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All Mexico Oaxaca La Frijolería
AO Edited Gastro Obscura

La Frijolería

Dine on funerary beans alongside off-duty lucha libre wrestlers.

Oaxaca, Mexico

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Anya von Bremzen
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Amicar Hernandez and Paulina Rovilla wanted to properly celebrate these humble legumes.   Orlando Madrid for Gastro Obscura
Amicar Hernandez and Paulina Rovilla wanted to properly celebrate these humble legumes.   Orlando Madrid for Gastro Obscura
La Frijolería proudly pushes back against the increasingly unaffordable restaurants crowding into town.   Orlando Madrid for Gastro Obscura
The cheery, welcoming decor is hard to miss.   Orlando Madrid for Gastro Obscura
Beans are ladled out from large earthenware pots.   Orlando Madrid for Gastro Obscura
All of the tortillas are made by an artisan at the 20 de Noviembre market.   Orlando Madrid for Gastro Obscura
Colágeno gets its unctuous texture from slow-simmered pigs’ feet.   Orlando Madrid for Gastro Obscura
Amicar Hernandez and Paulina Rovilla wanted to offer affordable, hearty meals.   Orlando Madrid for Gastro Obscura
Grab a fresh tortilla for dunking.   Orlando Madrid for Gastro Obscura
The beans stews here are simmered just shy of forever.   Orlando Madrid for Gastro Obscura
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About

Beans are the unsung heroes of Oaxacan cuisine, grown together with different squashes and corn on a milpa, the traditional intercropped plot. Stewed with avocado leaves or epazote and served over rice, filling tamales or tortas or topping tlayudas, they are indispensable but rarely celebrated all on their own. 

Amicar Hernandez and Paulina Rovilla opened this legume-centric spot near Museo Rufino Tamayo to give frijoles their much-deserved share of the spotlight. Their other mission? To bring back affordable family meals in this city where tourism is driving up restaurant prices. 

This cheery spot, bright with papel picado and posters of corn, is dominated by giant earthenware ollas (pots) holding different bean stews with whimsical names, slow-cooked over wood fire by Sagraria Carvajal, the restaurant’s Zapotec chef. 

A dish of refried black beans topped with broken up chicharron called “difuntos” (deceased) is her homage to a specialty served to mourners at wakes in her village. For a stew called “colágeno” she simmers black beans with gelatinous pigs feet until unctuous and collagen rich—a popular Oaxacan hangover cure. 

Another pot might contain pinkish-brown bayo beans cooked short of forever with sausage, bacon, pork chop, and ham—in a kind of Oaxacan feijoada—to be eaten with squirts of lime and sharp pickles. For something more cholesterol-virtuous, Carvajal prepares a dish called “fit” with black beans, an anise-y wild herb called hierba de conejo, corn masa dumplings, and zero animal protein. 

Frijoleria sources its seasonal heirloom beans from traditional farmers in the area of San Miguel Tanichico Zaachila known for its milpas. The tortillas are made by a special artisan at the 20 de Noviembre market, and to foster a community spirit the owners support local musicians and wrestlers. Don’t be surprised if a character in a lucha libre cape and mask sits at the next table. 

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Besides bean stews, the menu offers delicious bean-filled tamales and tortas.

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Yucatan Family Adventure: Meteors, Pyramids & Maya Legends

Explore Maya temples and learn about the asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs.

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Added By

Anya von Bremzen

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March 25, 2025

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La Frijolería
Calle de Tinoco y Palacios 209, RUTA INDEPENDENCIA, Centro
Oaxaca, 68000
Mexico
17.063817, -96.729854
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Nearby Places

Levadura de Olla

Oaxaca, Mexico

miles away

Rufino Tamayo Museum of Pre-Hispanic Art

Oaxaca, Mexico

miles away

Tierra del Sol

Oaxaca, Mexico

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Oaxaca

Oaxaca

Mexico

Places 18
Stories 5

Nearby Places

Levadura de Olla

Oaxaca, Mexico

miles away

Rufino Tamayo Museum of Pre-Hispanic Art

Oaxaca, Mexico

miles away

Tierra del Sol

Oaxaca, Mexico

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Oaxaca

Oaxaca

Mexico

Places 18
Stories 5

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