Featuring an extensive lineup of local craft beer and mezcal, La Mezcalerita is a lively and casual spot with both a rooftop bar and indoor spaces to drink and eat local bar snacks prepared with 100 percent Oaxacan ingredients. Founder Coca Zárate’s mezcal selection includes well-regarded brands like Nuestra Soledad, Real Minero, Macurichos, Cuish, La Medida, and Koch, as well as a comprehensive list of house mezcales sourced from local producers. 

Occupying a lively corner on the calle M. García Vigil, La Popular is, as its name suggests, quite popular. Frequented by locals and tourists alike, “La Popu,” with its ever-changing art displays, offers a fun and casual environment for an easy meal, a chela, and a tasty house mezcal.  The mezcal is sourced locally and includes some nice picks from Miahuatlán (Cuixe, Tepextate, Mexicano). Another reason for a mezcalito here is what’s just across the street: the consistently delicious street food stand Empanadas Nocturnas del Carmen, which serves late-night empanadas de amarillo and memelas de queso.

Brought to you by the owners of Mezcal brands El Jolgorio and Nuestra Soledad, this intimate bar is an excellent s pot to learn about and enjoy mezcal from a kind and attentive staff. In addition to the array of multicolored branded bottles on the back bar, they offer an interesting selection of house mezcales exclusive to Mezcalogia from different communities in Oaxaca, including Matatlán, Santa María Zoquitlán, and Ejutla. At night, there’s often live music from a variety of local acts.

Founded in 2020 by Eric Giardina of the Golden Era in Nevada City and Asis Cortes of Dixeebe and Origen Raíz, this relaxed rooftop bar has quickly become a local favorite because of its tasty Mexican food, panoramic city views, and good mezcal. The mezcal and agave spirits selection includes lots of Mexican brands, including Cortes’s own, along with other small brands like La Venenosa, Derrumbes, Cordón Cerrado, and Gracias a Dios. Be sure to check out Cortes’s wonderful partner Mar’s shop, Espíritus Máxicos, on the bottom floor for a collection of beautiful local crafts, rare bottles, and other treats. Ask about the private tastings at Altar for a very special and transformative mezcal experience. 

El Techo is the good-looking rooftop restaurant of El Destilado, boasting views of the famous Santo Domingo church and murals by local Oaxacan artists. Co-owner Jason Cox is also the founder of the agave spirits brand 5 Sentidos, and along with spirits from his own roster, he offers a stellar lineup of mezcales from other small brands across Mexico. Some favorites from 5 Sentidos are the mezcales produced by Alberto Martínez from Santa Catarina Albarradas and those by Atenogenes García from Miahuatlán. El Techo also features a very tasty and unfussy menu of tacos, snacks, and other easygoing fare from chef Joseph Gilbert.

Founded in 2012, this corner mezcalería on the lovely calle 5 de Mayo is the initiative of the Méndez family, Matatlán-based mezcal producers who were among the first to create and register a brand in Oaxaca in the 1950s. The wooden backbar showcases the family’s productions in addition to a giant selection of mezcales from different producing regions of Oaxaca that you can choose to discover on your own or with the expert assistance of one of the knowledgeable bartenders.

Archivo Maguey consists of two floors, a downstairs bar and seating area, second-floor seating, and a back room known as the cave, where DJs play everything from cumbia and reggaeton to techno. Jesus “Espina” Ortiz, the man behind Archivo and what seems like countless other food, design, and mezcal projects in Oaxaca, hails from Nochixtlán, and while he works with producers in several different regions, I’d recommend trying the Ticunshi, Potrero, or any of the other mezcals produced in the Mixteca. Chucho Ortiz’s tastings are particularly epic and informative, so if you can, reserve a Spanish-language experience at Archivo Fuego, his micro-distillery in Casa Toro, only a short walk from Archivo Maguey, at calle Crespo 203.

A Oaxaca City classic, Sabina Sabe’s cozy, exposed-brick bar is the place to try top-notch branded mezcal from the likes of Mezcalósfera, Vago, Real Minero, El Jolgorio, and others that might not be available outside of Mexico. The bar team also makes some solid cocktails using local spirits, juices, and native Oaxacan ingredients that can be enjoyed at the bar or while sitting in the pleasant dining room for a full meal or a light snack.