Casa Vieja de los Arcos

Casa Vieja de los Arcos occupies the upper floor of a colonial house on Calle 10, reached by a staircase behind the arcades that frame the eastern side of Campeche's Parque Principal. The reward at the top is the best restaurant view in San Francisco de Campeche: an open terrace whose balcony rail looks directly down onto the square, the laurel trees, the bandstand and the twin-towered facade of the Catedral de Nuestra Senora de la Purisima Concepcion. In the evening, when the cathedral and the surrounding colonial houses are floodlit and the square fills with families, the outlook does most of the work.

The kitchen cooks the peninsular canon rather than attempting anything experimental. Poc chuc, the sour-orange grilled pork of Yucatan, and queso relleno, the hollowed Dutch edam stuffed with spiced picadillo and covered in a white sauce, are the two dishes that best represent the house style, alongside Campeche's own pan de cazon and a short list of Gulf fish and shrimp plates. The Cuban thread running through the place -- Caribbean music in the evening, a serious mojito and a rum list broader than most in the city -- reflects Campeche's long maritime connection with Havana and gives the terrace a distinctly Caribbean rather than Mexican-highland feel after dark.

The dining room is informal in dress but atmospheric: heavy wooden furniture, ceiling fans, warm lighting and open arches. Noise level rises with the music and the square below, so it reads as convivial rather than romantic despite the candlelight. Service is unhurried, which suits an evening spent watching the plaza but frustrates anyone in a rush.

Pricing is mid-range for the historic centre, with mains generally MXN 180 to MXN 350 and cocktails around MXN 100 to MXN 150. Opening hours are unusual -- Friday through Wednesday from 3:30PM, and Thursdays only from 8PM -- so it is a late-afternoon and evening restaurant exclusively. The handful of tables directly against the balcony rail are the ones worth booking; everything else in the room is a considerably plainer experience.