Traditional Cantinas of the Centro Histórico

Scattered through the Centro Histórico of Zacatecas, a handful of long-established traditional cantinas preserve the classic Mexican cantina format largely unchanged: drinks ordered by the round, plain functional rooms with tiled floors and simple furniture, and a clientele that skews local and regular rather than visitor-heavy. These cantinas typically serve bottled beer, tequila, and mezcal, with some offering complimentary or inexpensive botanas alongside drink rounds in the older cantina style. The atmosphere is conversational and unhurried, a contrast to the livelier callejoneadas and mezcalerías nearby, and the crowd is generally older on weekday afternoons, filling out with a wider mix on weekend evenings. Because these cantinas are spread across several streets in the historic center rather than concentrated in one building, seeking one out rewards a bit of wandering, and asking locals for a current recommendation is a reliable way to find the best-regarded room on a given visit. Cash is standard, and English is rarely spoken, so basic Spanish helps considerably when ordering.