Food

Eat in El Centro, not the strip

The single best food decision in Cancún is to leave the Hotel Zone for dinner. The strip serves overpriced international buffets; El Centro serves the real thing for a fraction of the price.

What to eat

This is the Yucatán, so look for regional dishes, not generic “Mexican”:

• Cochinita pibil — slow-roasted, achiote-marinated pork, often in tacos or tortas. The signature dish of the peninsula.
• Panuchos and salbutes — fried tortillas topped with turkey or chicken, pickled onion and avocado.
• Marquesitas — the local street dessert, a crisp rolled crêpe filled with cheese and cajeta or Nutella. Try one at Parque de las Palapas.
• Fresh Caribbean seafood — ceviche, grilled fish, aguachile.

Where to go

• Mercado 23 for cheap, honest loncherías and market breakfasts.
• Parque de las Palapas for evening antojitos and marquesitas among local families.
• Avenida Yaxchilán for tacos al pastor, cochinita and cold beer with a local crowd.

Rough prices

Approximate only, and the site verifies exact figures separately. Street tacos and antojitos run a couple of dollars a plate. A sit-down meal with drinks in El Centro is modest. The same meal in the Hotel Zone can cost several times as much for lower quality. Tap water isn’t for drinking — stick to bottled or purified.