My Top 5 Places for Chilaquiles in Puerto Escondido
Photos, prices, and feelings about my five favorite spots for chilaquiles in Puerto Escondido, Oaxaca.
Methodology:
I like chilaquiles. A lot. My brother told me his best friend Joey (a former offensive lineman and a huge food lover) said that he thinks chilaquiles are gross and just “taste like wet nachos.” I like chilaquiles so much that I accidentally took that personally. Every time I eat chilaquiles I think “Joe’s an idiot” as the tangy green sauce dances on my sour glands.
I like all chilaquiles but “verdes con pollo” is definitely my favorite. I love the spicy tang of the green sauce and the way it mixes in with nicely shredded chicken. To make this as fair and accurate as possible, that’s what I ordered at every place included (and those not included) on this list. Also, I tried to focus primarily on the meal itself, but the vibe, price, and overall experience factor in a bit, mostly as a tiebreaker or differentiator.
Alright, now that you know how I approached this o-so-serious assignment, come on a virtual food tour with me of my top 5 favorite places for chilaquiles in Puerto Escondido!
Note: If you notice there’s a price listed incorrectly, please let me know. A few are based off older menu photos found via Google maps.
1. Nativo
Summary: They just get everything right for me. The portion size, the tangy green sauce, only nice bits of shredded chicken, black beans, crema, queso, y YA! Es riquisimo. One of my favorite aspects is that they give you chipotle crema as well as regular crema. It’s delicious, and as far as I know, they’re the only place doing this. It’s a differentiator for me. The price is right, the flavor and portion sizes are spot on, and they don’t miss a single thing. They even lay sliced avocado over the top.
It’s been one of my favorite restaurants for over two years and I knew when I started this list they would be on it. I was open to another spot passing them, as I tried to approach this objectively, but with the avocado and chipotle crema, it just never happened. Go get a plate for less than 100 pesos, and get a jug of agua de mango to wash it down. You can’t really have a better start to the day or find a better hangover cure anywhere in La Punta.
Price: 85 Pesos—last time I checked. For the three years I’ve been frequenting Nativo, their prices have been incredibly reasonable for the quality and portions of food they serve.
Room for Improvement: I don’t know, honestly. It’s pretty perfect. The service can be a bit slow when they’re busy, but they also have a hilarious handwritten sign across the kitchen window to set the expectation that you’ll be waiting a bit because they’re not a fast food restaurant. #hechodemano
2. Tistal
Summary: When you park at Tistal, one thing is clear before you even look at the menu. You’re going to have a very nice view while you eat whatever you decide to order. For me, it’s chilaquiles verde con pollo once again. The plate is a bit small, but the quality of the ingredients makes up for the slightly smaller portion. The cheese, crema, chicken, and sauce all stand out as quality ingredients, mixing together to make every bite of food you put in your mouth an explosion of flavor. Tistal clearly cares about plating thoughtful food for their guests, and although I would have loved some black beans and a bit larger plate—what I was served was undeniably delicious.
Price: 90 pesos
Room for Improvement: I would love black beans and a slightly larger plate. The price is still incredibly reasonable for what is served, but for someone my size, you might end up hungry again in an hour or two.
3. Dan’s Cafe
Summary: Dan’s is an institution. The first 10 times I ate breakfast there I got the Surfer Slam or the Slim Slam, depending on how hungry and/or hungover I was. Their slams are essentially a “two of everything” style breakfast, which I’m a huge fan of. Back in Wisconsin where I grew up, this was often called “The Paul Bunyan Breakfast,” and I ordered it whenever I had the chance.
Recently, my friend, Diego, told me Dan’s chilaquiles verdes are his favorite in town, so I switched up my order. Like everything at Dan’s, they do it right. The chicken is high quality, the sauce is fresh, and they don’t miss a single thing. You’ll have your plate covered in beans, cheese, and crema—all the fixings for a 5-star plate of chilaquiles. I’ve heard their burgers are great too. (Maybe it’ll also make the burger review blog I’m currently working on.) Basically, Dan’s Cafe never disappoints, and there’s something undeniably nice about sitting down to eat in their colorful, high-ceiling, sea breeze restaurant.
Price: 85 Pesos
Room for Improvement: Their sauce was good, but not quite as tangy as some of the others on this list. I like it when the green sauce makes the “clickers” in my throat tense up the way sour patch kids do. Also, more onions and avocado slices would have been welcomed.
4. Mayordomo
Summary: I stopped in the other day while my truck was getting some maintenance done down the road. I didn’t expect anything particularly amazing, I just wanted a quick tasty breakfast. When they set the chilaquiles verdes con pollo down in front of me I knew it was going to slap. There was a mountain of beautifully shredded chicken, free of all the weird cartilage and gritty pieces some places include. The sauce smelled fresh, and I put some extra crema on top which the friendly staff brought me upon request. I finished the plate in about 10 minutes and was already planning my next stop (whenever my truck breaks down again basically).
Price: 80 Pesos (The cheapest on this list.)
Room for Improvement: They don’t include black beans or avocado slices, two things I always appreciate as an addition to the main serving of chilaquiles.
5. Play Pong
Summary: Of all the places I ventured to sample the recommended chilaquiles, this was the only one I almost didn’t finish. The portion size is the biggest of the bunch on this list. So if you’re a BIG eater, put a big gold star in the “pro” column for Play Pong. I actually felt a bit weird for the next two hours after finishing the plate, like I might fart or burp or explode entirely if I made any sudden movements.
Also, from the picture, you can see that their chicken is served in a very unique way. They basically chop up a whole huge milanesa, which definitely contributes to the feeling of rolling down the stairs to exit their terrace. They’ve got a beautiful view, the food is really well prepared, and it’s incredibly generous as I’ve mentioned. It’s the most expensive plate on this top-five list by over 50 pesos, but if you think of it as two separate meals, it’s still very reasonable.
Price: 150 pesos
Room for Improvement: Honestly, I think less food for less money would make stopping for breakfast here a more enjoyable experience.
The Community’s Favorites:
Below (just for my paid subscribers) I include the entire list of recommendations that didn’t make my top 5, which were submitted to me by the community in a large Puerto Escondido Facebook group. I let the group know I was planning to do a chilaquiles review post, and these are all the spots people said I should go to check out.
I haven’t made it to them all, but I’ve hit up many of these excellent restaurants and will try to make it to even more of them next year. As I continue to eat through the list, there might be a reshuffling of my top five and an entirely new “Top 10” rankings at some point down the dirt road. Subscribe to make sure you don’t miss it!
🍔 🌮 🍻 👉 I’m also working on a burger and pastor review at the moment! Stay tuned for more reviews of my favorite foods at my favorite places all around Puerto Escondido!
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Not That You Asked to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.