Zacatecas is a landlocked state on Mexico's north-central high plains, built on more than four centuries of silver-mining wealth. Its capital, also named Zacatecas, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site famous for pink cantera-stone Baroque and Churrigueresque architecture spilling down steep hillsides, the Cerro de la Bufa cable car, and the former Mina El Eden silver mine. Beyond the capital, the state offers the Pueblos Magicos of Jerez, Sombrerete, and Pinos, the pre-Hispanic ruins of La Quemada, and the mining hub of Fresnillo, the state's most populous municipality.
Top food tours
Guided experiences that show you Zacatecas through its food.
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Tour formats
Different ways to experience Zacatecas's food scene.
Mercado Gonzalez Ortega Food Stall Crawl
A self-guided crawl through the ground-floor fondas of the 1889 Mercado Gonzalez Ortega, a few steps from the cathedral, tasting gorditas filled with asado de boda, carnitas tacos and bean tamales before browsing the upper level for queso de tuna, mezcal and regional wine.
Typical duration: 1.5-2 hours, self-guided
Price range: MXN 100-220 per person for a full tasting crawl across three or four stalls (approx USD 6-13)
Zacantinas Historic Cantina Walk
A walking route through five of the centro histórico's most traditional cantinas and mezcalerias, from the 1906 Cantina Las Quince Letras to small-batch mezcal tasting rooms, sampling maguey cenizo mezcal and the free botanas that still accompany drinks at the city's oldest bars.
Typical duration: 2.5-3 hours, self-guided
Price range: MXN 250-500 per person for mezcal tastings and botanas across the full route (approx USD 15-29)
Cacomixtle Historic and Gastronomic Walking Tour
A guided walking tour that uses appetite as an excuse to explore Zacatecas' mining-boom architecture, stopping in small squares to taste tlacoyos, gorditas, tamales and atole before winding through centro histórico alleyways to a closing course of carnitas, nopales or ice cream.
Typical duration: 2.5-3 hours
Price range: MXN 450-650 per person (approx USD 26-38)
Valle de las Arcinas Wine Tasting Day Trip
A half-day trip to Valle de las Arcinas near Trancoso, where Vinicola El Consuelo and Vinos Tierra Adentro grow wine grapes at high altitude in a dry, cold-winter climate, offering vineyard walks, cellar visits and tastings of four to six wines paired with regional cheese and charcuterie. A hired car or taxi is needed since no regular bus serves the vineyards.
Typical duration: Half day, about 4-5 hours including transfer from Zacatecas city
Price range: MXN 350-600 per person for a single winery tasting, MXN 1,000-1,800 (approx USD 59-106) for a guided multi-winery day with transport
Jerez Plaza Antojitos and Nogada Day Trip
A day trip to the Pueblo Magico of Jerez de Garcia Salinas, about an hour from the capital, combining seasonal chiles en nogada or tacos de barbacoa at a plaza-facing casona restaurant with an everyday antojitos stop and a walk through the colonial streets that shaped poet Ramon Lopez Velarde.
Typical duration: Half day to full day
Price range: MXN 200-450 per person for meals, plus round-trip transport (approx USD 12-26)
Cooking classes
Take a piece of Zacatecas home with you.
Asado de Boda Home Cooking Class
A hands-on class teaching Zacatecas' signature wedding stew, from building the orange-and-cumin red chile sauce to slow-simmering the pork and hand-pressing tortillas, finishing with a shared meal of the class's own asado de boda.
Gorditas de Horno and Enchiladas Zacatecanas Workshop
A home-style workshop covering two Zacatecas staples: shaping and baking gorditas de horno, and preparing the red and green sauces behind enchiladas zacatecanas, ending with a shared meal of everything made in class.
DIY self-guided food tour
Build your own food crawl through Zacatecas.
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Self-Guided Centro Historico Asado and Mezcal Trail
A do-it-yourself walking route through the historic center linking a midday asado de boda gordita at the Mercado Gonzalez Ortega, an afternoon coffee break at one of centro's specialty cafes, an evening plate of tacos mineros on Justo Sierra, and a closing mezcal tasting near the market.
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Self-Guided Zacantinas Cantina Route
A self-guided evening route through four of the centro histórico's mezcal destinations, from the 1906 Cantina Las Quince Letras to a nightcap at Bar Botarel inside the former bullring, tracing the city's mezcal culture from historic cantina to hotel cocktail bar.
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Self-Guided Cieneguillas Gordita and Highway Route
A short morning drive north of Zacatecas city on Federal Highway 54 to the community of Cieneguillas, where a family-run stone oven has baked gorditas de horno for more than 30 years, best combined with a browse of the other roadside stands along the highway.
Foodie tips
Get more out of every meal.
Asado de boda is served at both lunch and dinner across the city - do not wait for a wedding to try it
Zacatecas birria is usually goat (chivo) rather than beef; ask before ordering if the menu does not specify
Los Dorados de Villa and a handful of other traditional restaurants require phone reservations and will not seat walk-ins
Zacatecas sits above 2,400 meters elevation - pace mezcal tastings accordingly and drink plenty of water between stops
Carry cash for market stalls, roadside ovens and small birrierias, many of which do not accept cards
Chiles en nogada in Jerez and around Zacatecas follow the same late-summer season as the rest of central Mexico, roughly late July through September
A car or taxi is necessary for Valle de las Arcinas wineries and the Cieneguillas gordita ovens, since no regular bus serves either route