San Cristobal de las Casas, Chiapas

I love to visit Mexico, so when we have the perfect excuse to visit a new place (a wedding) we always seize the opportunity. San Cristobal de las Casas is a beautiful small town located 1 hour from the capital of Chiapas, and designated by Presidential decree as a “Pueblo Mágico”. The stone narrow streets make walking a delight, the Cathedral and plaza are full of life, and all the restaurants, bars and stores make it that much more exciting.

I did not know what to expect for the food scene, and as always with my extensive food research found that it has an amazing and broad food options, from traditional food from Chiapas to delicious pad thai, it was a pleasant surprise and it made me even more eager to visit and eat!

We visited a lot of restaurants and found a lot of places to enjoy a good breakfast, an amazing coffee cup and a full delicious meal.

Tierra y Cielo

This restaurant was an absolute delight, considering it is in the Top 120 restaurants in Mexico right now, the tasting menú did not disappoint. I love to travel and try the tradition/regional food of the city I am in, so we decided to visit this amazing restaurant, where the food is traditional, the ingredients are local and organic, and the dishes are absolutely delicious. The tasting menu is a 7 course, all of them were delicious, but my favorites were the Chipilín Soup (something I have not tasted before and fell in love with the taste), Cigamut rabbit with tortilla ash (I love rabbit meat, it is so full of flavor) and the Mole Coleto with shrimp and banana puree (the mole taste was divine, paired perfectly with the banana puree, the mole was definitely the star of the menú). The place is really a treat, our waiter told us that it was Chef Marta Zepeda’s grandparents house, and the homey feel does translate with the edge of fine dining, which include a beautiful inside garden with all fresh herbs and minimal decorations that complement the house perfectly. This is definitely a restaurant you cannot miss!

Bangcook

It is weird to think about finding good thai food in Chiapas, but surprisingly we did. This amazing little thai restaurant is located inside a very cool food market, where you can sit in the inside patio for a great ambiance and good food. We were starving that we ordered so much food (and we always finish it): vegetable spring rolls, seafood pad thai, vegetarian pad thai, mango salad, and slow roasted ribs and rice.

500 noches

In the same market where Bangcook is, there is this trovador-style bar where they play songs by Francisco Cespedes, so if you are a fan of their music (as my husband is) you will be obsessed with this place, plus they have a wide selection of drinks, where the gin cocktails are divine, perfect for an after dinner drink to keep the party going, and the good conversation flowing.

Casa Santa Lucia

In a gorgeous very traditional boutique hotel we decided to have breakfast here because one of my friends has a friend who’s grandmother owns the place, she is originally from San Cristobal de las Casas. The place is beautiful, from the wood tables, traditional table cloths, and crafts for days. They only offer breakfast at the hotel so you can bet the menu is very traditional of the city and very good, every option comes with really good coffee, fresh fruit and good service. I ordered the enfrijoladas with scrambled eggs inside, the tortillas were freshly made, the bean sauce was heavenly and finished beautifully with a little Chiapan cheese.

Tierra Adentro - Cultural Center & Cafe

We were searching for a place to have breakfast and stumbled upon cultural center which is also a cafe. The restaurant is in an indoor patio with little stores all around and the ambiance is of the Zapatista Movement. The menu is very extensive, you have a lot of options to choose from, I inmediately looked at the tamales and decided. They bring you 3 different flavor tamales in corn leaf with beans and salsa, my favorite by far was the hoja santa.

Carajillo cafe

This is the perfect place for a delicious breakfast, or even for an afternoon coffee. The latte with honey is divine, for me it hit the perfect spot of sweet and savory. There is a wide variety of options for breakfast, for me the chilaquiles with chicken, fried egg and mole were amazing!

Oh la la

Those who really know me, know I am obsessed with french pastry, it really is my weakness, and when it involves eclairs I have no will power. This amazing bakery (which now is really famous in Chiapas) has the most amazing pastries, from eclairs, opera cakes, almond croissants, and more. It is the perfect place to have breakfast if you are feeling sweet, or an afternoon snack to pick up energy and enjoy a delicious treat.

Trattoria Italiana Restaurante

I love restaurant where the owner is there greeting people and giving you recommendations on what to order, for me that shows a family restaurant with delicious meals the owner is proud to share, and for this Trattoria it was the case. We ordered as an appetizer langoustines in a lemon sauce that was divine (perfect for scraping the leftover with bread) as main dishes: a pistachio-pesto fettuccine with fresh tuna, 4 cheese ravioli with a tomato sauce, spaghetti with parmesan, garlic and ginger (a surprisingly different and delicious flavor), and a spaghetti alla amatriciana with delicious pancetta and mussels. The restaurant is very cozy, low light and a beautiful terrace, it is really a good place with good food.