DINING IN MERIDA

DELICIOUS!

There are so many wonderful places to eat in Merida, it's impossible to visit them all if you're only here for a couple of days.  Then again - eating is just one more reason for coming back to Merida...

Alberto's Continental restaurant is located at Calle 64 and 57, and has wonderful ambience, a friendly owner (Alberto), and delicious Yucatecan and Lebanese dishes to choose from.  We actually mixed it up, as we were ready for some garlic, and found that combing humous and pita, and salad with pollo pebil was actually a tastey combination.  By far, Alberto's serves the best pollo pebil I've had yet, in Yucatan. 

 Everything about this restaurant is fantastic - and though it is more expensive than other restaurants, we found the food portions were larger, and the quality was well worth the extra cost. 

Portico del Peregrino's is located at Calle 57 No 501, between Calles 60 and 62.  This restaurant is directly beside Pop Cafeteria.  It's nice and quiet inside, even though it is outside, as there is a little hallway that leads into the inner courtyard.  There are tables inside and out, but we always sit outside.  This restaurant gets mixed reviews, and I'm curious about this.  We've eaten here on several occasions, and have always found the food to be very flavourful, while others call it bland.  (I can't stand bland!) 

I love their Sopa de  Lima (Chicken Lime Soup), Conch Ceviche (even though I don't eat seafood!) and have tried many other dishes over the years.  Leanne really enjoyed her lime-marinaded snapper, and seafood soup.  We've always found the prices very reasonable, and they serve the best dessert in Yucatan - coconut icecream with kaluha on top!

In Parque Hidalgo, Cafeteria El Meson serves decent food.  This restaurant is out in the open, but the hotel staff do a fairly decent job of making sure the street vendors don't sell fake silver to customers, or overly harass them.  It's a nice place to eat lunch or dinner, and if wanting a break from spicey food, they serve a delicious Hawaiin pizza here that is topped with peaches as well as pineapple.

   For a local Pizza experience, head on down to Calle 59 No 508 and look for Vito Corleone's Pizzaria.  We had a large sized Hawaiian pizza, one beer and a coke for a total of $7.20.  Cheapest meal yet - of course, that wasn't including the tip.

 We sat upstairs, and enjoyed the view.  There was a birthday party beside us, and with the exception of one couple who were sitting downstairs when we arrived, there were no tourists here.  The pizza was very crispy, and after missing lunch, was the familiar food to settle our appetites.

Of course, if you would prefer take-out, you can call the number on this bike and have your pizza delivered.  We really enjoyed the experience of being in the restaurant, but it would also be nice to take a pizza to-go if one was tired.

Cafe Peon Contreras is located Calle 60 between 61 and 63.  This restaurant gets terrible reviews - however, all is not lost.  It's a beautiful place to sit and have drinks, guacamole, and enjoy live entertainment at night.  Both of our meals were barely edible, so we've never returned to actually eat. 

     This is Carlos, and he served us both years we came here.  He's the most friendly and efficient server here, so try to sit in his section is you happen to see him!  At night, we were amused to see "Live Karaoke" here, which requires the singer to know all words by heart, since there's no screen...This place is usually pretty busy in the evening.

For Breakfast, we tried two restaurants that were perfect for people watching.  Cafeteria Pop is located at Calle 57 No 501, between Calles 60 and 62, directly beside Portigo del Peregrino.  Pop is the first year of the Mayan calendar, so is not associated with carbonated drinks.  We were amused by the fact that there was a big sign that says "no fumer" - but when a group of elderly men arrived, they all lit up inside.  Merida has become predominantly a non-smoking city, but it would seem the elderly are grandfathered, out of respect.  We still enjoyed eating there, as they serve up delicious meals, are friendly and the tables are always clean.  They also have air conditioning.

Another restaurant we went for breakfast was Cafe La Habana.  They had very decent food and service, and was another great place for people watching.  In particular, the elderly men were fun to pay attention to, as they would all sit around smoking with their newspapers, with the tone of debate and agreement in their voices.  Of course, we couldn't understand them, but they would always look at us, smile and wave when we left.