Over the last few years Oaxaca City has been dubbed “Mexico’s Culinary Capital,” making it the perfect holiday destination for those looking to sip and nibble their way through tasty mole and smoky mezcal.
Oaxacan cuisine is known for its distinct flavours and combinations, often featuring regional variations of dishes with an indigenous influence like mole, which is a sauce made with a variety of ingredients, including chilies, nuts, seeds, cocoa and spices.
Oaxaca City is also home to many Michelin-starred restaurants, showcasing the high quality and sophistication of its culinary scene.
Best Tours For Foodies in Oaxaca City
If you’re looking to dive into Oaxaca City’s unique culinary offerings we suggest booking tours with local experts that know the regions culinary history like the back of their hand.
We spent a week eating and drinking our way through Oaxaca City with local operator Where Sidewalks End (WSE Travel).
The Oaxaca City-based boutique tour company launched in 2011, specializing in positive impact travel.
Book a tour with Where Sidewalks End and you’ll enjoy tasty culturally immersive adventures located off-the-beaten-path.
“From locals, to the communities we visit, to our drivers and guides, to the street vendors we may stop to interact with – everyone at WSE are treated with respect and pride,” shared Ian Ord, founder of Where Sidewalks End.
Oaxaca Artisanal Cheese Experience
This delicious tour is perfect for fromage fans and the casein curious.
On this private tour you’ll visit Oaxaca’s famous cheese town, Reyes Etla, to meet the owner of a fifth generation cheese farm.
You’ll learn about the region’s famous Oaxacan Cheese (known to locals as Quesillo) and have a chance to roll up your sleeves and help prepare a fresh batch.
You’ll also have the opportunity to snack on a variety of fresh cheeses (similar to ricotta) that are prepared with the leftover whey from the quesillo-making process. Varieties included blackberry, coffee & pecan, and spicy pepper varieties.
The tour finishes at a nearby historic church, Santuario de las Peñitas, with an eye-popping interior and cactus garden out front.
Oaxaca Artisanal Chocolate Experience
Chocolate fans will love this finger-licking-good private chocolate tour, which takes you to the quaint village of Santa Maria Atzompa (famous for its pottery artisans) located a short drive outside of Oaxaca City.
Our first stop was the local market where we sampled Tejate, a unique beverage from the region prepared with corn and cacao.
We then met the friendly owner of an artisanal chocolate shop where you’ll start by learning about the history of cocoa production in Mexico.
You’ll have the opportunity to roast your own cocoa beans, followed by shucking, grinding and stirring in a mixture of sugar, almonds and local cinnamon to make a smooth and luscious chocolate that you can form into bars or pucks.
The experience finishes with a chocolate tasting (featuring flavours from mezcal to cardamom) and a glass of traditional foamy Mexican hot chocolate.
Oaxaca Pechuga Mezcal Experience
Pechuga mezcal is a rare and intricate expression, typically enjoyed by locals at special celebrations like weddings and birthdays.
If you’re an agave aficionado book this unique group tour to Santiago Matatlan, Oaxaca’s famous Mezcal region, which takes place every Saturday.
You’ll visit a mother and daughter-run agave plantation and distillery, learning about the traditional methods of artisanal mezcal production.
You’ll hop in the back of a truck and drive to the family’s nearby plantation where endless rows of prickly agave plants tan in the hot sun. Under the cool shade of a swaying tree experience a unique indigenous blessing from your host. The mezcalero will sip a shot of Mezcal and then spit it all over your body like a refreshing mist. She then gently smacks you with a handful of tree branches, cleansing your body of bad energy.
Back at the distillery you’ll roll up your sleeves to make small-batch Pechuga, a Mezcal prepared with fresh fruits like oranges, apples and pineapple as well as one whole raw chicken!
A traditional lunch is served with smoky margaritas as the Mezcal goes through it’s third and final distillation. Before you head back to the city enjoy a Mezcal tasting then grab a bottle of your very own Pechuga to take home.
Oaxaca Ancestral Food Experience
This tasty walking tour starts at a bustling food market in the heart of Oaxaca City.
A knowledgable local guide will spend 5 hours touring your through Mexico’s culinary capital. You’ll learn about the importance corn and cacao have on traditional Oaxaca cuisine.
We suggest skipping breakfast entirely as you’ll be sampling over 5 local dishes and 5 drinks, you’ll skip back to your hotel well fed and likely won’t even need dinner as the servings are generous and hearty.
During our tour we enjoyed tasty tamales, pickled cabbage topped garnachas, a fermented pineapple drink, tortilla stuffed with a selection of stews, a chilled indigenous beverage prepared with corn and cacao, and a whipped cream topped frappe prepared with artisanal Mexican chocolate.
Oaxaca Cooking Class
Every Tuesday Where Sidewalks End offers a group tour to visiting foodies who are looking to master Mexican cooking at home.
The experience starts at a food market where a guide will take you to meet cheese farmers, tortilla makers, fruit and vegetable stands and a butcher to purchase ingredients that you’ll use in your cooking class.
After the market visit stroll to a local restaurant to meet a celebrated chef from Oaxaca who will spend the next few hours teaching you how to make classic Mexican dishes like a trilogy of salsas, mole, tortillas, tacos and tamales.
