Food to Try in Monterrey

Monterrey’s food culture is emphatically northern Mexican — meat-focused, wood-fire-cooked, and unapologetic. The city’s signature dishes bear almost no resemblance to the Mexico City or Oaxacan food most visitors know.

Cabrito al pastor

The defining dish of Monterrey: baby goat roasted on a spit over charcoal. The meat is mild, tender, and slightly gamey. Barrio Antiguo has the highest concentration of cabrito restaurants; the most famous is El Rey del Cabrito (Constitución), but several family-run spots in the same area are equally good and cheaper. Order the whole cabrito (for groups) or individual cuts — riñones (kidneys) and pierna (leg) are the most common portions.

Carne asada regiomontana

Monterrey’s carne asada is not just grilled beef — it’s a social ritual. The regio asadero (grill) involves multiple cuts cooked over mesquite: arrachera (skirt steak), costillas (short ribs), chorizo, and sausages. Served with flour tortillas (not corn — this is the north), guacamole, frijoles charros (beans with pork), and raw onions roasted on the coals. The Mercado Juárez area has multiple asaderos open for lunch.

Machacado con huevo

The northern Mexico breakfast: dried, shredded beef rehydrated and scrambled with eggs, tomato, chile, and onion. Found at any traditional breakfast spot. The Obispado neighbourhood has several good options. Served with flour tortillas.

Pan de pulque and pan dulce

Monterrey’s bakeries produce pan de pulque — bread leavened with pulque (fermented agave sap) — alongside the standard array of Mexican pan dulce. The Mercado Juárez has several bakery stalls.

Street food and markets

Mercado Juárez: the main food market in the centro. Breakfast counters, machacado vendors, juice stands, and cheap lunch. Busy and local.

Barrio Antiguo: the historic neighbourhood adjacent to the centro has the most concentrated restaurant scene — everything from taco stands to mezcal bars to formal restaurants serving updated northern cuisine.

Drinks

Cerveza Carta Blanca is brewed in Monterrey (by Cuauhtémoc Moctezuma, now owned by Heineken) and is the local beer. Locals drink it cold with lime. The city also has a growing craft beer scene centred on Barrio Antiguo.