El Escapulario — Restaurant in Oaxaca

An unimpressive doorway on the street, with steep stairs that lead you up to a small, 2 room restaurant. It didn't look like much, but we had a really great, authentic Oaxacan lunch. We had guacamole (not listed on the menu) which was very light and creamy (not your normal chunky guacamole, with onion, garlic and tomatoes, but very nice), it came with crumbled queso on top, and big round, very crunchy chips - quite spicy - on the side. I had Sopa de Guías, which seemed to be a zucchini (UK: courgette) flower soup, with a piece of corn on the cob, and all sorts of leaves, pieces of zucchini, stems and flowers - this was delivered, literally still boiling, in a stone bowl. That's how I love my food to be served, piping hot! It was all fairly simple food, but honest, authentic, and very reasonably priced. Together with some beer and micheladas, it made for a perfect light lunch. The proprietor, Esther, was very attentive, she moved us to a window seat as soon as it became available, turned on the oscillating fan for us, and made sure our every need was attended to. She is a very nice lady. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend El Escapulario (the...

Excellent food, some of the best mole you'll ever have. This was the only restaurant we went to twice during our 2 week stay in Oaxaca. We made sure to visit again on our last day. The chef uses special local ingredients that help create a truly unique experience that everyone should have when visiting Oaxaca. Also my father in law is a vegetarian and they easily accommodated him.

Our first visit was flawless, our second visit was less flawless just based on how pricey the mole sampler is (other reviewers have mentioned the same complaint, I should have listened!). Yes the mole is amazing but almost $40 US for mole and a small bowl of rice and veggies is steep. It does come with a lot of beer/mezcal, but that only helps dull the pain of the bill. Just stay away from that dish and you'll love this place. I'd visit again and just order other...

Went here to try manchamental and chichilo (both very hard to find), and it was incredible! The chichilo was duely somber, hearty, and mostly simple in flavor, with only very subtle complexity, and the vegitables and dough pieces complimented the tone of the dish brilliantly - enjoyable but not so pleasurable as to be inappropriate for a mourning family.

The manchamantel was very lively, fruity, rich, bright, fun, and fairly spicy for a mole. And again, the other items in the dish complimented the mole brilliantly.

The manchamantel is now my favorite of the 8 moles of Oaxaca, and the Chichilo is my significant other's favorite.

The food was absolutely amazing, but do bear in mind, you will likely be waiting a while for your food. In my opinion though, it is well worth the wait! The decor is also...