Where residents actually go
Guanajuato is a student and working city, so real life happens a short walk off the Jardin de la Union, not on it. The Jardin is where you go for a beer and the atmosphere; everything cheaper and better sits one or two plazas back.
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Mercado Hidalgo, upstairs and around the edges. Tourists photograph the cast-iron hall; locals climb to the upper-level fondas and the stalls away from the main entrance for enchiladas mineras, tacos and comida corrida at student prices. Weekday lunch, roughly 1:30 to 3 pm, is when it is busiest and best. Order the enchiladas mineras or a plate of the day and a fresh agua.
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Plaza San Fernando. A small, tree-shaded plaza a few minutes uphill from the Jardin, ringed with casual restaurants and cantina-ish spots. Locals sit here with a coffee by day and a beer and antojitos in the evening, without the plaza-restaurant markup of the Jardin. Mellow crowd, good for a slow drink.
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Plaza Baratillo. Even smaller and quieter, built around an old stone fountain. A neighborhood spot to sit and watch the alleys rather than a place to be seen. Good coffee stops nearby.
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The streets climbing past the Universidad. The alleys around the university’s stone staircase are lined with cheap student eating: torterias, juice and licuado stands, taco counters and guacamaya carts. Follow the students at lunchtime and you will eat well for almost nothing. This is the everyday food engine of the city.
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Presa de la Olla. On a day off, families head up to this reservoir and park at the top of the city to walk, rent a rowboat, sit by the water and eat at the loncherias. Sundays are the big day. It is the local antidote to the center’s crush, and almost no day-tripper makes it up here.
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Midweek pozole. A pot of pozole is a Thursday and weekend ritual across the Bajio. Ask your host or a shopkeeper where the neighborhood spot is rather than eating it on the tourist strip; the good ones are unglamorous fondas that sell out by mid-afternoon.
What to order and when
- Enchiladas mineras or comida corrida at a Mercado Hidalgo fonda, midday.
- A guacamaya (a bolillo roll split and stuffed with chicharron, pico and lime, splashed with salsa) from a busy street cart as a walking snack, any time.
- Pozole on a Thursday or weekend afternoon, before it runs out.
- A slow beer at Plaza San Fernando as the evening crowd rolls in.
The friend’s tip
Drink your first coffee or beer on the Jardin de la Union for the setting, then eat everything else one or two plazas over, where the prices drop and the food gets better. The rule holds almost every time: the closer you are to the postcard view, the worse the value on the plate. For the specific dishes and where to find each, see food.