Typical Food in Valladolid, Yucatan: What We Eat Every Week
Longaniza, lomitos and escabeche oriental: the 3 dishes that belong to Valladolid, where to eat them, and why the town won a gastronomy award.
If you ask me what people eat in Valladolid, I’ll answer in three words: longaniza, lomitos and escabeche. They aren’t from Yucatán in general. They’re from here, from the east of the state, and they have been cooked in the same kitchens for generations.
In April 2026, during the Acapulco Tianguis Turístico, Valladolid won the award for Best Magic Town for a gastronomic experience in Lo Mejor de México 2026, from México Desconocido, ahead of Papantla and Pátzcuaro. A year earlier, at the 2025 Tianguis, it had already won the Gastronomy category in the Pueblos Mágicos por Excelencias awards. Two years in a row.
I’ve lived in Valladolid since 2011. When I read the news I thought: it’s about time.
The 3 dishes that belong only to Valladolid
Longaniza de Valladolid
It’s the most famous, and for good reason. A pork sausage seasoned with recado rojo (achiote), garlic, pepper and vinegar, smoked, and eaten grilled with pickled onion, tomato sauce and sour orange. The recipe goes back to the late 19th century, when don Felipe Pérez Vázquez, known as “el Rey de la Longaniza” (the King of Longaniza), perfected it with recado rojo and recado oriental.
In the morning it goes with egg; at midday, in tacos with handmade tortillas. I don’t eat it every week, but hardly a week goes by without me eating something from Valladolid or Yucatán.
Where to eat it:
- El Jardín de La Tía, in Tikuch, a village within the Valladolid municipality a few kilometers from the city: longaniza and poc chuc outdoors, in a garden. It’s one of my favorites and worth the short trip. They only accept cash.
- Municipal bazaar, in front of the main park (calle 39 with 40): old-school loncherías (snack counters), such as El Amigo Casiano. Go early; many close by mid-afternoon.
- Lonchería Olich, calle 40 in the Santa Lucía neighborhood: simple, for breakfast or dinner.
- Municipal market, in Santa Ana: to buy it fresh and take it home.
Lomitos de Valladolid
Pork in a tomato sauce with epazote, served in tacos or with strained beans. It’s the least known of the three outside the region and, to me, the most honest. There’s no gourmet version of lomitos, because it doesn’t need one.
Where to eat them:
- Lomitos Doña Hermelinda, calle 44 in the center: a small, specialized spot at a good price.
- Mesón del Marqués, calle 39 in front of the main park: they have them on the menu alongside the longaniza.
Escabeche oriental
Chicken or turkey with an escabeche seasoning (recado de escabeche), garlic, oregano, sour orange and roasted chile xcatik, served in its broth with pickled onion. It’s the Sunday and family-celebration dish. And no, “oriental” has nothing to do with Asia: it refers to the east of Yucatán, the region where Valladolid is the center.
Where to eat it:
- Mesón del Marqués: its turkey in escabeche oriental is one of the best known in town. One of my usual places.
- Restaurante Las Campanas, in the center: escabeche, lomitos, poc chuc and frijol con puerco.
Hours change. If you’re going somewhere in particular, check first, or message us and we’ll tell you what’s open.
What else is eaten here
Valladolid’s cooking doesn’t end with those three:
- Cochinita pibil. It’s from all of Yucatán, but here it’s still made the way it should be. Pibil comes from Maya and means “buried”: the meat marinated in achiote and sour orange is wrapped in banana leaf and cooked for hours underground. On weekends the smell reaches you before you enter the market.
- Panuchos and salbutes, for dinner.
- Relleno negro and queso relleno, for celebrations.
- Chaya water, horchata and papaya sweet, to go with it.
The municipal market: an ordinary Tuesday
The market is part of the city’s routine: longaniza with egg, chaya water, hot tortillas. It isn’t a special event, it’s a normal Tuesday. And over time, that counts for a lot.
You eat very well here, effortlessly and without spending much. When someone asks me why I stayed in Valladolid, the answer includes the calm, the cenotes, the cost of living and the community. But an honest part of the answer is this.
Aldea Xbatún: real Maya cooking
In 2026, the Guía México Gastronómico gave Aldea Xbatún its special award for Gastronomic Research. It’s the project of a Maya family in the ejidos of Zaciabil, on the way to Kanxoc, a few minutes from Valladolid. The name honors Xbatún, the community the family comes from, and the kitchen is run by Doña Irma.
It isn’t a restaurant with a menu. You walk through the orchard, gather ingredients and cook with pre-Hispanic techniques (sikil pak, dzotobichay, pollo pibil), then eat with the family. You need to book ahead.
That award confirms what those of us who live here already know: Valladolid’s food isn’t found in design restaurants. It’s in families and in recipes that have gone for generations without needing changes.
Living a few blocks from the market
If food is part of what attracts you to Valladolid, look at the neighborhood. In the Centro, Sisal, Santa Ana, Santa Lucía and San Juan you can walk to the market, the bazaar and the loncherías. In the outlying developments you gain space and a pool, but breakfast means taking the car.
If you’re comparing cities, in Valladolid vs Mérida: which is better to live in 2026? I cover the good and the not-so-good of each.
Frequently asked questions about typical food in Valladolid
What is the typical food of Valladolid, Yucatán?
The three dishes that originated in Valladolid are longaniza de Valladolid, lomitos and escabeche oriental. You’ll also eat cochinita pibil, panuchos, salbutes, relleno negro and queso relleno, which come from all of Yucatán.
Where can I eat longaniza in Valladolid?
At El Jardín de La Tía, in Tikuch, a few kilometers from the city; at the loncherías of the municipal bazaar, in front of the main park; at Lonchería Olich, in Santa Lucía; and at central restaurants such as Mesón del Marqués. To buy it fresh, go to the municipal market.
What does “escabeche oriental” mean?
“Oriental” refers to the east of Yucatán, where Valladolid is. It’s chicken or turkey with an escabeche seasoning, sour orange and roasted chile xcatik, served in its broth.
What gastronomy award did Valladolid win?
In 2026 it won “Best Magic Town for a gastronomic experience” at the Lo Mejor de México awards, from México Desconocido. In 2025 it had won the Gastronomy category in the Pueblos Mágicos por Excelencias awards.
Grecco Bejarano has lived in Valladolid since 2011, and his place for longaniza and poc chuc is El Jardín de La Tía, in Tikuch. If you’re thinking of living here, message us on WhatsApp: we’ll tell you about each neighborhood and send you homes for sale and rent near what you like.
Grecco Bejarano has lived in Valladolid since 2011 and leads Bejarano Real Estate.
