La Casa del Café Kaffé (Parque La Candelaria, Calle 35 at Calle 44, tel. 985/856-2879, 9 a.m.–1 p.m., 6:30 p.m.–midnight daily, US$1.25–4.25) is a fantastic place to get breakfast or a late-night snack. Owned and run by a welcoming Chilean couple, the menu features empanadas, quesadillas, sandwiches, fruit shakes, and a nice variety of coffee drinks. If you don’t see what you crave on the menu, be sure to ask for it—meals often are made to order. With tables on the lovely Parque Candelaria, tasty food, and great service, you can’t go wrong.
Located next to the bus station, Cafetería Squimoz (Calle 39 near Calle 46, tel. 985/856-4156, 7 a.m.–9:30 p.m. Mon.–Sat., 8 a.m.–3 p.m. Sun., US$2.50–6) is well worth a stop even if you’re not on your way out of town. Big breakfasts and sandwiches made to order are the specialties, though the coffee drinks and to-die-for milkshakes can’t be overlooked. If you’ve got a sweet tooth, be sure to try the homemade flan.
On the central plaza, the restaurant at the Hotel El Mesón del Marqués (Calle 39 between Calles 40 and 42, tel. 985/856-2073, 7 a.m.–10:30 p.m. daily, US$4–12) is considered the best eatery in town. The setting is classic Mexican—an interior courtyard with a colonial-style fountain and masses of fuchsia-colored bougainvillea draped over the balconies—and the menu is ambitiously Yucatecan and international. For breakfast try the scrambled eggs with chaya (a local green similar to spinach), for lunch, order the marinated chicken breast salad, and for dinner, start with the sopa de lima before moving on to the poc chuc. A fine experience any time of day.
El Bazar (central plaza, Calle 39 at Calle 40, 7 a.m.–11 p.m. daily, US$2.50–6) is a local food court, with a dozen or so inexpensive eateries, mostly selling pre-made Yucatecan specialties. Food is hit or miss—take a look at the offerings and decide which looks the freshest. Better yet, order something off the menu that hasn’t been sitting around like scrambled eggs or salbutes. Avoid the rubbery tamales.
For groceries, La Favorita (Calle 39 between Calles 42 and 44; tel. 985/856-2036, 9 a.m.–3 p.m., 6–9:30 p.m. Mon.–Sat., 9 a.m.–3 p.m. Sun.) has a decent selection of fresh and canned foods.