3 Best Restaurants in Yucatán and Campeche States, Mexico

Follow your nose to this dessert café, where the aromas of French pastries and rich cocoa waft into Campeche's narrow streets. Tucked inside a stone-walled colonial building are small wooden tables and a collection of antiques, like a vintage cash register still used for ringing up transactions. Drink recipes originated from the owner's research into Mayan traditions and her time spent with local families; prepared with the purest form of organic cocoa, they're infused with mint, chile, and more. Not a chocolate lover? You’ll enjoy all-natural fruit juices made with jicama and piña. Crepes and cookies make nice accompaniments. A small gift shop sells locally made products and blocks of dark chocolate.

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. 

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.