9 Best Restaurants in Mérida, Yucatán and Campeche States

This casual spot north of Parque Santa Ana has a French flair, with vintage posters and antique signs, and its French owner, Eric Sureau, is on the premises most days, assuring that the quiches, crêpes, and salads all leave the kitchen comme il faut. There are tables in the lovely and shady yard in the back. In addition Sureau has a small but excellently curated selection of wines and some of the best cheeses in the city if you want to buy the essentials for a little gathering around the pool at your rental or hotel.

Though it serves good basic pastas, salads, and burgers, as well as some Mexican bar-food favorites, this restaurant's popularity is primarily due to its delicious cocktails, aguas frescas, and lively atmosphere. You can dine outside, enjoying the activity on Paseo Montejo, or inside, where the people-watching is just as interesting.

The homemade ice cream and sorbet at El Colón have been keeping locals cool since 1907. Served in a pyramid-shape scoop, the tropical fruit flavors (like chico zapote, a brown fruit native to Mexico that tastes a little like cinnamon and comes from a tree used in chewing-gum production) are particularly refreshing. The shop also sells cookies and fresh candies—the meringues are exceptional. There are five locations throughout the city, and while the one on the Plaza Grande is the oldest, the one on Paseo de Montejo is the most popular, especially on warm evenings. 

This cantina at the corner of Calles 62 and 49 is popular with locals, expats, and visitors thanks to its large courtyard and likewise large cocktails. You'll be offered free bar snacks as long as you keep ordering drinks, though it's worth trying some of the delicious (if basic) ceviches, enchiladas, and tacos, too. Live bands play most evenings. 

Residents of Mérida have strong opinions on who makes the best salbutes and panuchos, two signature Yucatecan dishes, and La Poderosa is at the top of many lists. All the seats at this restaurant in the southern part of Centro—near San Sebastian's square and market—are outdoors, and it's an especially lovely spot on warm evenings. Its evening hours also make it stand out from some other popular casual eateries, which are often open for breakfast and lunch only. A meal of three or four empanadas, panuchos, or salbutes, accompanied by a soda, will only set you back about $5. Note: There are several restaurants in Mérida named La Poderosa. The one you want is the one in San Sebastian.

This bakery just a few blocks north of Parque Santa Ana is a great place to start your day with a light breakfast of a pastry and a coffee. It has a small garden and plenty of seating if you want to linger for awhile at your laptop. The decor is an inviting updated colonial style with pasta-tile floors and more contemporary touches, such as the steel staircase leading up to the second-story seating. You'll only wish it didn't close so early—at 1 pm during the week and 2 pm on the weekends. 

Don't let the bare walls and basic furniture fool you—this restaurant, a few blocks east of Parque Mejorada, offers one of Mérida's best dining experiences. Chefs Xóchitl Valdés and Selena Cárdenas have impressed gourmets with their celebration of corn, the basis of many of the dishes served here. Before you leave, stop in at the adjacent store, which sells local honey and honey products, from candies to shampoo. 

On any given day, the flavors at this little historic-center gelato shop vary, but you can typically expect between five and ten sorbets and the same number of gelatos. In addition to classics like chocolate and chocolate chip, you'll find options inspired by regional cuisine and produce—perhaps, chocolate with chiles, flan, pineapple with chaya, or lemon with rosemary. If it's not too hot, enjoy your sorbet or gelato in Parque Santa Lucía, just a block away.

This oasis of carnivorous delights serves tortas—Mexico's answer to the sandwich—and tacos at four locations in Mérida. In addition to ham and cheese tortas, you can get pork loin in smoky chipotle-chile sauce, chorizo sausage, turkey strips sautéed with onions and peppers, and several other delicious combos guaranteed to go straight to your arteries. If you don't speak Spanish, just point to one of 20 types of ingredients while they heat up your tortilla. Not a meat lover? Try some unusual combos, like chopped cactus pads sautéed with mushrooms, or scrambled eggs with chaya or string beans. All of the Wayan'e locations are casual and unassuming, with plastic tables and chairs, but most diners gather around the counter where the food is handed over. The restaurant closes when the food runs out, which is usually around 2 pm.