Restaurants in Western Central Highlands
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630
Ancient architecture and modernism coexist here, sometimes awkwardly and the menu is likewise off-beat - mingling Italian, Mexican and Thai dishes. But if you order right, you'll leave happy. The octopus carpaccio - with five thin slices of octopus sprinkled with sea salt crystals, parsley and drizzled with flavorful olive oil - is fantastic.
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La Fonda de San Miguel Arcángel
A sweet and funky courtyard retreat from the sun where fountains gurgle, an old piano man tickles the keys and antique sculpture and bird cages are everywhere. Its specialty is filete de res oro negro – beef with huitlacoche (corn fungus) sauce. Come at night and dine beneath a magnificent chandelier of wrought-iron stars.
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Number 4
This new upscale Mediterranean place has been generating buzz all the way to Guadalajara. Kenyan-Canadian chef Ismat Jivani’s menu borrows flavors from across the globe, from house-made pasta to Moroccan-spiced lamb. The open-air dining room, with a high thatched roof, has a theatrical elegance; the attached bar is the area’s hippest.
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Fonda Marceva
Specializing in the cuisine of the tierra caliente (hot lands) region of Michoacán’s southeast, this lovely courtyard restaurant serves a mind-blowing aporreadillo (breakfast stew of eggs, dried beef and chili) and some of the best frijoles de olla (beans slow-cooked in a pot) we’ve ever tasted.
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Santo Coyote
Locals love to send tourists here because of the set piece décor - think massive palapa roofs - and Mexican Hat Dance performances (um, not good). But they do make their scintillating three-chili salsa fresh at the tableside and the mostly glass bar is magnificent. Plus, if you sit there you'll avoid the 'entertainment'.
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La Mata Tinta
This is a wine bar, art gallery and café under one roof – although seating spills into the plaza. It has a prodigious wine list including Mexican vintages and a nice selection of baguettes and panini. There’s live music five nights a week and the walls are covered with rotating exhibitions from local artists.
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Tortas Ahogadas Héroes
The menu is simple: there's only tortas ahogadas, Guadalajara's beloved and famous hangover cure. Crunchy baguettes are filled with chunks of pork and drenched in a searing chili sauce and a squeeze of lime. Take a bite and your tongue will burn, your stomach unwinds and your head will clear almost instantly.
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La Fonda de la Noche
This under-the-radar gem serves food from the owner’s native Durango in a rambling, art-filled private house on a quiet residential street. On weekends, try the classic chiles en nogada (stuffed poblanos in a walnut-pomegranate sauce). The door is unmarked – it’s on the northwest corner of Jesús and Reforma.
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Sol Om Lux
Inside a cluttered natural foods store, this vegetarian lunch counter dishes up veggie burgers, soy tacos and all manner of fresh-squeezed juices. The daily comida corrida (set lunch; M$55), with salad, soup, main, dessert and an agua fresca (fresh fruit juice), is a great value.
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Cocina Económica Mary
This busy family joint smells delicious. The cafeteria-style open kitchen serves filling meals with your choice of main (eg, chicken mole, pulled pork with squash or chiles rellenos – stuffed chilies with cheese or meat), along with soup, rice, beans and freshly made tortillas.
reviewed
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Mole Orapondiro
This sunny café specializes in one thing: a rich, thick and chocolatey mole sauce. Local ladies smuggle home bottles of it, so they can pass it off as their own. You can have it ladled over chicken, rice and beans and on tortas. Get here early because chicken always sells out.
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Cenaduría Doña Victoria
Victoria serves high-quality Mexican soul food. Her streetside skillet overflows with taquitos, tacos, tortas, pozole, quail, chicken and potatoes. The pollo dorado (fried chicken; M$30) is the best seller. It comes with potatoes, salad, tortillas and three kinds of salsa.
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Café La Pérgola
Ambience is old-school at this arched, cavernous café that serves everything from enchiladas to sandwiches to salads to cappuccinos. The clientele, mostly old men with backstory etched into their bones, is good fodder for sketch artists and photographers and it has a nice breakfast menu.
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La Terraza de la Trucha
Irresistibly nestled at the north entrance of the national park, you’ll find a cozy table with shady cascade views and order the trout, of course. Get it grilled, crusted in macadamias or a la tampiqueña (with guacamole and beans). It comes with fresh chips and a searing salsa.
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Super Pollo Don Emilio
Downing a plate of enchiladas placeras (plaza-style enchiladas) here is probably the quintessential Pátzcuaro dining experience. Handmade tortillas are dipped in salsa, fried, and served with succulent chicken quarters and heaping piles of carrots and potatoes. Expect a queue.
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O
1800
This hip restaurant lounge attracts a late-coming crowd of uni students for snacks, drinks and, on Thursday nights, live music from around the globe. The menu is all over the place, with pizza, sushi, burritos and more, but you’ll be happiest if you duck in for a few late drinks.
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Govinda’s
Despite the Indian name and the Hindu art on the walls, this 2nd-floor vegetarian restaurant is not Indian, but serves an odd, yet tasty, international mishmash of cuisines. Massive combo lunches might include anything from curried broccoli to spaghetti to soy taquitos to yogurt.
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Mercado de Antojitos
The best place for down-home local cooking is the buzzing food court at the center of this labyrinthine market. The carnitas are renowned across Michoacán, and the tacos, pozole and cocadas (haystacks of caramelized coconut) ain’t half bad either.
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El Sacromonte
Guadalajara’s favorite alta cocina (gourmet Mexican) establishment serves whimsical takes on classic dishes – think quesadillas sprinkled with rose petals, avocado-watermelon soup. Decor is tastefully arty, with vintage bullfighting posters and folk-art crucifixes.
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Alcatraz
You'll have to search for the lava stone facade because it has no sign. But it does have the best desserts in town. The light-as-air jericalla custard, coffee cakes and blueberry cheesecake have won this family shop a steady stream of local loyalists.
reviewed
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LA O
The guys at Cocina 88 converted this mansion into a cool new restaurant. This one serves Spanish, Italian and Mexican tapas and mains come with an endless salad and antipasti bar. Try the garlicky pulpo (squid) and the salmon-stuffed squash blossoms.
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Pichichi Silvon
Operating out of a tiny window on the walking street adjacent to Hotel Ceballos, this place attracts a stream of customers for its addictive churros rellenos – hot, sugar-crusted Mexican doughnuts stuffed with chocolate, caramel or strawberry sauce.
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Tacos Don Luis
At night this Zona Rosa parking lot overflows with hungry club-goers, who crouch on the curb with plastic plates trying not to spill taco fillings on their party dresses and fancy shoes. There are various food stalls, but Don Luis is the oldest and the best.
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Casa Vieja
Dine on cilantro salmon and arrachera a la plancha (grilled skirt steak), within a chipped and faded pastel courtyard. The food works and the setting is lovely, but the soundtrack is bracing (Gothic classical meets Ryan Seacrest–approved pop-rock).
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La Casa
An arty young crowd nibbles crepes, wood oven–fired pizzas and baguette sandwiches at this cozy courtyard café. The garden bar is a great place to sit with a cappuccino or a cerveza and groove to the sounds of Mexican indie rock in the background.
reviewed