19 Best Restaurants in Side Trips from Mexico City, Mexico

High ceilings, dangling wood beams, and distinctive light features hint at the marriage of traditional and contemporary approaches to Mexican cuisine at this stylish restaurant across from Museo Amparo. Creative takes on mole are a specialty, including sweetbreads with escamoles (ant larvae) and a white mole sauce, and 36-hour-braised short rib with an ancho chile adobo sauce, but you'll also find dried-beef tartare with jalapeño oil and blue-corn masa filled with black beans, pork shank, and cotija cheese. Save room for the inventive desserts. 

This sprawling, open-air restaurant in an affluent neighborhood northeast of downtown has a lush garden setting that makes it a perfect choice for a relaxing meal on a balmy day, of which there are many in Cuernavaca. The farm-to-table-inspired menu features a mix of classic and contemporary dishes, such as shrimp tacos with a mildly spicy sambal salsa, aguachile with tangy passionfruit sauce, or pasta with classic fettuccine carbonara.

Set in a beautiful, open-air space with enchanting terraces, gardens, and views of Cholula's famous pyramid and church, which is just a block away, this is one of the town's most romantic destinations for any meal of the day---it's open from early in the morning until late (except for Sunday, when it closes at 6). The menu focuses mostly on modern interpretations of Mexican favorites like chiles en nogada (which can be prepared vegetarian on request) and chicken enchiladas bathed in a rich mole poblano, but some pastas and international dishes are served, too.

Although best known for the artisanal mezcals produced by its widely known and well-regarded Conejo en La Luna label, this bustling restaurant with a long, covered patio is a great option for grabbing a meal before or after your time visiting the adjacent pyramids. It's one of the area's better breakfast options, with a nice range of classic Mexican egg and chilaquiles dishes, and later in the day you can enjoy hearty fare like lamb barbecue (on weekends only), escamoles (ant larvae) sauteed in herb butter, and tacos filled with cecina (locally produced cured beef). It's open until 6 on weekdays and 7 on weekends, making a potential early-dinner option after exploring the ruins. There's a second location in CDMX's Condesa neighborhood.

This eatery does a welcome, contemporary take on the cemita, Puebla's version of the classic Mexican torta sandwich. The smoked brisket comes with a plantain puree and flavorful pepper sauce while the chilaquiles are garnished with watercress in avocado oil. The usually basic milanesa (breaded pork loin) has a Parmesan-garlic breading and artisanal cheese from the nearby town of Chipilo. Terrific soups and salads round out the menu. The stylish decor and hip crowd is a rarity in conservative Puebla.

This unusual restaurant and organic farm in the lush Atongo Valley to the east of town produces artfully plated salads, such as fresh-made burrata with roasted beets, as well as heartier dishes like an earthy huitlacoche risotto with Parmesan, all made using ingredients grown on-site. Dining is in an open-air garden structure with an arched ceiling as well as at tables amid the flowers and plants, and the views of the surrounding mountains are breathtaking. The cocktails and desserts are also inspired by what's grown here—consider the chocolate brownie with pistachio, house-made chocolate sauce, and rosemary ice cream. A DJ spins music many evenings.

Although there's a charming downstairs seating area, the rooftop terrace of this delightful bistro serving creative Mexican dishes as well as pizzas and gastropub fare is hard to beat, with its views overlooking the town's central plaza and the steep cliffs that frame Malinalco. Highlights from the diverse menu include a tiradito of raw cecina with serrano chiles, marinated wild-boar tacos, and trout topped with pineapples, ham, and cheese in a lightly spicy sauce. Among the pizzas, the Yucateca-inspired pie with tender cochinita pibil and cured purple onions is a favorite. Save room for the traditional corn cake with whipped cream and berries for dessert.

This stylish restaurant set on the rooftop terrace of the enchanting Hotel Boutique Pueblo Lindo offers not only some of the best views in town, but also delicious, beautifully presented modern Mexican dishes. Start the day with huevos rancheros, fresh seasonal fruit, and one of the decadent house-baked pastries; later in the day, try the grilled fish of the day with pureed potatoes and a mango salsa, or enchiladas with chicken and hibiscus flowers. Everything is prepared with care and using fresh, often seasonal ingredients. 

This smart establishment near the town's mountains is surrounded by ponds and bridges. Among the delicious concoctions are pork chops with a mango-pineapple salsa and grilled octopus in a rich garlic sauce. You can dine in the pink, high-ceiling dining room overlooking the trees and river or alfresco on a beautiful brick terrace with views of the mountains.

Cholula is one of the few places in central Mexico outside of CDMX with some pretty good Asian restaurants, and this cozy, colorfully painted spot in the heart of city center is one of the best. It's known for robustly flavored bowls and soups, including spicy ramen with Mexican longaniza sausage and eggplant sofrito, and Thai ramen with shrimp and a fragrant green curry base. Plenty of tasty sides and appetizers are served, too, like spicy popcorn chicken and kimchi rice.

One of the best restaurants in Mexico is in the sleepy town of Apizaco, in Tlaxcala state, a quick 20 km (12 miles) from the capital city of Tlaxcala. Opened in 2011, Evoka shows that Mexico's gastronomic revolution, which celebrates local ingredients, small producers, and traditional techniques, isn't limited to the big cities. With a simply elegant dining room, impeccable service, and a clientele largely consisting of in-the-know foodies from Puebla and Mexico City, Evoka could be the hottest restaurant anywhere, but could only exist in the Valle de Tlaxcala, from where its ingredients, and chef-owner Francisco Molina, come. The tasting menu is a must, where you might find aged rib eye in a mole sauce of huitlacoche (corn fungus) and amaranth with plantain dumplings, or a salad of tiny wild tomatoes and local cheese with powdered, root-beer-like hoja santa herb shaken table-side over the top.

Located across the street from Malinalco's striking Agustino de la Transfiguración convent, this convivial taverna filled with whimsical artwork and lush hanging plants serves creative, eclectic fare with both Mexican and Mediterranean influences. You might start with beef carpaccio seasoned with lemon and olive oil or marinated-tuna tostadas with chipotle dressing, before graduating to grilled pistachio-crusted sea bass with roasted vegetables or linguine with a sauce of goat cheese, basil, and white wine.

Many are drawn to this restaurant for its dramatic setting in an early 19th-century former Jesuit college that now contains a museum filled with pre-Hispanic artifacts and exhibits, but the superbly crafted traditional Pueblan food is excellent, too. Start with a breakfast of eggs in a stew of poblano chiles, corn, and epazote, or later in the day, try the pork chalupas or guacamole with chapulines (grasshopper) followed by chicken in a green pumpkin-seed mole sauce. There are also a number of international dishes, too, like tuna tartare, and bananas Foster for dessert.

Head to this friendly and festive open-air café and shop that hosts a range of musical and literary events for a delicious breakfast. The eclectic options include traditional English bangers and mash with sautéed tomatoes and mushrooms, chilaquiles verdes, and baguette French toast. Lunchtime options include healthy salads and sandwiches, and there's an extensive selection of pastries, cookies, and other baked good for dessert.

Hung with colorful papeles picados (paper cutouts), this family-friendly restaurant with bright pink walls and regional folk art serves great soups (try the creamy fava bean or earthy lentil varieties), sopes topped with grilled chicken or cecina, and mole enchiladas made in an open kitchen. A specialty is the huauzontles (a broccoli-like vegetable you scrape from the stalk with your teeth). 

This longtime favorite is the place for a tasty traditional meal. The interior decoration is typical Puebla—complete with tile floors, colorful murals, and a newspaper stand inside—as is the menu. The mole is as traditional as it comes, and the sopa poblana (a cream soup with poblano chilies, mushrooms, and corn) is exceptional. This is also a great place to enjoy grilled meat.

This intimate spot has excellent food and hanging lamps and masks. You'll find a fairly typical selection of meat, poultry, and seafood dishes, including salmon with grilled onions and spicy chile de árbol sauce and steak with a savory mustard sauce, but the favorites are garlic-and-shrimp soup and the queso al cilantro, fried cheese on a bed of potato skins, covered with salsa verde.

Italian food may just be Mexico's favorite international cuisine, but it's still rare to find house-made pasta that's as delicious and reasonably priced as the noodles served at this stylishly contemporary trattoria that draws foodies from far and near. Favorites include agnolotti stuffed with shrimp, mascarpone, and spring peas in a light olive oil-herb sauce, and tagliatelle with a rich short rib-and-red wine ragout. There's also a well-chosen list of mostly Italian wines. There's a second location in Zavaleta, on the west side of Puebla.