The restaurant situation in most cities is an ever-shifting canvas and there’s high turnover always. This post on the best restaurants in Guanajuato was updated in November of 2023 and will be revised when the scene changes again.

best Guanajuato restaurants

Though Guanajuato City probably receives 98 Mexican tourists for every 2 foreign ones, the local population is getting steadily wealthier and pickier, so the number of good places to choose from keeps increasing each year. So the best places to eat here is not limited to two or three restaurants anymore–though the pandemic did put a few places over the edge.

This is still no San Miguel de Allende, with 50+ places catering to resident foreigners (see a link for recommendations there at the end). The positive counterpart of that is it’s really difficult to spend anywhere close to $100 for two on a nice meal in the top restaurants here. You’d have to order a couple of bottles of wine to hit that level.

The first time my wife and I dined at Amatxi, for instance, we had three courses and a few glasses of wine for $50 even. That’s considered pricey by local standards. The current exchange rate will have a big impact on this though, keep in mind, as will the recent years’ inflation. We have topped $60 for two now and then lately, but that was for a rather decadent evening.

Here are the best bets for a leisurely upscale meal in central Guanajuato City. There are some other fine restaurants in suburban Marfil, where the few huge houses with a yard and garage are, but they require a longer taxi ride to get to and receive very few out-of-towners.

Mestizo

Housed in the gallery of famous potter Capello, his son is the owner and chef of this excellent restaurant that has never let me down. Every time I’m amazed at the beauty and flavor of what comes out of the kitchen after ordering from a menu where hardly anything tops US$14.

It’s not the best spot for vegetarians as most of the choices involve beef, pork, or chicken with interesting sauces or marinades. Those who eat seafood will usually find at least one option though. No website, so go here for more info.

Mestizo de Mar Guanajuato

Las Mercedes

The original gourmet restaurant in Guanajuato still chugs along as one of the best and is a favored spot for romantic special occasions. Perched on a hillside in a residential neighborhood that requires a taxi ride from the center, here you can count on very high-end Mexican cuisine with some international influence in presentation and (scrumptious) desserts. It’s a romantic and cozy spot for date night. Open for dinner only Monday through Saturday. Amatxi Restaurant, one of the best in Guanajuato

Amatxi

One of the best upscale restaurants in Guanajuato, Amaxti is expensive by local standards but worth it for the kind of ambiance you normally find in a big city. This is a romantic spot on the second floor of another restaurant owned by the same family, up near the Presa de la Olla, next to a leafy park and the Palacio de Gobierno.

The best bets here are the meat and seafood dishes, especially the steaks. There’s also a range of interesting cocktails as well as beautiful desserts that look as good as they taste. There’s even a real bar you can sit at, with bar stools, which is a rarity in this city. No website, but they have a Facebook page.

La Vie en Rose

Owned by a transplanted French family, the bakery and restaurant La Vie en Rose gave new meaning to the phrase “instant success” when it opened in late 2014. It sucked in expats and upper-crust Mexicans like a powerful vacuum cleaner as soon as word got out—which only took about a week. If anything, it has gotten better.

This place could hold its own in Paris with its divine pastries and heavenly food. Here in the colonial interior of Mexico, it’s got no competition apart from possibly a bakery or two in San Miguel. Everything you get here looks like a work of art and unlike most Mexican pastries, tastes just as special. See their website here and start salivating.

La Vie en Rose Guanajuato

La  Table de  Andrée

This is another French-themed restaurant that was open in a rather inconvenient location for a while, but has now relocated to a spot on Positos between the university and the Alondiga. I have only eaten there once at this point, but our dinner for two was terrific on all counts. You can get classic dishes like French onion soup and beef bourguignon, which I happily did, but they also have salads and some lighter fare. The chef came out to ask how everything was, which is always a good sign. You can order a good glass of wine or a craft beer here and it’s a romantic spot on two levels.

Table de Andree restaurant GTO

 

Oajillo Cafe

If you want to get a terrific mid-day meal at a good price, head straight to Oajillo in the Carcamanes 17 Hotel. Yes, the name of the hotel is the actual address. They serve a good breakfast in the morning but their real claim to fame is a revolving few set meal choices that show a flair and professionalism that’s often hard to find in this city. You can order a quality coffee or a craft beer if you’d like, or just get the aqua fresca and your bill will be less than $6. Most of the tables are indoors in an airy space, but you can eat outside on the patio as well.

Oajillo at Carcamanes 17 in Guanajuato Mexico

This is currently the best spot in the city if you’re looking for something innovative and different, plus they have a good selection of Mexican coffee, tea, local craft beer, and wine.

Las Vieyras

This fine dining restaurant in the main courtyard of Hotel Casa del Rector, near the Diego Rivera Museum, just might be the most expensive place in town these days, especially if it’s a special holiday meal. This is one of the few places you can find with main dishes that top US$25.

The setting is magical though and what comes out of the kitchen is consistently good. They also have a selection of craft beer and Mexican wine.

Casa del Rector Guanajuato best restaurant

The rooftop bar is a more casual hangout space with a great view over the city. Near the entrance there’s an excellent bakery as well that’s a coffee shop in the mornings and afternoons.

Costal Cultura

We’ve been to Costal Cultura three times now and it looks like it’s going to hang on, in a location where that’s never been a given. It’s upstairs in the gorgeous Casa Cuatro building between Baratillo Plaza and the university.

The menu is a mix of Mexican and international dishes that will please most in your crowd, they have a nice cocktail bar, and sometimes there’s live music. Next to it is an art gallery and downstairs is a record store! See more info here.

Casa Valadez

This local institution could previously just rely on its perfect location on the Jardin de Union, across from Teatro Juarez, and still bring in plenty of business. They now have to serve everyone inside since the city nixed their outdoor dining terrace (and didn’t even restore it during the pandemic), but Casa Valadez still packs in the free-spending tourists. The fine-looking restaurant serves a non-stop stream of upper-crust locals, domestic tourists, and foreign ones by serving up consistently good food.

The menu is heavy on traditional Mexican dishes, but they’re all presented with flair by well-trained waiters and you can also get a good steak or salad here—not always a given elsewhere. They serve all three meals and have the nicest bathrooms in Guanajuato. Yes, it seems a bit overpriced, but you can’t beat the location or the elegant surroundings inside.

Casa Valadez Restauarnt in Guanajuato

Other Guanajuato City Restaurants to Consider

There’s also an upscale Relais & Chateau restaurant in hotel Villa Maria Cristina up toward the Presa de la Olla. It mostly serves hotel guests but it is open to the public.

I’ve eaten at Pali on Alonso twice now and one was for Valentine’s Day, which can always be hit or miss. Our meal was a hit though so I need to get back there. Here’s what one of our desserts looked like because the main course had pink mole to go with a night of pink and red and just looked too strange to post here. It tasted great though. They always have great artwork on the walls.

Pali restaurant in Guanajuato dessert

You wouldn’t know it from the street, but Pali has a nice upstairs area as well. This is one of those annoying Mexican businesses that has an Instagram account but can’t be bothered to put up a web page, so check the Tripadvisor info here.

When I first lived in the city a few years ago, just coming up with this many standouts was a challenge. Now the bar is getting much higher and you could eat at a different place every night for a week and eat well. If you have a craving for Italian food, most put La Trattoria above Hotel San Diego in the top spot overall. But you can also try La Capellina near the main plaza.

If you want to enjoy a better-than-average meal in pedestrian-only San Fernando Plaza, the best bet is La Boheme. (There’s also a poke bowl place nearby if you are trying to find something healthy.)

Once place that isn’t especially fancy but that we go to a lot is Oajillo, just around the corner from Costal Cultura mentioned earlier. They have a nice outdoor dining deck on the third floor of  small hotel.

If you’re looking for something casual that’s not Mexican, there’s also a good falafel place called Habibti and a Japanese place called Delica Mitsu. Both are near Santo Cafe, which sits on a bridge above the street.

Habibti is a good stop for vegetarian food but the best sit-down option is Escarola, which has a nice garden courtyard area overlooking one of the tunnels and a market selling natural products.

What about Los Campos that you may have heard about? Well, the owner kept his string of failed businesses going when he shut Los Campos down again for the second time in mid-2o23. The restaurant often named the best in the city prior to 2020 disappeared for most of the pandemic era then re-emerged in a new location at the beginning of 2022 in a larger two-floor location with a well-stocked bar you could actually belly up to. I don’t think it’s ever coming back this time though.

After all this, if you get tired of fancy food at the best restaurants in Guanajuato and want to eat where the workers do, take a Guanajuato street food tour.

If you’re combining a trip here with the other UNESCO World Heritage city in Guanajuato State, follow these recommendations from a local resident we trust on the best places to eat in San Miguel de Allende.

You’ll need a good base to stretch out in if you try more than a few of the best restaurants in Guanajuato. Find your perfect luxury hotel in Guanajuato or check out places to stay in the state capital city here: