Mexico
Mexico Restaurants
I am extremely biased when it comes to Mexican food. It is one of my favorite cuisines. With that said, I am certainly not an expert. I have been to Mexico many times, but I usually go to see family and that is relatively around the states of Colima and Jalisco. There are many other states with different styles and flavors.
Regardless of where I travel, i enjoy eating like a local. One, the food is usually good. Two, eating like a local usually means I'll meet some people and make some connections. Three, I will probably never be rich, so I cant afford expensive joints. I always try to find good restaurants at low prices.
My ideal joints are open restaurants that have seating on the sidewalk, or going into someones house and sitting against the wall on a stool, while the OG grandma is making tortillas by hand in front of me and preparing my food. People coming in, conversating, sharing, and super laid back. Locals are usually surprised to see tourists at these types of joints, so they are usually fun experiences for me. It does help to speak the language, and well, this was the first time I didn't get sick off eating in Mexico, so I will be even more bold now in the future. I was spending anywhere from 10 to 30 pesos per small items. For example, 1 taco would be within the 10 to 30 peso range. I'd eat a few of them per meal.
I encourage you to be safe, but also step out of your comfort zone and experience new places.
Guadalajara Area: (Some locations are in Chapala or outside Guadalajara.)
Tomate Taqueria
This joint was where I met a lot of my family to have dinner my first evening back in Mexico. It's pretty “fresa” which means you will probably like it. It was good. It’s Mexican food in Mexico, but it's not really my style and it's a bit on the pricey side for me. Service was good, area was good, but I prefer what I explained above. Saw a few "Gringos" so yeah, its probably a legit place.
Dona Mari
My aunt took me here. This restaurant was at her house in San Augustin, Guadalajara. She highly recommended it. I don't know the name, as it was just at her house. You walk in, grab some bomb ass gorditas, sopes, and tacos. Obviously I had one of each and then some. Dona Mari was making tortillas by hand, all natural ingredients, and bomb bay! I am trying to get the address, but not sure if my aunt wont tell me because she wants to keep it local, or just ignoring me.
Taqueria los Cunados
This bomb joint was on the corner by my cousins house. We went here at like 10pm, maybe later, and just grubbed on all sorts of tacos. The cooking was done outside, but they had a little restaurant you could sit in parallel to the outside kitchen. My family only recommends bomb joints, so I highly recommend this spot.
Tacos El Super
My cousin took me here before going to Tequila. We tried hitting some other joints, but they were closed, so we went here. I enjoyed the tacos, and we even got some street kid come in a rap.
Birrierias Chololo
Never had birria in Mexico. I think Cali and many states have GREAT Mexican food, but I didn’t realize it kind of sucks compared to Mexican food in Mexico. I always thought, “yeah, Mexican food is good and US Mexican food is different but equally good, but no, Mexican food is better than Mexican food in the US. I got a short on how to eat birria here. I just made some fat ass tacos for mine.
El Magico Sabor de Veracruz
If you want to taste the magical flavor of Veracruz, this is the spot. Prices are are low and food and service is good.
Mokato
This joint is in Tonola and doesn’t serve that much Mexican food. Its a cafe that sells food. It’s in Tonola and I ate here while I waited for my cousin to finish work. He goes here once a week and likes it. I had the Al Pastor Wraps which were solid. Service is good, the ambiance is nice.
Gordelicias
We came here with my cousins and friends. Right in the heart of Tlaquepaque en the Mercado Benito Juarez, this place served some bomb ass gorditas.
Mariachi Love
My cousin just opened this up. So obviously I’m going to give it some shine. It’s been open for a few months in the heart of Tlaquepaque, Guadalajara. I came in as it was closing and I was already full when we got here. As I haven’t seen my family in well over a decade, my cousin flooded me with food and drink even when I didn’t want any. I'm glad I chose to eat again. His guacamole was by far the best I have had while in Mexico and probably since I last visited Mexico well over a decade ago. So yeah, best guacamole I have had in probably 15 years. He also gave me some consume (broth, meat, and beans) and damn was that hella good! I drank all the broth and got some positive remarks on how Mexican I was by my eating from my cousin. The drinks were good as well! Aside from the food, which I really enjoyed, the decor is nice, it's fairly big and they have a stage for mariachis and performers. Now, my cousin was/is a big deal. He used to be in the band called Los Cuisillos with El Gran Jefe. I saw them play in Oakland. Honestly, I am not into that music much, but they can most def get down. They are all talented singers and musicians. His young son is also on the come up as he is a singer and my cousin was sharing his youtube videos and he's done videos all over Mexico and USA. So not only are you getting bomb Mexican food, but also meeting stars, and probably getting some really good entertainment. Earlier that week when I was talking to various Mariachis, they all knew my cousin and my aunt and had high respect for them.
Carnes en su Jugo De La Torre Morales
My cousin took me here to try meat in broth with beans and some other goodies. Wasn’t as good as my cousins version at Mariachi Love, but legit nonetheless. Service was quick and fine. No complaints.
Indian Curry
If you’re in Chapala and gluten free, and don’t want Mexican. In the open mall called Centro Laguna Mall, you can find Indian Curry. I was a sucker for the butter chicken at my usual Indian joint in Taiwan, and while this isn’t as good as Taiwan, there are still a variety of gluten free options, and it's still fairly tasty. In Chapala, love Indian, want a break from Mexican food, and/or want gluten free? This is a good choice.
Mexico City
Taqueria Orinoco
I didn’t really do any restaurants in Mexico City. I don’t know anything about this place. I was here for a bachelor party with a bunch of US Americans. They seemed to know DF pretty well. I just followed along. One of them recommended this joint, which had some real good tacos al pastor. It had a very In and Out Burger decor, but only tacos. I think there were more Gringos here than Mexicans when we went.
Camaron Buchon
I found this spot on our first night in Mexico City. The rest of the gang wasn’t as comfortable as me in terms of eating, so I tried to find a non expensive restaurant that looked like we wouldn’t get sick. (I was open to going to the taco truck down the block, which most weren’t keen on.) In comes Camaron Buchon,a pretty thick menu with a variety of foods and I’m guessing a specialty in seafood by the menu. It was not too expensive, the food was good, and they certainly played and were pretty creative with their dishes. Their tacos looked original and had their own style and flavor. At the end of the dinner it seemed everyone was satisfied with their meals.
Ticuchi
This place came highly recommended. I checked some reviews and it matched what I saw. Dark place, loud with music, famous chef, young hip crowd, many foreigners, and expensive. We arrived a little late to the place and well, I needed to translate. We had to wait a bit, but we were seated. I’m sorry, maybe I am not ready for these places, but when I eat, I want to eat. They served us these appetizers of some weird looking food that wasn’t at all filling, but what I tried was good. I think this place is over hyped, not super friendly, and most def not my style. But I’m sure many would like this place. I ended up leaving as two others in our group felt the same. They left first, and I decided to join them and we ate at an expensive Argentina restaurant, which was good. You do need to make reservations here I believe.
Esquina Comun
We were told that this place was in someone’s house. I later googled this place, “A Homey Restaurant Tucked Inside a Mexico City Apartment.” Maybe before it was like that, but when we went there was a cafe at the base of the building. You go past the cafe and up a few flights of stairs and come to an open restaurant, with a vicious Chihuahua, barking at everyone. Probably not the best thing to do for a restaurant is put a dog that constantly barks and snaps at you, but whatever. This place didn’t feel or look like dining in someone’s house, but it was a great experience. First of all, the staff were very good and professional. Very warm, welcoming and speaks English and Spanish. I think you need to call in advance to dine here, you can’t just walk in. The 7 dishes served, I don’t really know what I ate, but wow was it hella good! We had 2 gluten free and one vegetarian in the group. They catered to us and I got my gluten free meal. I’m not into this type of dining. It’s too expensive for me, but I highly recommend this place for its fun decor, excellent staff, and amazing food. Honestly, it's not that expensive, it's still Mexico, but for me, it would be a one time thing. I have to say this again! I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS PLACE!” They aren't in google maps. Here is their instagram page. You have to make reservations.
https://www.instagram.com/esquinacomun/
La Capital
Another friend recommended this joint and this was our last dinner in DF. My boy said it was Michocan style food, so traditional, but I feel it was more of a modern take on traditional Mexican. It was too fancy and expensive for me, but nice decor, good service and food was solid.
Barra de Navidad
Mariscos Delis Cotty
This was the first restaurant I hit when I got off the bus into Barra. I was fiending for ceviche, it was right across from the bus station and it had a palapa old school roof. I’m gonna hit that spot fa show! Met some dude from Barra, asked about my boy Too Short, ordered my food, next thing I knew Too Short was behind me. Haven’t seen that fool in a long time, it was great to catch up and know he's doing well. The food here did the job.
Restaurant Bar Ramon
This is the breakfast spot. Hella good chocolate milk, Mexican breakfasts like huevos rancheros, chilaquiles, and more! Oh! And fresh squeezed fruit drinks.
Restaurant Arenas del Mar
A good seafood joint off the lagoon.
El Manglito
Close to Arenas del Mar, another good seafood joint.
Sea Master
Moret was the owner of this place when I was a kid. Hugo and Borrego were his sons. We were all friends. I didn’t go to Sea Master this time, but they did do the food for my cousin's wedding and it was BOMB! To me this was the pimpyest restaurant back in the day. This is where I got my American food because I was a weird kid back then, more into burgers than seafood. Sea master had a lot of options. Also a great view of the beach.