Cochinita pibil is the Yucatán’s most famous dish, appearing in everything from tacos to tasting menus. You’ll still find a few chefs preparing it in a traditional pit oven, but most restaurants use a conventional oven or pressure cooker. No matter how they cook it, chefs typically rub meat (usually suckling pig, but ancient recipes also called for deer, fish, or even javelina) with recado rojo — a spice paste made with achiote (which lends the telltale bright red color), Tabasco pepper, and sour orange juice — before wrapping the meat in banana leaves for cooking. The final product is deeply flavorful, with a gentle acidic bite. The dish can vary from kitchen to kitchen, so try it as many chances as you get.
Tamal de chipilin
'
where: Palenque
Chef and Mexican food enthusiast Diana Kennedy always said that Yucatecan tamales were among the most delicious in the country. One variation unique to southern Mexico is the tamal de chipilín, made with leaves from a type of legume, which flecks the masa with green and gives the tamal an herbaceous and subtle bean-like flavor. You’ll find them, dense and steaming, a touch greasier than northern tamales, at market stalls and streetside stands in Palenque’s main plaza. On damp mornings, before the sun ratchets up, a tamal de chipilín is the perfect thing to warm the stomach and start the day.
Pan de cazon
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where: Campeche
Misty evening breezes bring the salty smell of the Gulf of Mexico over Campeche’s ancient fortress wall, luring locals out to eat after the sun has retreated. Since pre-Hispanic times, fishermen have caught cazon (dogfish), alongside other abundant seafood, in these warm Gulf waters. The small shark, which has a mild, almost sweet flavor, shows up in hundreds of local recipes. For pan de cazon, it’s shredded and blended with tomatoes and onions, then spread between three lightly fried tortillas with refried beans like a layer cake. The whole creation is then drenched in a mild tomato salsa and topped with a charred habanero. For a slightly upscale version with a nice cocktail, try the version at La Maria Cocina Peninsular.
Kibis
where: Mérida
Lebanese immigrants arrived in Mérida in the late 1800s during the region’s henequen (sisal) boom. Over the last century and change, they’ve added to the city’s culinary bloom as well, including with kibis, a take on Lebanese kibbeh. The fritters, shaped like American footballs, are made with a mix of ground lamb or beef, bulgur, and onion; stuffed with more ground meat, pine nuts, parsley, and spices; and finally sliced and filled with raw white cabbage, pickled onion, and pureed tomato salsa to order. In Mérida, you’ll find them at roadside stands and sporting events, where vendors will call “kibiiiiiiiiiis!” as they walk among fans.
Cochinita Pibil
where: throughout the Yucatán Penninsula
The Tren Maya doesn’t stop in Motul, but you can get there from the Tixkokob stop; it’s worth the effort to try Doña Evelia’s huevos motuleños at her famous stall in the municipal market. Fragrant and filling, the breakfast staple includes ingredients not often seen in these parts: peas and ham, which David Sterling says in his James Beard-winning book Yucatán are remnants of a time when canned foods were all the rage. Doña Evelia combines good-quality peas and smoked ham with fresh tomatoes in a salsa, before spooning the sauce over a sandwich of tostadas with a layer of refried beans and a fried egg.
Note: From the train station, take a mototaxi to downtown Tixkokob, where you can catch a regular cab to Motul. Plan to arrive in the morning and leave by afternoon, since neither town has much in the way of hotels.
huevos
Motulenos
where: Tixkokob
where: Izamal
If the golden facades of Izamal’s houses and its famed Franciscan convent don’t win you over, the tzic de venado will. The ancient Mayan recipe dates back to a time when venados (deer) proliferated on the peninsula. These days, deer hunting is tightly regulated, and restaurants must purchase venison from legal distributors who raise deer on farms. If you want to taste the original in all its glory, best to get a seat at Restaurante Zamná, named for the ancient goddess once worshiped in Izamal. Served cool or room temperature, tzic de venado is a tangy mix of shredded venison, onion, cilantro, and radishes,
all marinaded in sour orange juice and served with handmade tortillas warm from the comal.
tzic de
venado
Catch the bus from the train station right into the heart of Valladolid’s colonial-era architecture, where you can seek out the famed longaniza de Valladolid. Originally based on Spanish recipes, the sausage was adapted to local palates; it’s particularly smoky (it usually spends at least 12 hours in the smoker) and incorporates recado rojo, along with clove, black pepper, onion, garlic, and vinegar. It’s usually served simply alongside electric pink pickled onions, black beans, a chunky charred tomato salsa, and a slice of sour orange. You can have longaniza and swim in a gorgeous cenote (underground sinkhole) at Cenote Zaci.
longaniza
where: Valladolid
Isla Mujeres, the island off the coast of Cancún, is known for its temple dedicated to Ixchel, the Maya goddess of fertility, and as the origin of tikin xic, or “dried fin” in Mayan. On the island and at mainland spots like Cevichería El Zurdo in the Mercado Donceles, chefs spread a thick marinade (achiote paste, sour orange juice, and a handful of spices) onto the catch of the day, often red snapper, grouper, or pampano. The fish is left to marinate anywhere from half an hour to overnight, and then cooked on the grill (or traditionally an open fire) for an acidic, smoke-laced final dish.
tikin xic
where: Cancún
Somewhere between chicharron and carnitas, castacán is one of the glories of the Yucatán, a product of historic Spanish or Chinese influence (neither theory has enough documentation to be proven). A thick slab of pork belly is fried in pork lard set to a rolling boil, until the skin is crispy and crunchy, and the meat is tender. Generally served as tacos, tortas, or atop chilaquiles, castacán is also ideal for parties, where it’s often chopped up with tomato, onion, and cilantro so guests can scoop handfuls using tortillas. Drizzle a little salsa kut (charred and ground habanero with lime or sour orange juice) for the ultimate Yucatecan bite. The town of Leona Vicario is particularly famous for its castacán, but you can find excellent versions in Puerto Morelos, which is a bit more scenic, just
a few stops down the Tren Maya line.
castacAn
where: Puerto Morelos
'
coconut
beans & rice
where: Bacalar
Bacalar and its beautiful Lagoon of Seven Colors were once an unruly trading outpost for pirates and seafarers across the Caribbean. Long before the modern Mexican nation, southern Quintana Roo was also culturally and culinarily connected to northern Belize. Those historic links are clear in local dishes like Caribbean-style beans and rice fried in coconut oil. The preparation is pretty straightforward: black beans and white rice, along with bell pepper, garlic, onion, and oregano, fried in coconut oil (often with fresh coconut milk), and served with fried, sweet plantains. If the recipe is simple, the result is pure Caribbean vibes, especially when enjoyed while gazing out over the lagoon.
ceviche de
caracol
where: ChetumaL
Queen conch (a type of sea snail) is endemic to this part of Mexico, as well as Cuba, Bermuda, and the Bahamas. Maya inhabitants likely ate it in other preparations before European contact, but after Europeans introduced citrus, the conch found its way into ceviche. Today, Chetumal’s ceviche de caracol offers another link between the region and cuisines across the Caribbean, where lime-marinated seafood dishes are common. To prepare the dish, chefs remove the snail from its rosy shell, pound it flat, and slice it into small pieces. After a quick dip in boiling water, the meat is mixed with lime juice, tomato, and onion, sometimes with a little chile habanero. Traditional recipes don’t include cilantro, but many versions today do.
marque-sitas
Stroll through the main plaza of any Yucatán town on a balmy evening and you’ll likely encounter marquesitas. Many wild stories explain how queso de bola (Edam cheese) became popular in the Yucatán, including the tale of a shipwreck that released cannonball-sized hunks of cheese that floated ashore. The real story is probably simpler: Dutch pirates and traders popularized the durable, seaworthy cheese in the 17th century. Today, street vendors stuff shredded cheese into ultra-thin sweet crepes, cook them until crispy on a cast iron waffle cone maker, and roll them into thin burritos. Most Yucatecos ask the vendor to add a layer of Nutella or chocolate for a bite that’s salty, sweet, creamy, and crunchy all at once.
where: throughout the Yucatán Penninsula
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Cochinita pibil served at Pueblo Pibil in Tixkokob
Pan de cazón at Restaurante La Tradición in Mérida / Rodrigo Paz
A roadside kibi vendor in Mérida
Doña Evelia with her famous huevos Motuleños
Tzic de venado at Restaurante Zamná / Restaurante Zamná
Longaniza at Valladolid’s El Meón del Marqués
The scene at La Chaya Maya in Mérida
Castacan served at Wayan'e in Mérida
A vendor selling marquesitas in Mérida’s Paseo de Montejo
Mexico's
New Train Line
Is Your Ticket to THE YucatAn's Best Meals
'
Words by Lydia Carey Photography & Video by Luis Buenfil
Colorful colonial-era towns give way to verdant inland landscapes, which morph into sun-burnt fields, which fade into lush coastline as the Tren Maya loops its way through Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula. The transit megaproject, which opened its first legs in 2024, provides a full tour of the southern Mexican region, beginning in tropical Palenque in Chiapas, running north to the capital Mérida, cutting east to Cancún (the most popular section), heading south along the Riviera Maya through Playa del Carmen, and finally rounding back through the peninsula’s sultry heart to Escárcega. Ancient Mayan sites — the seaside ruins of Tulum, jungle-covered Calakmul, Edzna’s sun-drenched plaza — pepper the route.
Once, visitors might have only glimpsed the peninsula’s towns from a bus window on their way to major destinations like Cancún or Tulum. Now, locals and government officials hope travelers will hop off the train to get to know the area’s many charming communities — and their culinary specialties. Pit-cooked meats, abundant citrus, searing habaneros, and smoky spice rubs have characterized cooking here since pre-Columbian times; they meet the layers of culinary influence from the Spanish, Dutch, and Caribbean imparted during colonization, as well as flavors from more recent immigrant groups from Lebanon and China.
Since former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador announced the project back in 2018, the train has encountered some setbacks, including construction delays and groups voicing environmental concerns (which the current administration has vowed to remedy). But an overwhelming majority of locals support the project as a source of investment; it’s predicted to increase tourism to the Yucatán by 20 percent and create more than 1 million jobs in one of Mexico’s poorest regions. As I rode the train last May, I heard story after story of how it was making it easier for residents and visitors to visit family, travel for work, and see tourist attractions.
The Tren Maya is transforming travel throughout the Yucatán, including opening access to restaurants far off the usual tourist track. There's plenty to eat at every stop and many cities' signatures appear elsewhere in the peninsula. Here are a handful of quintessential dishes to seek out along the route.
Mexico's
New Train
Line Is Your
Ticket to THE
YucatAn's
Best Meals
Colorful colonial-era towns give way to verdant inland landscapes, which morph into sun-burnt fields, which fade into lush coastline as the Tren Maya loops its way through Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula. The transit megaproject, which opened its first legs in 2024, provides a full tour of the southern Mexican region, beginning in tropical Palenque in Chiapas, running north to the capital Mérida, cutting east to Cancún (the most popular section), heading south along the Riviera Maya through Playa del Carmen, and finally rounding back through the peninsula’s sultry heart to Escárcega. Ancient Mayan sites — the seaside ruins of Tulum, jungle-covered Calakmul, Edzna’s sun-drenched plaza — pepper the route.
Once, visitors might have only glimpsed the peninsula’s towns from a bus window on their way to major destinations like Cancún or Tulum. Now, locals and government officials hope travelers will hop off the train to get to know the area’s many charming communities — and their culinary specialties. Pit-cooked meats, abundant citrus, searing habaneros, and smoky spice rubs have characterized cooking here since pre-Columbian times; they meet the layers of culinary influence from the Spanish, Dutch, and Caribbean imparted during colonization, as well as flavors from more recent immigrant groups from Lebanon and China.
Since former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador announced the project back in 2018, the train has encountered some setbacks, including construction delays and groups voicing environmental concerns (which the current administration has vowed to remedy). But an overwhelming majority of locals support the project as a source of investment; it’s predicted to increase tourism to the Yucatán by 20 percent and create more than 1 million jobs in one of Mexico’s poorest regions. As I rode the train last May, I heard story after story of how it was making it easier for residents and visitors to visit family, travel for work, and see tourist attractions.
The Tren Maya is transforming travel throughout the Yucatán, including opening access to restaurants far off the usual tourist track. There’s plenty to eat at every stop, but here are a handful of quintessential dishes to seek out along the route.
Lydia Carey is a food writer and author based in Mexico City. Her interest in Mexico's vast gastronomic regionality has led her back to the Yucatán Peninsula again and again to engage with the ancient flavors of its one-of-a-kind cuisine.
Luis Buenfil is a fashion and food photographer based in Mérida, Mexico. He captured the Yucatán’s Tren Maya with help from Aldo Heming.