Your Guide to Street Food in Oaxaca City

During my five years in Oaxaca, living in the last building on a quiet cobblestone street, I marked the days by the sound of the paleta vendor. Each morning, as I worked, I would wait for his familiar, deep call from the street below: “Pa-le-tas Pop-ey-e! Pa-le-tas Pop-ey-e!”

The vendor would greet me with a nod, calling me “Güera.” I’d ask for nuez con coco (pecans and coconut), lime, or the local favorite: leche quemada con tuna. Tuna is a cactus fruit—vibrant pink, with soft seeds, resembling kiwi but sweeter like a pear—and leche quemada, or “burnt milk,” is far tastier than it sounds, being both creamy and smoky.

In 2010, my husband Jorge and I left Oaxaca. Twelve years later, as we strolled through the Centro with our 5-year-old daughter, Elena, I suddenly recognized that unforgettable, thunderous three-note call echoing down the cobblestones. I took Elena's hand and dashed over. The vendor and his cart looked just the same. “Güera,” he said, making it feel like the past decade had been just a brief moment. He chatted with Elena while she savored her dulce de leche.

Oaxaca has transformed significantly since we departed. Each visit surprises us with new upscale restaurants presenting dishes for 1,000 pesos. While many of these places create remarkable dishes with local ingredients like grasshoppers and quesillo, I believe the essence of Oaxacan cuisine still lies in the charming cobblestone alleyways and under awnings on sun-warmed sidewalks. Here’s my personal selection of a day's worth of delightful street food experiences.

Breakfast at the Market

The market is the perfect place to start your day. On the eastern side of the city, visit La Merced and head to Fonda Rosita. Be sure to order the chilaquiles verdes, which arrive sizzling in a clay pot, garnished with two fried eggs, onions, and crema—a rich Oaxacan sour cream. While the rojos made with chile guajillo are worth a try, the verdes, with their zesty tomatillo salsa, perfectly complement the salty, crispy fried tortillas. When the egg yolk flows over this bubbling delight... it’s just what you need after a night of mezcal.

On the city’s western side, make your first stop at Sánchez Pascuas. Head over to Super Jugos Angelita, run by Angelita and her family. Here, you can order just about any juice you can think of, from classic fresh-squeezed orange to a blend of guava, carrot, grapefruit, watermelon, kiwi, and beet. They also offer milk-based drinks like mangoneada, a refreshing mix of milk, fresh mango, and banana. If you're visiting around Christmas, be sure to grab a bottle of their homemade eggnog—rompope—beautifully tied with a ribbon. (You can also find homemade eggnog and pickled jalapeños from nuns selling them on Sundays in front of Santo Domingo.)

Right in front of Jugos Angelita, you’ll find a memela stand and a tamales stand, both renowned as the best in the city. A memela is a fundamental Oaxacan dish: a hand-formed and pressed tortilla, grilled on the comal, then topped with bean paste, queso fresco, and your choice of savory toppings. For a traditional experience, try the sencillo—just asiento (lard), beans, queso fresco, and a touch of salsa. If you prefer a bolder flavor, opt for papas con chorizo, tinga (spicy chicken in tomato sauce), or mushrooms.

After savoring the memelas, take a deep breath, reset, and shift your focus to the tamales. The mole is the most adventurous option: wrapped in moist banana leaves, it’s juicy, sweet, savory, and steaming hot.

For subtler flavors, try frijol, a rich black bean paste; verde, featuring chicken in green salsa; or rajas, which combines pickled chiles in red salsa. The rajas offers a delightful mix of dense, sweet masa with a spicy punch, and it’s lighter than the other options.

Tacos and Tortas from the Streets

For lunch tacos, you really have two choices: the taco stand up the street from the Carmen Alto church or the one down the street from it. Given that we lived just a block from the latter, I have a bias toward its offerings. Dining here means sitting on a bench among schoolchildren, families, and hungry workers, or standing right in the street. Either way, there’s one standout choice: tacos de chile relleno.

These aren’t the folded tacos commonly found in the U.S.; instead, they feature rolled tortillas, each filled with a chile relleno—stuffed and fried poblano peppers. These tacos pack a spicy punch and are filled with juicy ground beef. The tortillas are tender and absorb the flavorful oil, making every bite delightful. If you arrive late, the mushroom option is still good, but make sure to come earlier tomorrow for the best experience.

Another lunch favorite is Tortas La Hormiga in Conzatti Park, which buzzes from around 11 to 2 with torta after torta coming off the grill. You can choose from options like chile relleno, ham, or beef or chicken cutlet (milanesa de res or milanesa de pollo). The tortas are made with fluffy, circular white bread that’s grilled to a crispy finish, almost like a lighter panini. Each one comes loaded with quesillo, salsa, pickled veggies, and black bean paste along with your main filling. The plaza where the food truck is located offers a lovely spot to enjoy your torta by the fountain.

Desserts

If you’re fortunate enough to find the paleta man, don’t miss the chance to enjoy the leche quemada con tuna while strolling around. If he’s not around, head to the trendy Mezcalite Pop! on Porfirio Díaz, just a block up from M. Bravo. This spot serves paletas and traditional Oaxacan nieves, often labeled as “ice creams,” but they’re more akin to creamy ices. You’ll find classic Oaxacan popsicles, nieves infused with mezcal, and a variety of unique toppings, from hibiscus salt to crushed agave worms. It’s typical in Oaxaca to blend sweet and savory, so consider ordering a mango nieve topped with chamoy— a sweet and salty chili sauce—along with chewy tamarind candy and an array of colorful salts.

You can also visit the charming plaza de nieves next to the Iglesia de la Soledad, where you can sit and order your nieve at one of the many small stalls. This plaza has a whimsical ambiance, reminiscent of an old-fashioned ice cream parlor nestled in a quaint stone square, complete with a central fountain. The nieves are displayed in large metal bins and served in delicate glass cups, making it an ideal place to indulge your nostalgic cravings during a long, serene Oaxacan evening.

Late Night Delights

As you stroll down a quiet street in the Centro at night, a sharp whistle pierces the air, reminiscent of an approaching train. Moments later, a man appears, pushing a large, rusty barrel with a tiny smokestack on top. It’s the fried-banana vendor! Platanos fritos are smoky-sweet, surprisingly filling, and drizzled with sweetened condensed milk.

If you find yourself in a lengthy, joyful happy hour, be sure to end the night with a tlayuda. While there are upscale 500-peso tlayudas at fancy restaurants in Oaxaca, this iconic dish truly shines after a night of beers when you're craving something big, salty, and crunchy. Head down 20 de Noviembre to the intersection with Calle de Nuño del Mercado in the south of the city to find Tlayudas La Chinita. Here, you’ll witness a grilling spectacle as a team expertly chars chorizo, tenderizes tasajo (Oaxacan skirt steak), and flips enormous, moon-shaped tortillas until they’re as crispy as chips. Each tlayuda is layered with a thin spread of asiento, black bean paste, fresh lettuce or cabbage, Oaxacan cheese, and your choice of meat.

If you're not looking for a hefty post-party meal but rather a quick snack, there's my child’s ultimate Oaxacan favorite: esquites. This craving has grown so strong that upon arriving in Oaxaca—even if it’s midnight—we have to seek out an esquite. Esquites are steaming cups of Oaxacan corn—chewy, herby, and salty—mixed with mayonnaise, queso fresco, lime, and sal de chile. They deliver a tangy, creamy texture, making them feel like indulgent junk food, even if you choose to ignore the generous dollop of mayonnaise. Sold from rolling carts illuminated by small bulbs, they meander through the streets like ships navigating a nighttime sea.

You enjoy an esquite while it's still piping hot, singeing your tongue as you wander the dimly lit streets. Alternatively, you might sit, like my daughter, on the low wall outside Santo Domingo, observing the vibrant parade of people passing by, allowing the herbed steam to rejuvenate you until you’re fully in sync with the rhythm of Oaxaca, its warmth and vibrancy flowing through your veins.

Sarah Menkedick is the author of Ordinary Insanity: Fear and the Silent Crisis of Motherhood in America. Eva Alicia Lépiz is a photographer and educator based in Oaxaca, focusing on stories about food and culture.