A little taste of Mexico
Botanas: Cantina Eats
Around Merida & the Yucatán coast, cantinas are mandatory stops in the afternoon when the heat get to be too much! Cold beers, served as cheladas or in cubetas, accompany small plates (don’t drink on an empty stomach!) If you are lucky, you can choose your soundtrack with a rockola or video jukebox, or if you are luckier, classic cumbias will play from the kitchen where cooks will dance as they prepare your botanas.
Botanas aka mexican apertivos:
Cantinas in Merida & the Yucatan coast offer healthier fare than found in Mexico City. Typical botanas are cooked potato or beets dressed with salt, cilantro & fresh lime juice, Sikil P’aak- a tomato & pumpkin seed purée, scrambled egg & chaya leaf, squash fried in lard, potatoes fried in a suggestion of chorizo, a paste of refried black beans, a stuffed cabbage leaf…And always hot dog salad: sliced hotdogs served cold in a dressing of ketchup, mustard or mayonnaise with onion or jalapeno.
Craft Beer in Merida: Hermana República
Yucateca craft beer
On the road to Progreso, just past Merida’s mallandia, you’ll find the most successful of Cerveza Patito’s brewpubs.
I’m constantly looking for a comfy bar for solo drinking and a cool modern brew pub vibe with a/c
I like their beer ok & I love that it’s yucateco & independiente. I think Patito tastes best when consumed quickly because it doesn’t have a lot of carbonation.
The full menu includes local specialties like castacan, carne Ahumada de Temozan, Chile Xcatic & Sikil Pak are along with trendier dishes tuna carnitas, fried octopus, croquetas de cochinita pibil. A 3 beer sampler is $70 a growler to go would set you back $140. apps are $75-155. Mains are $165-265
The Humble Brilliance of Italy’s Moka Coffee Pot – Gastro Obscura
TRUTH! Bialetti’s Moka Express is redeemed by coffee snobs!
Coffee people have softened their stance, and recognized the moka pot for what it is: an entirely different branch of the coffee machine tree, a very old, very clever, and very economical way to make coffee.
Source: The Humble Brilliance of Italy’s Moka Coffee Pot – Gastro Obscura
I travel with my brilliant espresso pot. Coffee culture has grown muchisimo in Mexico, but it’s still easier to find a stove than an espresso every morning!
Old School Cantina Crawl in Merida
Join us for a cantina crawl of the old-school cantinas of Merida! Find some new favorites!
Merida has a treasure trove of classic cantinas featuring local drinking culture & flavors. Residents & visitors find that seeking the shelter of a cantina during the heat of the day makes the heat tolerable. A typical cantina offers plentiful cold beer, basic mixed drinks, and on-alcoholic limeades & soft drinks- each round is accompanied by botanas, snacks & small plates. Botanas are a great way to sample local dishes!
MANY cantinas in Merida still cater exclusively to men. Some of these establishments are known as bares de ficheras, referring to the fiches (tokens) collected by the women in exchange for a dance. Women present are employed by the cantina to encourage men to keep drinking.
What our cantina crawl looks like:
botanas! 
ice-cold draft beer 
*Teach’s cart* 
Papa Chivo: the patron of bartenders 
old-school cantina
enjoying a cold one with some botanas 
pasta tiles are everything! 
classic cantina doors 
*la cuenta* 
since 1956 
mural of famous yucatecos 
*beer helps you have sexual relations!*
Our customizable cantina tour can be combined with markets, street food, or shopping. We recommend visiting 3 or 4 cantinas in 3 or 4 hours to get a sense of the experience. Bring coins for the rockola!
MERIDA OLD-SCHOOL CANTINA CRAWL (4 hours)
We’ll pick you up at high noon & visit 3 cantinas in central Merida for 2 beers & accompanying botanas!