on the counter. Taste a drop first; the section on salsas below explains which bowls are hottest.
- Order more as you go. Nobody minds.
- Pay at the end. At most stands, you tell them what you had and they trust you: "¿Cuánto le debo?" Some busier places have you pay first at the register (caja) and hand over a ticket.
Prices have climbed fast. Averages reported in January 2026 put a suadero taco at MX$21 (about $1.15) and a taco de guisado at MX$16 (about $0.85). In Mexico City, plain street stands still start around MX$15–25 a taco, sit-down taquerías in Roma or Condesa charge MX$30–70, and celebrated spots go higher; tacos at El Califa de León, famous for its thin gaonera steak, run about MX$58–88 (about $3–4.80). Restaurant-sector inflation for fondas and taquerías was running above 8% a year in spring 2026, so expect these numbers to creep up.
Insider tip
The 2026 Michelin Guide, released in May, now covers nine regions, adding Jalisco, Puebla and Yucatán. El Califa de León in Mexico City, which became the first taco stand ever to earn a Michelin star in 2024, lost the star this year but stays on the recommended list, and La Once Mil in Mexico City became a newly starred taquería. Michelin-recommended stalls get long lines; the unlisted place two blocks away is often just as good.
Street food and how to choose
Street food is where millions of Mexicans eat breakfast, a midmorning snack or a late supper, and skipping it means missing much of the country's cooking. It also carries more risk than a restaurant kitchen. The CDC notes that food from street vendors increases the chance of getting sick, and its general rule for travelers is that food cooked fully and served hot is safest. You can lower your odds a lot by choosing well.
What to look for
- A crowd of locals, especially office workers, families and taxi drivers. High turnover means the food has not been sitting.
- Food cooked in front of you on a hot griddle, grill or fryer, and handed to you hot.
- Someone other than the cook handling cash, or a cook who uses a plastic bag or glove to take money.
- Plates wrapped in a plastic bag. It looks odd, but it means the plate itself is not being rinsed in a bucket between customers.
- Covered salsas and toppings, kept out of the sun.
- A stand that specializes. One item, done all day, usually beats a cart selling everything.
Where the risk sits
Most of the risk sits in the raw extras: chopped onion and cilantro, shredded lettuce and cabbage, cut fruit cups, creamy green salsas that sit out for hours, and anything with fresh unpasteurized cheese. CDC guidance lists raw vegetables, unpeeled fruit, unpasteurized dairy and raw or undercooked seafood as higher-risk foods where hygiene is uncertain. Ceviche and aguachile are raw seafood; lime juice changes the texture but does not make it safe the way cooking does.
A sensible approach for your first few days: eat hot cooked food, go easy on raw garnishes and creamy salsas, choose whole fruit you peel yourself, and drink only sealed bottled drinks or purified water. Clean your hands before eating; carry an alcohol-based sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol for when there is no sink.
Watch out
Tap water in Mexico is not safe to drink, according to the CDC, and many travelers use bottled water to brush their teeth too. Aguas frescas, ice and fruit washed in tap water are the usual hidden sources. Restaurants and bars in cities and resort areas generally buy ice made from purified water, but at roadside stands you can't know. Pregnant travelers should be especially careful with unpasteurized fresh cheese.
Even careful eaters sometimes get travelers' diarrhea. It usually passes in a few days. Drink plenty of fluids, and pick up an oral rehydration drink (suero oral) from any pharmacy or convenience store. CDC recommends hepatitis A vaccination for unvaccinated travelers to Mexico and typhoid vaccination for most, especially if you will eat in small towns and rural areas. Symptoms that are severe, bloody or come with a high fever need a doctor; see Health for pharmacies, clinics and what care costs.
Restaurants with a "Distintivo H" certificate on the wall have passed a food-hygiene program run by Mexico's tourism ministry with the health ministry's backing; about 5,600 were issued in 2024. It is a good sign, and plenty of excellent places don't have one.
Regional cuisines
Nearly every state has its own kitchen, with dishes you won't find two states over. These are the eight regional cuisines you are most likely to meet, with what to order in each.
Yucatán Peninsula
Maya cooking with Caribbean and Lebanese threads, built on red achiote paste, sour orange and fiery habanero. Cochinita pibil is pork marinated in achiote and sour orange, wrapped in banana leaves and slow-cooked, traditionally in a pit oven called a pib; eat it in tacos or tortas with pickled red onion. Sopa de lima is chicken or turkey broth sharpened with a local citrus called lima (a different fruit from the limes in US supermarkets), topped with crisp tortilla strips. Also try panuchos and salbutes, papadzules, poc chuc and, at night in Mérida, marquesitas. See Mérida and the Yucatán.
Oaxaca
Called the land of seven moles: negro, rojo, coloradito, amarillo, verde, chichilo and manchamantel. Mole negro, dark with chilhuacle chiles and chocolate, is the famous one, and it takes days to make well. Tlayudas are huge, thin, crisp tortillas spread with asiento (unrefined pork lard) and black bean paste, layered with quesillo, cabbage and grilled tasajo or chorizo, folded and toasted over coals; they are night food. Also look for memelas, tamales in banana leaf, chapulines (toasted grasshoppers) and tejate, a cold maize-and-cacao drink. See Oaxaca.
Puebla
Mole poblano blends several dried chiles with nuts, seeds, spices, chocolate and often bread, ladled over turkey or chicken and finished with sesame seeds. Chiles en nogada are roasted poblano chiles stuffed with meat and seasonal fruit, covered in walnut cream and pomegranate seeds, green, white and red like the flag. They are a summer dish tied to walnut and pomegranate season, served roughly July through September with a peak around Independence Day on September 16. In 2026, Puebla restaurants charged from about MX$200 to MX$900 per chile (about $11–49), and a few charged more. Also try cemitas, chalupas and tacos árabes. See Day trips.
Jalisco
Birria, goat or beef stewed in chile adobo, is Guadalajara's weekend breakfast, served in a bowl with broth or in tacos. Tortas ahogadas are crusty birote rolls stuffed with carnitas and drowned in tomato sauce and a ferocious chile de árbol sauce; ask for media ahogada (half drowned) if you are cautious. Also: pozole rojo, carne en su jugo, tejuino (a fermented corn drink) and jericalla, a custard dessert. Jalisco joined the Michelin Guide in 2026. See Guadalajara.
Baja California
Ensenada is the home of the battered fish taco, served with cabbage, crema and salsas at stands near the fish market. Baja Med, a term coined by Tijuana chef Miguel Ángel Guerrero, mixes Mexican flavors with olive oil, Mediterranean and Asian touches, and the local seafood and produce, often with Valle de Guadalupe wine. Tijuana also claims the Caesar salad (1920s) and does a great adobada taco. Further south, Baja California Sur is known for chocolate clams. See Baja Norte and Los Cabos.
Mexico City
The capital collects every regional cuisine and adds its own street food. Al pastor is the city's taco. Tlacoyos are oval cakes of (often blue) corn masa stuffed with beans, fava beans or requesón, cooked on a griddle and topped with nopales, onion, cheese and salsa; look for them outside Metro stations and markets in the morning. Also: suadero, tamales, the guajolota (a tamal inside a bread roll), quesadillas (cheese costs extra at many stands here), esquites and churros. See Eating in Mexico City.
The North
Ranch and beef country. Carne asada is a weekend social event in Monterrey and Hermosillo, grilled over mesquite and eaten on flour tortillas, which in Sonora are paper-thin and can stretch more than a foot and a half (45 cm) across. Also: machaca (dried shredded beef) scrambled with eggs, cabrito (roast kid goat) in Monterrey, burritos in Ciudad Juárez, Mennonite cheese from Chihuahua and the bacon-wrapped Sonoran hot dog. See Copper Canyon and Crossing the border.
The Pacific coast
Seafood country. Aguachile is raw shrimp in lime and chile with cucumber and red onion; pescado zarandeado is a whole butterflied fish grilled over coals; tacos gobernador and ceviche tostadas are lunchtime staples. Eat seafood at busy places, at midday, like locals do. See Puerto Vallarta and Pacific coast.
Markets, fondas and the comida corrida
Every Mexican town has a municipal market (mercado), and inside it, past the produce and the butchers, there is almost always a food section of small counters called fondas or cocinas económicas. This is where you get home cooking at local prices. Go between late morning and midafternoon; many close by 5 or 6 pm.
Markets worth planning around include Mercado 20 de Noviembre in Oaxaca City, with its smoky grilling aisle; Lucas de Gálvez and Santiago in Mérida; San Juan de Dios in Guadalajara; Coyoacán, Medellín and San Juan in Mexico City; and the fish market in Ensenada. Many towns also have a weekly street market (tianguis) on a fixed day, which is often better and cheaper still. Vendors may offer you a taste ("¿Gusta probar?"); it is fine to try and say thanks.
Types of places
- Fonda / cocina económica: small family-run spots with a set lunch.
- Taquería: tacos, from a sidewalk stand to a full restaurant.
- Tortería, lonchería: sandwiches and quick lunches.
- Cenaduría: an evening place for antojitos (masa snacks), pozole and tamales.
- Marisquería: seafood, mainly at lunch.
- Cantina: a traditional bar where many places bring free snacks (botanas) as you keep ordering drinks. See Drinks.
The comida corrida
The comida corrida (also menú del día) is a fixed-price lunch, usually served from about 1 to 5 pm, and it is the best-value meal in Mexico. A typical one runs:
- Agua del día: a pitcher or glass of fruit or flower water, such as jamaica (hibiscus) or horchata.
- Sopa: a soup, often noodle soup (sopa de fideo), a cream of vegetables or broth.
- Sopa seca: the "dry soup" course, usually red rice or pasta.
- Plato fuerte: the main, chosen from a short list of guisados such as chicken in mole, chiles rellenos, milanesa or pork in green salsa, with beans and a basket of tortillas.
- Postre: a small dessert like gelatin, flan or rice pudding.
The average price reported in January 2026 was about MX$90 (about $5), up from MX$80 a year earlier. Expect more in upscale neighborhoods and beach towns, where MX$120–150 (about $6.50–8) is common. Arrive by 2:30 pm, because the popular dishes run out.
Save money
Make the comida your big meal and keep dinner to a few tacos. A couple can eat very well this way for about MX$700 (about $38) a day, even in Mexico City. Tortillas by weight from a tortillería cost about MX$22–27 per kilo (2.2 lb), about $1.20–1.50, if you are cooking in a rental.
How to order and pay
Getting seated and served
At casual places you seat yourself; at nicer restaurants someone will meet you at the door. Reservations for popular restaurants in Mexico City, Oaxaca and the resort areas are often made through OpenTable, the restaurant's website or WhatsApp. To get a server's attention, make eye contact and raise a hand, or say "disculpe" (excuse me). Calling a young male server "joven" and a young female server "señorita" is normal and polite. Mexicans sometimes make a quick "psst" sound; leave that one to locals.
Water is not brought automatically. Ask for "agua natural" (still) or "agua mineral" (sparkling); restaurants serve bottled or purified water. Service tends to be attentive and unhurried, and nobody will push you out of your table.
Different from home
The check never arrives on its own. Bringing it before you ask would be rude, a hint that you should leave. When you are ready, say "La cuenta, por favor," or catch the server's eye and mime writing in the air.
Paying and tipping
- Tips: 10% is fine at a casual fonda; 15% is standard at sit-down restaurants and expected in tourist areas, more for great service. At taco stands and market counters, tipping is not expected, though rounding up or dropping coins in a jar is appreciated.
- Tips are voluntary by law. Profeco, the federal consumer agency, says a restaurant cannot add a tip or "service charge" to your bill without your agreement. Check for a line reading "propina" or "servicio" before you add another one.
- Tax is already in the price. Mexican law requires the displayed price to be the total, including IVA, the value-added tax (16% in most of the country). A bill that adds IVA on top is improper.
- Cards: the server brings a portable terminal to the table and usually asks how much tip to add before running the card. If the terminal offers to charge you in dollars, choose pesos; the conversion is worse. Many servers prefer the tip in cash.
- Cash: fondas, markets and stands are often cash only. Carry MX$20, 50 and 100 notes and coins; a MX$500 note can be hard to break at a stand ("¿Tiene cambio?").
- Splitting: "¿Nos puede dividir la cuenta?" works at most restaurants, and they can run several cards.
- Dollars: some restaurants in Cancún and Los Cabos quote in US dollars. Elsewhere, paying in dollars gets you a poor exchange rate.
For tipping beyond restaurants and the full picture on cards, ATMs and exchange rates, see Money. Delivery apps (Rappi, Uber Eats and DiDi Food) work in most big cities if you want to eat in.
Salsas and heat
Most dishes are mild on their own. The heat lives in the salsas, which you add yourself, so you are mostly in control.
- Salsa verde: tomatillo with serrano or jalapeño. Fresh and sharp, and sometimes hotter than the red.
- Salsa roja: tomato or dried chiles. A dark, smooth red at a taquería is often made with chile de árbol and is usually the hottest bowl on the counter.
- Pico de gallo (salsa mexicana): chopped tomato, onion, cilantro and serrano. Mild to medium, and raw.
- Guacamole or salsa de aguacate: at taquerías, often a thin, creamy avocado and green chile sauce rather than chunky guacamole.
- Salsa macha: dried chiles fried in oil, often with peanuts or sesame. Smoky, crunchy and deep.
- Xnipec: the Yucatán's habanero, onion and sour orange relish. Very hot.
- Chiles toreados: whole chiles blistered on the griddle, served on the side to bite between tacos.
Rough heat ladder, mildest first: poblano, chipotle and pasilla, jalapeño, serrano, chile de árbol, habanero. Ask "¿Pica mucho?" (is it very hot?), and know that a Mexican who says "pica poquito" (just a little) may have a very different scale from yours. To cool your mouth, reach for a tortilla, crema, cheese or a sweet horchata; water just spreads the burn.
Insider tip
Ask for salsa "aparte" (on the side) when you order chilaquiles, enchiladas or anything sauced, and say "que no pique, por favor" (please make it not spicy) for kids. Fruit from street carts comes with lime, salt and powdered chile unless you say "sin chile."
Vegetarians, vegans and gluten-free
Vegetarian
Vegetarian travelers eat well in Mexico, but you need to ask the right questions. In everyday speech, "carne" often means beef, so a waiter may honestly say a dish has no meat when it contains chicken or ham. Say "Soy vegetariano" (or vegetariana), "no como carne, ni pollo, ni pescado" (I don't eat meat, chicken or fish).
The hidden ingredients are lard (manteca) in refried beans, tamales and tlayudas, and chicken broth (caldo de pollo) in red rice and many soups. Ask "¿Lleva manteca?" and "¿Está hecho con caldo de pollo?" Good bets: quesadillas of squash blossom (flor de calabaza), huitlacoche or mushrooms; tlacoyos with fava beans or requesón; chiles rellenos de queso; enfrijoladas; nopales; esquites; and the many vegetable-based guisados at taco de guisado stands.
Vegan
Mexico City, Oaxaca, Tulum, Playa del Carmen and San Miguel de Allende have plenty of vegan restaurants and even vegan taquerías; the HappyCow app is the easiest way to find current ones. Elsewhere, beans de la olla made without lard, guacamole, nopales, corn tortillas, fresh salsas and fruit are your base, and dairy-free means asking for no cheese ("sin queso") and no cream ("sin crema").
Gluten-free and celiac
Corn tortillas are traditionally just corn cooked with mineral lime (cal), ground and mixed with water, which makes much of Mexico easier than you might expect. Still, awareness of celiac disease is lower than in the US, and cross-contact on shared griddles is common, especially in the north where flour tortillas are heated on the same surface.
- Many moles, including mole poblano, are thickened with bread or cookies.
- Empanizado means breaded; capeado means battered, as on most chiles rellenos.
- Micheladas and some marinades use Maggi seasoning, which contains wheat, or Worcestershire-style salsa inglesa, which may. Beer contains gluten too.
- Chicharrón de harina, the bright orange wheel-shaped snack, is made from wheat flour.
- Packaged tortillas sometimes contain wheat; check the label.
Carry a card in Spanish. Our Spanish phrases page has the key lines, including "Soy celíaco, no puedo comer trigo ni gluten."
Watch out
Peanuts and tree nuts turn up in moles, salsa macha, nogada sauce and many sweets. Shellfish broth can appear in soups and rice on the coast. If you have a serious allergy, carry a written note in Spanish and your epinephrine, and favor restaurants over stands, where staff know what is in the food.
Eating with kids
Mexico is easy with children. Kids eat with their families late into the evening, waiters fuss over them, and nobody blinks at a toddler at a nice restaurant on a Sunday afternoon. Ask for a high chair ("una periquera" or "silla para bebé"); chains and bigger restaurants have them, small fondas usually don't.
Kid menus are common at chains like Sanborns, Vips and Toks and at resort restaurants, less so elsewhere. Mild crowd-pleasers almost anywhere: quesadillas, molletes (beans and melted cheese on a roll), sopa de fideo, white or red rice, beans, tamales dulces, hot cakes at breakfast, churros, and corn on the cob with just butter and cheese. Order "sin chile" and check before handing over anything with salsa.
Mexican candy often contains chile, tamarind and chamoy, which many American kids find startling. Packaged foods carry black octagon warning labels such as "EXCESO AZÚCARES" (too much sugar), and those labeled for caffeine warn against giving them to children.
Children dehydrate faster than adults with travelers' diarrhea. Keep sealed water handy, wash hands before meals, and if a child gets sick, start oral rehydration drinks (sueros orales, sold in every pharmacy and convenience store) and talk to a doctor before giving anti-diarrheal medicines. See Health and, for family logistics, Travel by interest.
Seasonal foods through the year
- Late October to early November: pan de muerto, the sugar-dusted bread for Día de Muertos, fills bakeries from mid-October, along with candied pumpkin (calabaza en tacha) and the moles and tamales families set on altars. See Festivals.
- December: tamales, ponche (hot fruit punch), buñuelos, and on Christmas Eve bacalao (salt cod) and romeritos.
- January 6: rosca de reyes, a ring-shaped sweet bread. Whoever gets the tiny baby figurine hosts a tamal party on February 2, Candelaria.
- Lent and Holy Week: seafood, chiles rellenos de queso, shrimp fritters and capirotada (bread pudding).
- Spring: escamoles (ant larvae, a buttery delicacy) in central Mexico, and the start of mango season.
- Rainy season, roughly June to September: huitlacoche, wild mushrooms and fresh corn.
- July to September: chiles en nogada, and on the night of September 15, pozole for Independence Day.
Many foods can't go back across the US border, including most meats (chorizo included) and many fresh fruits. Before you pack a souvenir mole paste or cheese, check Shopping and US customs.
Menu decoder
Capital letters in the pronunciation show the stressed syllable. In Mexican Spanish, c before e or i and z both sound like s, j sounds like an English h, ll sounds like y, v sounds like b, and rr is rolled.
| Spanish | Say it | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Achiote | ah-chee-OH-teh | Brick-red annatto seed paste used in Yucatecan marinades |
| Agua del día / agua fresca | AH-gwah dehl DEE-ah | The day's fruit or flower water |
| Aguachile | ah-gwah-CHEE-leh | Raw shrimp in lime juice and chile with cucumber and onion |
| Al carbón | ahl kar-BOHN | Grilled over charcoal |
| Al mojo de ajo | ahl MOH-hoh deh AH-hoh | Cooked in lots of garlic and butter or oil |
| Alambre | ah-LAHM-breh | Chopped griddled meat with peppers, onion, bacon and melted cheese, eaten with tortillas |
| Antojitos | ahn-toh-HEE-tohs | "Little cravings": corn masa snacks such as sopes, tlacoyos and quesadillas |
| Arrachera | ah-rrah-CHEH-rah | Marinated skirt or flank steak |
| Arroz con leche | ah-RROHS kohn LEH-cheh | Rice pudding with cinnamon |
| Atole | ah-TOH-leh | Hot, thick corn drink, often vanilla, fruit or chocolate |
| Barbacoa | bar-bah-KOH-ah | Pit-cooked lamb (or beef in the north) |
| Birria | BEE-rryah | Goat or beef stewed in chile adobo |
| Bolillo | boh-LEE-yoh | Crusty white bread roll |
| Caldo | KAHL-doh | Broth or brothy soup |
| Camarones | kah-mah-ROH-nehs | Shrimp |
| Capeado | kah-peh-AH-doh | Battered and fried, often with egg and flour |
| Carnitas | kar-NEE-tahs | Pork simmered in lard |
| Cecina | seh-SEE-nah | Thin salted beef, or chile-rubbed pork (cecina enchilada) in Oaxaca |
| Ceviche | seh-BEE-cheh | Raw fish or shrimp marinated in lime with tomato, onion and cilantro |
| Chalupas | chah-LOO-pahs | Small fried tortillas topped with salsa, shredded meat and onion (Puebla) |
| Champurrado | chahm-poo-RRAH-doh | Chocolate atole |
| Chapulines | chah-poo-LEE-nehs | Toasted grasshoppers with lime and chile |
| Chicharrón | chee-chah-RROHN | Fried pork skin; "en salsa verde" means stewed soft in green salsa |
| Chilaquiles | chee-lah-KEE-lehs | Tortilla chips simmered in red or green salsa, topped with cream, cheese and onion |
| Chile relleno | CHEE-leh rreh-YEH-noh | Poblano chile stuffed with cheese or meat, battered and fried |
| Chorizo | choh-REE-soh | Spiced pork sausage, usually crumbled |
| Cochinita pibil | koh-chee-NEE-tah pee-BEEL | Achiote pork cooked in banana leaves (Yucatán) |
| Concha | KOHN-chah | Sweet roll with a shell-patterned sugar topping |
| Consomé | kohn-soh-MEH | Rich broth, especially from barbacoa or birria |
| Crema | KREH-mah | Mexican sour cream, thinner than the US kind |
| Elote | eh-LOH-teh | Corn on the cob with mayo, cheese, lime and chile |
| Empanizado | ehm-pah-nee-SAH-doh | Breaded |
| Enchiladas | ehn-chee-LAH-dahs | Tortillas dipped in chile sauce and rolled around a filling; suizas are green with cream |
| Enfrijoladas | ehn-free-hoh-LAH-dahs | Tortillas folded in a black bean sauce |
| Enmoladas | ehn-moh-LAH-dahs | Tortillas folded in mole |
| Escamoles | ehs-kah-MOH-lehs | Ant larvae sautéed in butter, a spring delicacy |
| Esquites | ehs-KEE-tehs | Corn kernels in a cup with mayo, lime, cheese and chile |
| Flautas | FLAH-oo-tahs | Long rolled fried tacos |
| Flor de calabaza | flor deh kah-lah-BAH-sah | Squash blossom |
| Frijoles de la olla | free-HOH-lehs deh lah OH-yah | Whole beans in their broth |
| Frijoles refritos | free-HOH-lehs rreh-FREE-tohs | Mashed, fried beans (often with lard) |
| Gordita | gor-DEE-tah | Thick masa pocket stuffed with fillings |
| Gringa | GREEN-gah | Al pastor and melted cheese in a flour tortilla |
| Guajolota | gwah-hoh-LOH-tah | A tamal inside a bread roll, Mexico City's breakfast on the go |
| Guisado | gee-SAH-doh | Stew, the filling for tacos de guisado |
| Horchata | or-CHAH-tah | Sweet rice and cinnamon drink |
| Huarache | wah-RAH-cheh | Long, sandal-shaped masa base with toppings |
| Huevos divorciados | WEH-bohs dee-bor-SYAH-dohs | Two fried eggs, one under red salsa and one under green |
| Huevos rancheros | WEH-bohs rrahn-CHEH-rohs | Fried eggs on tortillas with tomato-chile sauce |
| Huitlacoche | weet-lah-KOH-cheh | Corn fungus with an earthy, mushroom flavor |
| Jamaica | hah-MY-kah | Hibiscus flower drink |
| Lengua | LEHN-gwah | Beef tongue |
| Machaca | mah-CHAH-kah | Dried shredded beef, often scrambled with eggs |
| Maciza | mah-SEE-sah | Lean meat (when ordering carnitas or cabeza) |
| Memela | meh-MEH-lah | Thick oval tortilla with lard, beans and cheese (Oaxaca) |
| Milanesa | mee-lah-NEH-sah | Thin breaded cutlet of beef or chicken |
| Mole | MOH-leh | Complex sauce of chiles, spices, seeds and often chocolate |
| Molcajete | mohl-kah-HEH-teh | Volcanic stone mortar; also a sizzling meat dish served in one |
| Molletes | moh-YEH-tehs | Roll halves with refried beans and melted cheese |
| Nopales | noh-PAH-lehs | Cactus paddles, grilled or in salad |
| Pambazo | pahm-BAH-soh | Roll dipped in red guajillo sauce, stuffed with potato and chorizo, griddled |
| Pan dulce | pahn DOOL-seh | Mexican sweet breads |
| Pancita / menudo | pahn-SEE-tah / meh-NOO-doh | Tripe soup, a weekend and hangover classic |
| Panuchos | pah-NOO-chohs | Fried bean-stuffed tortillas topped with turkey or cochinita (Yucatán) |
| Papadzules | pah-pahd-SOO-lehs | Tortillas filled with egg in pumpkin-seed sauce (Yucatán) |
| Pescado a la talla | pehs-KAH-doh ah lah TAH-yah | Butterflied whole fish grilled with chile paste |
| Picadillo | pee-kah-DEE-yoh | Seasoned ground-meat hash |
| Poc chuc | pohk CHOOK | Grilled pork marinated in sour orange (Yucatán) |
| Pozole | poh-SOH-leh | Hominy stew, red, green or white, with pork or chicken |
| Quesadilla | keh-sah-DEE-yah | Folded tortilla with fillings; in Mexico City, ask "con queso" if you want cheese |
| Queso fundido | KEH-soh foon-DEE-doh | Melted cheese, often with chorizo, eaten with tortillas |
| Quesillo | keh-SEE-yoh | Stringy Oaxaca cheese |
| Rajas | RRAH-hahs | Strips of roasted poblano, often with cream |
| Salbutes | sahl-BOO-tehs | Puffy fried tortillas with toppings (Yucatán) |
| Sope | SOH-peh | Thick small masa disk with a pinched rim, topped |
| Sopa de tortilla / sopa azteca | SOH-pah deh tor-TEE-yah | Tomato-chile broth with tortilla strips, avocado and cheese |
| Suadero | swah-DEH-roh | Beef cooked slowly in fat, for tacos |
| Tamal | tah-MAHL | Steamed masa with filling, in a corn husk or banana leaf (plural tamales) |
| Tasajo | tah-SAH-hoh | Thin dried beef (Oaxaca) |
| Tejate | teh-HAH-teh | Cold maize and cacao drink (Oaxaca) |
| Tinga | TEEN-gah | Shredded chicken in tomato and chipotle |
| Tlacoyo | tlah-KOH-yoh | Stuffed oval masa cake |
| Tlayuda | tlah-YOO-dah | Huge crisp tortilla with beans, cheese and meat (Oaxaca) |
| Torta | TOR-tah | Sandwich on a roll |
| Tostada | tohs-TAH-dah | Flat crisp tortilla with toppings |
| Totopos | toh-TOH-pohs | Tortilla chips |
| Tres leches | trehs LEH-chehs | Sponge cake soaked in three kinds of milk |
| Tuétano | TWEH-tah-noh | Bone marrow |
| Zarandeado | sah-rahn-deh-AH-doh | Butterflied whole fish grilled over coals (Nayarit, Sinaloa) |
For whole phrases to use at the table, from "¿Qué me recomienda?" to "para llevar," see Spanish phrases, and for table manners and when to say "provecho," see Etiquette.
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