Food

What to eat

Food is one of the real reasons to bother with Cuernavaca. Morelos cooking is hearty and unfussy, and the city does it well.

• Cecina. The regional signature — thin sheets of salted, air-dried beef, grilled and served with tortillas, cream, avocado and salsa. This is the dish to plan around. The nearby town of Yecapixtla is famous for it, but you will eat it well in Cuernavaca too.
• Tacos and grilled meat. Neighborhood taquerías turn out excellent al pastor, suadero and carne asada. Cheap, fast, and better than most of the plaza restaurants.
• Itacates. A local triangular masa snack, thick and griddled, stuffed or topped. Street-food comfort.
• Nieves and paletas. Ice and fruit-water treats to survive the warm afternoons.

Where to eat

The market. The Adolfo López Mateos market is the honest heart of it — comida corrida (set lunches), fresh juices, mole, and cecina counters. A full plate runs roughly 80 to 150 pesos (approximate). Come hungry and mid-morning.

Street stalls and taquerías. The best-value eating in town. A few tacos for pocket change, no menu, no English, all the better for it.

Center restaurants and garden terraces. The sit-down places around the plazas and the boutique-hotel terraces are pleasant and more expensive — main dishes often in the 180 to 350 peso range (approximate). Fine for a relaxed lunch with a view; not where the best food actually is.

Prices above are ballpark and unverified — the site confirms exact figures separately. If you eat one thing here, make it cecina.