The Best Rooftop Bars and Restaurants in Oaxaca Centro

Settled in the midst of picturesque mountains, Oaxaca Centro is the perfect place to enjoy a 360 view from a rooftop terrace. After living in the city for a few months, I’ve gathered a few personal favorite rooftops in Oaxaca among cafes, bars, and restaurants.

So sit back, relax, and enjoy the view.

1. Casa Oaxaca

Best for: date night, cocktails, ambiance

Price: $$$

If you ask around, you’ll quickly find out that Casa Oaxaca has a reputation for being the best restaurant in town. This reputation is sometimes spot-on, and sometimes not, depending on the dish you order and the daily specials that are available. I personally recommend dinner at Danzantes instead, followed by after-dinner drinks at Casa Oaxaca.

This gorgeous place remains my favorite for rooftop cocktails with an amazing view and excellent service. The vibes here are best after 8pm, when the rooftop is lit up with candles and St. Domingo is illuminated. But if you come for brunch, you’ll get a daytime mountain view. Pretty much a win-win.

From their 17 page (!!) cocktail menu, I recommend the rich Mezcal Sour and the lavender-forward Mentas del Huerto. While I haven’t been super impressed by most of food menu, the root vegetable salad and suckling pig stand out as exceptions to that rule.

2. Gozobi

Best for: sunset views

Price: $$

Gozobi is hands-down the best place to watch sunset in centro. Grab a table on the far end of the rooftop terrace and have a drink with friends while you watch the mountains turn from orange and pink to adeep dark blue dotted with lights.

The house red wine is a crowd-pleaser, and my personal choice for value. Gozobi also offers lots of creative cocktails using local mezcals, herbs, tamarind, Oaxacan chocolate, etc. I haven’t personally eaten here, but they do have a full food menu if you get hungry.

3. La Olla

Best for: breakfast, brunch

Price: $

A hidden gem.

Take a morning walk past the corner of Indepencia and Reforma, and you’ll be sure to spot a local GODDESS making all kinds of masa by hand and transforming them into magic on the comal.

Walk inside and go straight up to the rooftop terrace on the 3rd floor. Enjoy a north-facing seat in the sunshine for an amazing view of the mountains!

I recommend the tetelas, memelas, huevos al comal, and cafe de olla. These are actually my favorite tetelas (triangles of blue corn goodness stuffed with mashed black beans and local cheese) in all of Oaxaca! Be sure to try one of La Olla’s signature fresh-squeezed juices too.

4. Mezquite

Best for: lunch, rainy afternoons

Price: $$$

Mezquite’s covered rooftop terrace has a unique view of the opposite side of St. Domingo backed by blue mountain tops. You can also enjoy the architecture of the smaller local church to the left, and the historic street below.

My favorites are the grasshoper tacos, baja shrimp tacos, vegetarian burger, Agave Bramble, and Mezquite Punch.

Los Amantes

Best for: casual after-dinner drinks

Price: $$

A jacuzzi, a cactus garden, and a semi-panoramic view… the queen of rooftops in Oaxaca. What more could you want?

The best seat in the house is on the far left end of the terrace, right in front of a well-lit St. Domingo. A great spot to snap a classic Oaxaca photo!

Try the Immortal or the Margarita Africana off the drinks menu. My friends are also fans of the house clamato.

While they do have a food menu, I would eat your meal elsewhere and head here for drinks. (Not all of the best rooftops in Oaxaca can be perfect at everything!) If you need a snack, you can’t go wrong with guacamole with grasshoppers.

I’ve been loving the views and flavors Oaxaca so much that I extended my stay from one month to two, and plan to return again next year. I can’t recommend this storybook town enough!

P.S. Are you convinced to move to Mexico yet?

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