Food

What to eat in Tequila

The food here is highland Jalisco cooking, and it pairs - unsurprisingly - with a glass of the local spirit. Eat a couple of blocks off the plaza and both the quality and the value improve.

The dishes worth planning around

• Birria. Jalisco’s signature slow-cooked stew, traditionally goat, rich and chili-deep, eaten in the morning with tortillas and a squeeze of lime. A weekend breakfast staple.
• Carne en su jugo. A Guadalajara-area classic - beef simmered in its own juices with beans and bacon. Hearty and very regional.
• Tortas ahogadas. The “drowned” sandwich in spicy tomato sauce, more a Guadalajara thing but common here.
• Tacos and barbacoa from the evening stalls and small taquerias.

Where to eat

The market and the small fondas near it are where locals eat cheaply and well at midday - expect a full plate for a modest price (approximate - a market meal runs low, a sit-down plaza restaurant noticeably more). The restaurants directly on the plaza charge a tourist premium for a view; fine for a drink, less so for value.

Some of the larger distilleries run their own restaurants, occasionally quite upscale, building menus around tequila pairings. A treat if you want it, but not the everyday town.

A drink with it

This is tequila country, so drink it neat and sipped, or as a cantarito - tequila with citrus and grapefruit soda over ice in a clay cup. Cheaper and better away from the plaza.