Best bars in Oaxaca

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One of the best (and most fun) ways to absorb the culture of any given city is to spend time in its bars. So of course, any time we travel, bar hopping is one of our favourite pastimes. Getting to spend nearly a month in Oaxaca allowed us to revisit most bars more than once.

While we will always gravitate towards local bars (see: Best local bars in Oaxaca), the range of bars in Oaxaca was too great to overlook some of the more modern ones.

If you want to treat yourself in Oaxaca, complete with rooftop pool and loungers, we highly recommend staying at Suites de la Parra. The location is right next to the Mercado and in the heart of the city. It’s also walking distance from all of the bars we are about to recommend.

Anyway, onto the boozers. Take it from two people who spend more time in bars than they might care to admit – these are the best bars in Oaxaca.

Best local bar – Cantina Salon de la Fama

This bar wins for our all around favourite local bar in Oaxaca. Cantina Salon de la Fama is right smack in the middle of town, but still incredibly reasonable, even by local bar standards. You walk in through actual saloon doors. It serves 35 peso ice cold Coronas and 100 peso margaritas (not that I particularly recommend these!).

The bar is open from midday to the early hours of the morning, but always staffed by the same legendary bartenders. After 9pm expect local music and table sharing. Beware of the bathrooms.

Best cocktail bars – Selva and Sabina Sabe

If you feel like really going upmarket for a cocktail in Oaxaca, Selva is the bar for you. While its pricing rivals Western capital cities, so does the quality of the cocktail. This upstairs bar features dim lights, great service, and creative but accessible cocktails. Our table overlooked one of the main streets of Oaxaca, while still within the demure vibe of the bar. This made for a luxe treat but we kept it at a one-off during our stay in Oaxaca.

For a less fancy but equally high quality cocktails, head to Sabina Sabe. This was more my vibe than Selva. It was a bit more rugged and less refined, with exposed brick walls, classic bar stools, and goofy unique touches. The cocktails were mostly mezcal and tequila based with unique modern takes, and the service was also excellent.

Best rooftop bars – Viajero and Casa Porfirio

One of our favourite things about the bars and restaurants in Oaxaca was that many of them had rooftops. There aren’t too many street-level outdoor areas in the city but the rooftops are very well utilised. We loved getting a bit of sun and having an ice cold Corona. All the better if it was a Corona Mega (a large sharing bottle that’s even better value than buying two individual Corona’s).

We didn’t go to Viajero’s rooftop bar until towards the end of our time in Oaxaca. This was largely my fault as I was a bit put off by its over-stylised backpacker look – it was a hostel bar after all. I will eat my hat because after our first visit, I wanted to come back again and again! It had a tad of the ‘nomadic gen-z-er on a gap year’ vibe, but the bar, sun, and view made it worth it. 

Even still, my favourite rooftop spot was a special little table hanging out of the front window of Casa Porfirio. This table got sun from opening to about 5pm. It was a nice spot to people watch, too. The bartender who served us nearly every time stopped even asking for our order. He’d smile as we walked up the stairs and bring out a Corona Familiar (not quite as big as a 1.2 litre Mega, but still a supersized 900ml).

Best bar for margaritas – Bar Popular and Sobrio by Mezcal Speakeasy

Directly across the street from Cantina Salon de la Fama is Bar Popular. This is in the very centre of Oaxaca.

Bar Popular is where we had our first margarita on the trip, and of course we had to make it a mezcal margarita. In addition to being our first, it might have been our best of the trip. It was perfectly balanced and the mezcal added a hit of smoke. We drank it sitting in the window seats, looking out onto the street. When we returned later in the trip, it was much later into the night and the place was vibing. 

Only half a block down the road, and directly beneath my beloved Casa Porfirio, was Sobrio by Mezcal Speakeasy. We came here on our first Friday night in Oaxaca and had an absolute blast. There was a bigger than usual party going on, as the bar handed out shots of mezcal to everyone in the bar. The DJ was an actual DJ, not some guy wearing headphones and playing music off his phone, and was several notches in skill level above what the bar seemed to merit. The margaritas we had here were fantastic, too. 

Best craft beer bars – La Santísima Flor de Lúpulo and Oaxaca City Brewing

We tend not to drink too much craft beer when we’re in places that don’t have a very big brewing scene. We generally opt for classically refreshing macro lagers instead. But after a month of Corona, we started to crave some beers with some hop and some oomph.

La Santísima Flor de Lúpulo brews all its own beers on site. They had six taps pouring including a couple of guest beers. We had some deliciously hoppy and fruity IPA’s here. The first time we came, we sat at the bar and had a couple of tasters of beers before we chose (this is essential when trying beers in a new city – it’s not easy to make good beer, and hot weather ages it quicky!). The bartender was cool and didn’t mind. The second time we came, we sat in the window overlooking the sidewalk, but the bartender might have been a brewer, and shouldn’t have been customer facing. He wouldn’t let us try the beers and was on the surly side. The beers, different from the first time we came a couple of weeks back, were once again delicious.

Not too far away is Oaxaca Brewing Co. This is more of an evening place than a daytime place. The beers were also very good but not quite as good as Santísima Flor de Lúpulo’s.

There you have it – some of the best bars in Oaxaca, tried and tested by yours truly.

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