33 Best Restaurants in Yucatán and Campeche States, Mexico

Menu highlights at this beautifully designed, upscale restaurant include tuna steak in a black-pepper crust and Angus beef served with rosemary potatoes. A glass wall separates the formal indoor dining room from the less-formal patio seating area, which is surrounded by lush vegetation that helps you forget that you are on a bustling avenue. Although steaks are the specialty, you'll also find plenty of delicious tapas and salads, and the starters alone make Trotter's worth visiting—try the octopus carpaccio or foie gras.

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.

Near the main square, this unpretentious family-run restaurant is one of the oldest (and most affordable) eateries on the island, and it's considered one of the best places to try island-style food. There are quite a few tasty seafood dishes, including a huge mariscada for two that includes a fish fillet, a whole fish, a lobster, and octopus on a bed of shredded lettuce. The delicious seafood soup includes the freshest seasonal seafood and is an island classic. People come here for the food and not the ambience, so grab a seat at a plastic table, listen to the Mexican music, and take your pick from the extensive menu.