4 Best Restaurants in Oaxaca City, Oaxaca

Chef Alejandro Ruiz is behind some of the most creative food in southern Mexico—rack of lamb in pineapple-and-vanilla sauce and venison tamales with mole are just a few examples. Wild game is featured heavily on the menu, though the kitchen also has a way with red snapper. Not one course falls short here: appetizers incorporate local herbs and greens, and desserts such as a guava tart with rose-petal sorbet perfectly balance citrus and sweetness. The specialty cocktails are excellent, especially the sangria. The room is modern, open, airy, with white stucco walls, simple wooden tables and chairs, and a beamed ceiling. It's casual and effortlessly romantic. The restaurant shares a building with one of the finest art galleries in town, Galería Quetzalli, so you can browse after you eat.

El Che Guacho is owned by Argentinians and specializes in Argentinian cuisine. Look forward to enjoying a delicately cooked steak in a beautifully designed indoor-outdoor restaurant with glass walls that (in good weather) open to provide access to a quiet, covered, terrace garden. The bar is well stocked, the staff are friendly and knowledgeable about their menu, and the choices available are phenomenal. There is nowhere else in Oaxaca to savor the juices of such a perfectly cut, perfectly cooked, and perfectly presented steak, accompanied by a wine handpicked by the owners. It's a favorite with locals and visitors alike.

Origen is one of the best restaurants in Oaxaca. Chef Rodolfo Castellanos is an expert at producing sharp, clean flavors that compliment the dining environment. This city-center town house has been turned into a quick lunch restaurant, a cooking-class workshop space, and a formal evening dining space (on the second floor). The food here is expensive, but it is worth every peso. The service is attentive, and the variety of options on the menu will have your mouth watering from the very moment you step in the door.

This culinary laboratory is famed for developing new dishes using both inventive techniques and traditional ingredients. Everything served here is sourced locally and used imaginatively to create a contemporary Oaxacan cuisine. The head chef, Jose Manuel Baños, heads of team of leading culinary talents to prepare the finest and most delicate meals available in city. The beautifully restored restaurant also features a mezcal tasting bar and both indoor and outdoor eating areas. The six- and nine-course tasting menus, showcasing the best of the best in Oaxacan cookery, are highly recommended.