It’s been a while since we’ve updated this post… but until we do, here are some of our favourite spots to eat in the city of Oaxaca, where to buy food that works well for bikepacking, plus some ideas for resupplies too.

As a general note, once you’re out in the countryside, almost any roadside comedor will be able to rustle you up some great local fare, like memelas, quesadillas, and tlayudas, which is one of the real joys of riding here. In short, you’ll rarely go hungry on a bike ride in Oaxaca, and most meals will be nothing short of delicious, whichever comedor (or fancy restaurant) you stumble upon…

Locally bought food to take bikepacking

Although there’s no shortage of restaurants along much of the bikepacking routes here. For take-outs, bring a thick plastic bag or Stasher bag to cut down on styrofoam and single use plastics.

Tamales work really well, as they include their own natural packaging, and are typically available early in the morning. Folded over memelas and quesadillas travel fairly well too.

Otherwise, here are some ideas for food that’s available in Oaxaca City before you get rolling…

• Mercado Sánchez Pascuas has a bulk store downstairs by the central stairs – everything from dates to cashews to peanut honey bars to oats.
• For delicious dried mango from Huatulco and other snacks, head to the Calendula store in La Cosecha.
• For the best granola options, check out bakeries Boulenc and Pan Con Madre. Both sell granola in various-sized paper bags. Otherwise, the markets have local offerings, too, which are typically less costly.
• We like to buy a loaf of sourdough bread from one of the bakeries above before rolling out on a trip, as they travel well. Boulenc is also a great spot to pick up granola bars and other treats for the first day or two.
• If you don’t mind spending a few extra pesos on high quality ingredients, Xiguela, in Barrio Jalatlaco, is a really good organic store with all kinds of products that work well for lightweight bikepacking – like dehydrated coconut milk, tofu, miso, and soba noodles. To this, you can easily add locally sourced vegetables.
• Avocados are always a good option, buy them a little underripe to prevent catastrophic explosions!
• Peanut butter… Lower-grade options are available from big supermarkets chains like Chedraui, but the best stuff is from Xiguela, in Jalatlaco. You’ll need to buy the glass jar and decant it into a smaller, lighter container. Then you can return the glass container and get your money back.
• Talking of peanut butter, we find it goes well with carrots, which also travel well and make a great savoury snack!
• And talking of peanuts… peanut brittle and similar snacks are generally easy to find. Ask for barras de cacahuate, or palanquetas. Or, bags of peanuts, often with chili or garlic, are a good option.
• Rehydration salts: Zona Bici has Nuun tablets or similar, and pharmacies will have less costly (but less tasty!) options too. Electrolit is a ready-made rehydration drink that’s found at grocery stores and pharmacies alike. It comes in a plastic bottle, but it’s actually a good one to re-use, as it’s really tough.
• For water tactics, see the Useful Info post.
• Tamales, typically sold early in the morning, are great for pack lunches and dinners too, if you’re not bringing a stove.
• A list of the weekly markets throughout the valley – great places to resupply – can be found here.

Things to bring from home

Although you can get almost everything you’ll need here, it’s worth bringing a few supplies from home.

• Rehydration tablets, especially in the dry season.
• A few dehydrated meals, so you’re not reliant on finding local restaurants. This is especially useful if you’re headed into the mountains, where options are more limited and there’s plenty of water.
• Some of your favourite bars, just to change things up a bit!

A few personal recommendations in the city

• Calle de General Porfirio Díaz. This is good street to wander up, food-wise. From the end closest to the Zocalo, the Boulenc ’empire’ includes a bakery, a fantastic restaurant (great pizzas!) and coffee shop, as well as a grocery store, Suculente, with all kinds of bottled, homemade delights.
• Further up the street, Hierba Dulce is an excellent vegan restaurant with a broad menu of traditional dishes. Further up the street still, look out for Pan Con Madre, just off the main road and another excellent spot for bakery products, with some adjoining tables for coffee and bike parking outside. 
• Next is the excellent Mercado Sánchez Pascuas market, which has a bulk store downstairs (for plastic-free bikepacking trips), as well as fresh produce, and local restaurants at the back (serving all the Oaxaca’s classics, like memelas, quesadillas, and tlayudas), along with some juice stands. It’s a good spot for morning tamales, too.
• Vegetarians will love the small, hole-in-the-wall casuela, also known as Doña Ceci – it’s a block past the Mercado Sánchez Pascuas on the right-hand side.
• Almost opposite, Calabacitas Tiernas is another good option for vegetarians – it’s adjoined to a book store that has a great local events noticeboard too.

• Barbacoa Sunday? Barbacoas are a popular Sunday tradition, normally based around goat meat. My favourite spot in the city is Obispo, on the way up to San Felipe del Agua. It has outdoor seating, great ‘barbacoa blando’ (with lots of condiments to choose from) and room for bikes, making it a great spot after a morning ride. Get there early for the best cuts!

• A post-ride recommendation in Oaxaca? Check out La Popular for a beer or two, and local food. The wild mushroom (setas) and garlic dish is especially tasty.
• For a spot to try much of Oaxaca’s regional cuisine, head to Mercado Organico La Cosecha (C. Macedonio Alcalá 806), where a number of small stalls will entice you with their delights. Although it can be really busy in the high season, this place is one of Oaxaca’s little gems. Open Weds-Sunday. There’s covered, outside seating, so it’s good year round.
• Over in Xochimilco, en route to the local trail network in the Libramento Norte, Rupestre has a lovely courtyard and especially strong americanos – there’s room for bikes – and next door, there’s also the roof terrace at AM Siempre (great gluten-free chocolate cake). Nearby Chepiche (look it up on Googlemaps, as it’s not signposted from the road) is super spacious, room for bikes, and there’s outdoor seating. Ancestral, also close by in Xochimilco, is a restaurant serving beautifully presented, traditional Oaxacan fare.
• To find out more about the culinary fare for which Oaxaca City is known, check out the Netflix series Street Food Latin America. It focuses on local legend Doña Vale and the region’s famous recipes.

High end dining

• Looking for a real culinary adventure? Dive down the Oaxacan foodie rabbit hole by checking out the following world-class restaurants: Crudo, Restaurant Alfonsina, Criollo, Agua Miel, Levadura de Olla, Origen, Hotel Sin Nombre (vegetarian), Teocintle, and Casa Oaxaca. You’ll need to book in advance for all of these places, at least in the evenings. My personal favourites are Levadura de Olla (beautiful setting and a tier down in pricing) and the seasonal Agua Miel, which is actually out of town, near San Agustin Etla, and be tied in with the Excursiones en Etla route, or a day ride.
• Talking about fine dining, in 2024 Michelin visited Mexico, and bestowed various 1 stars, ‘Bib Gourmand’, and general recommendations to a number of states across the country, including Oaxaca – which are listed here. Is it a good idea? Here’s a very interesting Substack on the subject, the impact, and the costs incurred…

Coffee and Chocolate!

• Coffee drinker? Oaxaca has you covered! Coffee is grown in the state, as well as nearby Veracruz and Chiapas, and is often roasted locally. There are far too many coffee shops to recommend, but try out Café El Volador, at the beautiful Plaza de la Cruz de Piedra, to get you started. The square is a great spot to hang out after a day ride, which is why a lot of the routes I post start here! Also, take a wander over to Muss Cafe for great espresso (next to the Textile Museum). My coffee-obsessed friends recommend Morito y Moglie, Cafébre, Kiyo, and Café SL28 as good spots to sample. In terms of bringing coffee beans home, El Volador is a good option, as are Morito y Moglie and Cafébre.
• Cacao plays an important role in Oaxacan food and the state Oaxaca is well known for its chocolate. It’s either melted with cinnamon and sugar into Oaxacan hot chocolate – traditionally served without milk – or made into a delicious mole, which can be found on every restaurant’s menu. Many small stores will sell chocolate balls or disks, which are great to take on camping trips.
• Delicious, Oaxacan-made Mamapacha chocolate is available in a number of spots, like Boulenc and Pan Con Madre, and is sold in compostable packaging. But if you want to go to source, head to their shop on Santos Degollado 311, which includes a seating area. The coffee here is also excellent, as are all the chocolate-infused bakery treats and their chocolate ice cream. Antonio, the proprietor, is a cyclist, too. Highly recommended!

Mezcal!

• Like Mezcal? Pop into one of the many mezcal specialists in town or stop along the roadside and try the local tipple, distilled from agave (maguey) plants. There are many subtleties to mezcal, depending on the agave, where it’s grown, and how it’s distilled. A number of the routes we’ve shared pass by ‘palenques’, where you can find out more about the whole process. The main mezcal hub is around Santiago Matatlan – close to routes like Excursiones en Etla and the San Jose del Pacifico Grand Dirt Tour.
• For a deep dive into the mezcal-tasting experience in the city, Mezcaloteca comes highly recommended, as does El Destilado. Our friends Anna and Brooks – aka Rambling Spirits – offer various Mezcal-themed tours of the city and surrounding palenques. We buy our mezcal from them!
• Talking of fancy drinks, check out Selva for fancy cocktails – it’s also an option for mezcal.
• And, talking of mezcal and popping, Mezcalite POP! (C. Porfirio Díaz 404), is a paleteria with a difference. Recommended for ice cream enthusiasts especially.

Juices, aguas frescas, and tepache…

• Visit any market for a wide variety of fruit and fruit shakes, a great start to the day. ‘Verde’, laced with celery, grapefruit, and parsley is a personal favourite. The main Oaxaca market, behind the zócalo – Mercado Benito Juárez – is always a hive of activity and a great place to explore on foot. Best to leave your bike at home.
• Agua frescas are the drink of choice in Mexico and way better than Coca-Cola! Choose from jamaica, horchata, and tamarindo, along with whatever fruit is in season – mango, papaya, or guava, for example. Where possible, it’s best to buy soft drinks in glass bottles as these are both re-used and more easily recycled than plastics. Like many parts of the word, single-use trash is a big problem in Oaxaca.
• Tepache and Agua de Crema de Coco are two other local drinks to keep an eye out for. One is made from fermented pineapple, the other from coconuts, water, and coconut milk… plus some sweeteners (-;

• Tejate, a pre-hispanic energy drink made from maize and cacao, and tepiche, made from fermented pineapple, is another local drink to look out for. Tejate is available in a number of villages in the Mitla Valley, the most famous being San Andrés de Huayapam – we do a nice dirt road day ride that loops out there.

Lastly… ice cream and grasshoppers!

• Eat meat? Or rather, insects? Grab yourself a bag of chapolines – grasshoppers seasoned with lime, salt and garlic – and sprinkle them on your food or just enjoy them for afternoon nibbles.
• Let’s finish off this list with paletas! Mexico’s classic ice cream on a stick tastes especially good after (or during) a long day in the saddle.