Booking choice: The Markets Food Tour from Jardin Carbajal. Book this Compare options below
If you want to understand how Oaxaca eats, start in the markets. The two big markets just south of the Zocalo, Mercado 20 de Noviembre and Mercado Benito Juarez, sell everything from chocolate and chapulines to grilled meat, cheese and tamales. A short walk away, La Cosecha is a smaller organic market. To the west of the centre, the Mercado de Abastos is the city's large wholesale and supply market. On Sundays, the town of Tlacolula de Matamoros holds a big street market that draws people from the Zapotec villages around it.
Most food tours sold in Oaxaca are walks through these markets. This guide explains what each one offers, how the famous pasillo de humo works, where Anthony Bourdain ate on his two trips, and how to shop like a local. To compare the guided options, read the guide to Oaxaca food tours.
Quick answer
Start at Mercado 20 de Noviembre, just south of the Zocalo, for comedores and the grilled-meat aisle. Next door, Mercado Benito Juarez sells chocolate, chapulines, cheese and produce. La Cosecha is an organic market. Mercado de Abastos is the big supply market west of the centre, where Anthony Bourdain ate barbacoa in 2014. Tlacolula's market runs on Sundays.
What is Mercado 20 de Noviembre known for?
Mercado 20 de Noviembre is the central market just south of the Zocalo, known for its many comedores and for the Pasillo de Carnes Asadas, the smoky grilled-meat aisle on its east side.
The market is a working market for the city, full of small family kitchens called comedores that serve breakfast and lunch at shared tables. Here you can find tamales, moles, memelas, hot chocolate and bread, as well as the classic grilled meats. It is one of the easiest places in Oaxaca City to try many dishes in one visit, and it is a short walk from the Zocalo.
The Oaxaca Markets Food Tour lists Mercado 20 de Noviembre, including its meat section, among its stops. The evening street food tour also finishes near here, at the Zocalo.
La Cosecha, Mercado 20 de Noviembre including the meat section, Benito Juarez and a chocolate shop in one 4-hour morning.
Book thisHow does the pasillo de humo work?
You choose meat at one of about a dozen grill stalls, the stall grills it over coals, and you buy tortillas, salsas, onions and chiles from other vendors in the aisle.
The Pasillo de Carnes Asadas, known as the pasillo de humo or smoke aisle, sits on the east side of Mercado 20 de Noviembre. About a dozen stalls grill two main meats over coals: tasajo, which is thin dried beef, and cecina enchilada, which is pork rubbed with chile.
- Step 1: pick a stall and choose your meat and how much.
- Step 2: while it grills, buy tortillas, salsas, grilled onions and chiles from the vendors who walk the aisle or have their own stalls.
- Step 3: find a seat at the shared tables, wrap the meat in tortillas and eat.
- Step 4: pay each vendor for what you bought from them.
The aisle is crowded at lunchtime and full of smoke. Go with a group if you can, so you can share a mix of meats.
What can you buy at Mercado Benito Juarez?
Mercado Benito Juarez, next to 20 de Noviembre, sells chocolate, chapulines, cheese, produce and many other everyday goods.
Benito Juarez is the market to visit for ingredients and edible souvenirs. Look for Oaxacan chocolate, which is cacao ground with sugar and usually cinnamon, often with almonds. You will also find balls of quesillo, the stretched-curd cheese wound like string, baskets of chapulines, chiles and fresh produce.
The Oaxaca Markets Food Tour ends at Benito Juarez market at about 13:30, according to the listing, so you can stay on and shop after the tour. The guide to mole, chocolate and cheese explains what to look for.
What is La Cosecha in Oaxaca?
La Cosecha is an organic market in Oaxaca City. The Oaxaca Markets Food Tour starts its market visits there.
La Cosecha is smaller and calmer than the big central markets, with a focus on organic food. It is a good contrast to the busy aisles of Mercado 20 de Noviembre. The Oaxaca Markets Food Tour visits La Cosecha first, then Mercado 20 de Noviembre, Benito Juarez, a chocolate shop and the guide's family business. The listing states 20+ dishes and drinks, with a focus on women-owned and women-led businesses, and vegetarian, pescatarian and gluten-free options.
The tour starts at 9:30 from Jardin Carbajal by the mural, where the guide carries a pink bag. It is bilingual in English and Spanish, with up to 8 people. The listing states it is not suitable for vegans, wheelchair users or people with mobility impairments, and strollers are not allowed.
Women-owned stalls, a chocolate shop and the guide's own family business: 20+ dishes and drinks with tips included.
Book thisWhere did Anthony Bourdain eat in Oaxaca?
In 2014, for Parts Unknown, Bourdain ate barbacoa with consomme at Mercado de Abastos and ate at Tlamanalli in Teotitlan del Valle. In 2001, for A Cook's Tour, he filmed at Mercado 20 de Noviembre.
Anthony Bourdain visited Oaxaca for two of his television series. In A Cook's Tour, Season 1, Episode 15 (2001), he filmed at Mercado 20 de Noviembre, where he tried chocolate drinks, chorizo, chapulines and menudo, and he also ate tamales with mole negro. In Parts Unknown, Season 3, Episode 4, titled Mexico (2014), he ate barbacoa with consomme at the Mercado de Abastos, and he ate at Tlamanalli in Teotitlan del Valle.
| Show and year | Where | What he ate |
|---|---|---|
| A Cook's Tour, Season 1, Episode 15 (2001) | Mercado 20 de Noviembre | Chocolate drinks, chorizo, chapulines and menudo |
| A Cook's Tour, Season 1, Episode 15 (2001) | Oaxaca | Tamales with mole negro |
| Parts Unknown, Season 3, Episode 4 (2014) | Mercado de Abastos | Barbacoa with consomme |
| Parts Unknown, Season 3, Episode 4 (2014) | Tlamanalli, Teotitlan del Valle | A meal at the restaurant |
Is Mercado de Abastos worth visiting?
Yes, if you want to see the city's big wholesale and supply market. It lies west of the centre.
Mercado de Abastos supplies much of the city, and it feels very different from the markets near the Zocalo. Expect large piles of produce, chiles, dried goods and household items, as well as food stalls serving workers and shoppers. It is where Bourdain ate barbacoa with consomme in 2014.
Because it is large and busy, many visitors go with a guide or on a tour. Keep your belongings close, as in any crowded market, and bring cash. The Etnofood market tour includes transportation, which helps if a market visit takes you outside the centre.
A visit to Abastos pairs well with a calmer morning at La Cosecha or Benito Juarez on another day. Seeing the supply market first makes it easier to understand where the food in the central comedores and evening stands comes from.
When is the Tlacolula Sunday market?
The Tlacolula tianguis is held on Sundays in Tlacolula de Matamoros, east of Oaxaca City on Highway 190, about 30 to 45 minutes by road.
The Sunday market fills the streets of Tlacolula with food stalls, rugs, pottery and goods from the Zapotec villages of the valley, with a livestock area nearby. It is a market for local people first, and it gives a very different picture from the city markets.
The Tlacolula market tour runs on Sundays, lasts 5 hours and takes up to 10 people. It meets at the Jardin Etnobotanico de Oaxaca entrance and uses private air-conditioned transport. The listing states a bilingual guide, food tastings at the market, a visit to the church and plaza, and a tasting at a family-run mezcal distillery. Gratuities are not included.
A Sunday at the Tlacolula tianguis with a bilingual guide, market tastings and mezcal at a family-run distillery.
Book thisHow do you shop at Oaxaca's markets?
Bring cash in small notes and a tote bag, go in the morning for the freshest choice, and ask before taking close-up photos of vendors.
- Cash: many stalls work with cash only. The Oaxaca Markets Food Tour listing asks guests to bring cash.
- Tote bag: the same listing suggests a tote bag, which is handy for chocolate, cheese and other purchases.
- Go early: mornings are cooler and calmer, especially in spring. The Etnofood listing recommends a morning start in spring because of the afternoon heat.
- Ask before photos: markets are workplaces, and a quick question is polite.
- Watch your step: aisles can be crowded and floors wet, so wear comfortable, closed shoes.
Frequently asked questions
Where is the pasillo de humo in Oaxaca?
It is the Pasillo de Carnes Asadas on the east side of Mercado 20 de Noviembre, just south of the Zocalo.
Where did Anthony Bourdain eat barbacoa in Oaxaca?
At the Mercado de Abastos, in Parts Unknown, Season 3, Episode 4 (2014). He ate barbacoa with consomme.
What day is the Tlacolula market?
Sunday. Tlacolula de Matamoros is about 30 to 45 minutes by road east of Oaxaca City.
Do Oaxaca markets accept cards?
Many stalls work with cash only, so bring cash in small notes. One market tour listing asks guests to bring cash.
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Booked on GetYourGuide; each listing states its own cancellation terms.
Oaxaca Markets Food Tour, 20+ Tastings
Three markets in one morning, La Cosecha, 20 de Noviembre with its grilled-meat aisle and Benito Juarez, plus a chocolate shop; vegetarian, pescatarian and gluten-free options
Tlacolula Sunday Market & Mezcal
The Sunday market in Tlacolula, east of the city: street food tastings among Zapotec crafts, then a family-run mezcal distillery
Market Tour with Food Researchers
Market tastings and pre-Hispanic drinks with certified food researchers; the listing says every diet is accommodated, vegan included
