7 Best Restaurants in Veracruz, Mexico

Don't be fooled by the white plastic tables and chairs—the seafood at this open-air eatery easily rivals that at fancier places in town. Hunker down with a cold beer and a bowl of sopa de ostión (a spicy oyster stew), then move on to pulpo encebollado (octopus cooked with onions, butter, and garlic) or the house specialty, camarones a la diabla (a spicy concoction of grilled shrimp and chilies). You may be tempted to make a meal of the chips and salsa.

This restaurant, floating on the Río Tuxpan but linked to the land with rope and a small bridge, is hands down the most elegant place to eat in town. The interior is relaxed, with exposed wood beams, a backlit bar, and large windows looking out on the water. The Spanish owners are famous for their paella Valenciana, and there are a number of seafood and beef dishes to chose from as well. The bar is well stocked, with wines and liquors from all over the world.

This casual restaurant, with a small swing set and a couple of children's toys in front, under two connected palapa (thatched) roofs, is the kind of place where locals might linger over a meal for hours at a time. Meals begin with corn chips, delicious molelike paste that they call chili de mole, and a fish sauce. The pescado al mojo de ajo (fried with garlic) is delicious; they also serve other fresh and tasty seafood plates.

All roads in La Antigua seem to lead to this riverfront restaurant, a favorite for years. The huge arches facing the water are hung with nets full of cardboard fish. Try the shrimp cocktail or the cazuela de mariscos, a seafood stew filled with shrimp, crab, octopus, and mussels in a spicy green sauce. Afternoons at 1:30 and 6:30 there's marimba music, and on weekends the musicians are joined by dancers.

Playa de Hornos, a popular stretch of sand south of the Acuario de Veracruz, is lined with thatch-roof seafood shacks. They all serve basically the same thing: fish cooked any way you like it. This place, with a giant neon sailfish positioned on the roof, is among the closest to the aquarium and one of the best. Grab a table in the open-air dining room or one under an umbrella along the surf.

The Guinness Book of World Records honored the founder of this friendly seafood restaurant for dreaming up the world's longest seafood-stuffed fillet of fish, which was once prepared in the street along the waterfront. You can find smaller, but equally scrumptious concoctions and live midday music at this open-air dining room. Especially popular are the camarones Pardiños (juicy shrimp stuffed with manchego cheese and wrapped in bacon) and ostiones a la diabla gratinados (spicy oysters topped with grated cheese). Dishes like cheese-stuffed plantains satisfy vegetarians.

Though it's tucked away in Boca del Río, this open-air eatery is one of city's most popular seafood restaurants. Specialties include mussels, grouper, crab claws, and octopus prepared as you wish. For those who relish spicy food, the ostiones enchilpayados (in cream and chipotle chili) are a cut above the rest.

Popular bands play Thursday through Sunday from 3 to 7, so you may need a reservation on those days.