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Apr 10, 2023

Where to Eat, Stay, and Play in Mérida, the Yucatán Peninsula’s Design

By Charlie Hobbs Mérida, the capital of Mexico’s Yucatán state, has historically

By Charlie Hobbs

Mérida, the capital of Mexico's Yucatán state, has historically taken a backseat to the peninsula's popular seaside destinations among American travelers. Even within the charming town, a million street signs point drivers in the direction of Quintana Roo's ever-bustling resort metropolis of Cancún, and, just south, the more demure Tulum. Many who find themselves in Mérida are en route to notable Mayan ruins: Zona Arqueologica de Uxmal, Xcambó, Dzibilchaltún (and the list goes on). But anyone with a taste for the urban would do well to fly in or out of Mérida and spend at least a few days on either end of those trips, exploring the city proper. There's a reason this city warranted mention on our 23 Best Places to Go in 2023 list.

A laser-focus on design, and a longstanding sense for great hospitality, has led to a boom of memorable new hotels and rentals. This past fall, the city also played host to a week's worth of festivities surrounding the unveiling of Latin America's 50 Best Restaurants, showing off its credentials as a burgeoning culinary seat. But whether you’re looking for great flavors, or a cultural experience, there are as many storied, longstanding must-visits as there are chic endeavors from young creatives—on any visit to Mérida, the winning formula is to find the balance between the two.

Below, we cover the very best of the city of Mérida, from haciendas to bed down at, to stylish boutiques for blowing all your pesos, to absolutely unforgettable meals.

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Assuming you’re staying in Centro—which you should be—spend a slow morning in Plaza Principal de Mérida, otherwise known as Plaza Grande. Whether you prefer the sun or the shade (best taken in the shadow of the mighty Catedral de San Ildefonso, one of the oldest churches in the Americas dating back to 1598), there will be a seat for you in the form of las sillas confidentes. These "confidant" seats, two concrete armchairs facing each other, are designed with their respective right arms melding together à la Cronenberg. In such an arrangement, young lovers cannot kiss nor touch but merely confide in one another. Pay a visit to the cathedral—not hard to find, as its massive scale dwarfs Mérida's surrounding two-story stuccos, with a vaulted and exultant interior.

The coffee at nearby Sempere is some of the best in town, by the way—climb the stairs from the Plaza to this café-bookstore-boutique for a fabulous cortado or cold drink. When the heat becomes intolerable, which it can in these parts, a shaded chair and a glass of their freshly squeezed orange juice are just the ticket.

Check out the Museo de Antropología e Historia in the Palacio Cantón, which is about what it sounds like: a thoughtful and rotating collection of exhibitions on regional Indigenous cultures set in one of Mérida's most extravagantly ornamented colonial houses. Be sure to save some time to meander the Paseo de Montejo, a wide avenue lined on either side with Mérida's most moneyed houses. The city's equivalent of the Champs Élysées starts with the Monumento a La Patria and ends at the anthropology museum. The pedestrians are many, well-dressed people moseying at leisurely clips before or after their dinners.

Another regal old building repurposed with bold vision? The Refettorio Mérida, from the mind of Lara Gilmore and her husband, hotelier Massimo Bottura, which takes surplus ingredients from the city's restaurants and markets, and cooks them up with full table service over three-course meals for vulnerable citizens. Diners are unhoused and low-income members of the community, and chef José Angel Zamudio Dominguez is joined by local restaurant leaders (and the occasional international guest—including Gucci Osteria's Karime Lopez) to make every day different. Stop by to check it out, volunteer to serve, and make a donation to the project.

As for shopping? There are no shortage of design establishments worth popping your head into. Casa T’HŌ Concept House is one of the best—mill from room to room, and take in the tasteful staging of furniture, photography prints, and ceramic home decor. The clothing and jewelry on offer, creamy linens and handcrafted necklaces, are worthy splurges (most pieces start around $200 USD). There are also dedicated perfumeries, including the newly-opened Xinu boutique; don't miss the smokey-sweet tobacco-honey of the Ummo scent. Gallery spaces worth a visit include China Arts Objects, which just relocated its surreal offerings from L.A.; Casa Escuela, an artist-in-residence space that also hosts cooking workshops in a renovated schoolhouse; and the monasterial and tranquil Plantel Matilde just outside of town.

A meal in the serene courtyard of Museo de la Gastronomia Yucateca - MUGY is not to be missed.

MUGY serves up traditional Yucatecan cuisine, including the cochinita pibil seen here.

A chance detour down any given street will have you sticking your head into one hole-in-the-wall after another thinking, "Gosh, I would just love to eat there." To eat like a local, look no further than Taqueria La Lupita, adjacent to the street food mecca of Parque de Santiago which is lined with vendors slinging tortas and ceviche—there's no excuse not to stop in for a quick bite. Watch the kitchen carve pork from the bone and nestle it in a homemade tortilla, then feel your eyes roll back in your head as you take your first bite of the succulently simple cochinita pibil. At the Museo de la Gastronomía Yucateca (MUGY), learn about the Yucatán's gastronomical history before sitting down for a healthy serving of sopa de lima in the airy courtyard.

Brad Japhe

Devorah Lev-Tov

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Lia Picard

New spot Ku’uk, with its brown-and-white checkerboard tile and mansion setting, serves up suckling pig Yucateco-style. Finish your nights at the ultra-cool Salón Gallos, a taqueria with an annexed wine bar and disco ball-crowned nightclub in the rear. For more stationary drinking, see Acervo Mezcalero's fine selection of local mezcals. Different cuisines that Mérida has made its own include French at Avec Amour, a dimly-lit bistro on the Parque de Santa Lucia, where you’d be well-advised to enjoy your foie gras and green aguachile on the cloistered patio, and Carboni Mérida for the best primavera in town.

If you're up for venturing a little further, Nectar, on the outskirts of town, is well worth the drive for Yucatecan fine cuisine served beneath a leafy trellis. Particularly keen sommeliers preside here, so be sure to pick their brains on what to pair with your pork belly.

Hotel Cigno in Centro spans multiple levels, with an indoor-outdoor design that celebrates Mérida's beautiful climate.

Hotel Cigno houses a dreamy bar replete with mezcal.

With a bounty of boutique hotels and haciendas popping up in Mérida's very walkable downtown, choosing just one home base will be your biggest challenge. Hotel CIGNO, on a relatively unassuming street, blends in perfectly with its terracotta neighbors, yet its heavy stained-wood door feels like a portal to another world. Once you’ve crossed over the threshold, a seemingly endless compound unfolds—a 19th-century mansion with original rooms restored beautifully, from the library to the front room that now hosts the check-in desk. There are also two pools: one on the ground floor, and one on the roof. The best of the blue-tiled, canopy-bed-equipped guest rooms (numbers seven and eight) open directly onto the latter.

There's also a number of lovely restored haciendas: Eden-like Hacienda Misné, Hacienda Santa Cruz with its sprawling campus of pathway-linked villas, and the newly-renovated, exceptionally-luxe La Hacienda Xcanatun. Book via Airbnb, though, to see where the latest wave of local interior designers have really worked their magic. Jorge Pardo put together the exceptional Casa Piscis, a heaven of turquoise and sea green tile with an abundant outdoor space to match; there's also the pretty pink Casa Maca off the Paseo Montejo.

When it's time to head out into the city, tack on a few nights at biosphere resort Chablé Yucatán (or at least dine at their fabulous Ix’im restaurant). On the Riviera Maya, there's also Hotel Esencia and Maroma.