Barrio Gastronómico turns Centro’s history into a culinary adventure.
By Sheila Madsen, September 2025
Marco Bernal had a dream. In 2021, he was feeling lonely and wanted to unite restaurants and customers in Centro Historico. Just after the pandemic he felt strongly about bringing people together -to share a table, a dish, a drink ,a story. Chefs and owners listened, saying, yes, no, maybe, I like the idea, let me think about it. Marco, owner of the successful restaurant La Molcajeteria, never gave up on the idea of Barrio Gastronómico and today turned all the “maybes” into four different walking food tours with 21 restaurants.
You’ll find all the routes, restaurants, prices, bookings, times and answers to any of your food questions on their website. Six stops, three hours, a taste of history and dishes you’ve never tried before. The team is quick to add “you’ll be full, we recommend you leave room for all the chef’s specials.”
Your hosts: Gil Camacho, Chris Davidson and Marco Bernal on the right.
Barrio is the Spanish word for neighbourhood and the three hosts – Marco, Chris Davidson and Gil Camacho are so enthusiastic about combing the history of Centro with the flavours of Mazatlan. Each route has a unique story and menu. All the restaurants are handpicked for flavour and authenticity. You literally taste your way through history.
Barrio Gastronómico is a very well-planned tour. No surprises here, as chefs and owners of restaurants do a tasting tour before they roll it out to the public. If something isn’t right, it’s changed right away. The hosts are in constant communication with the restaurants – “we are 10 minutes away “– the guests are welcomed immediately and they are excited as they are experiencing Centro in a whole new way.
Chris Davidson says: “many of my groups are snowbirds who have not visited Centro Historico and they are amazed by the history I share with them, delighted with the food and begin connecting through food, to the history of Mazatlan. Seafood really lends itself to so many interesting stories. Some guests book another route/ruta immediately so they can keep on learning and tasting new things. And they tell their friends and family, the power of word- of -mouth.” Just look at the quotes below.
Trade your go-to restaurant for an evening of surprises. If you are solo, it’s a perfect way to meet new people and bond over tasty dishes and refreshing drinks. Barrio Gastronómico is a tour for people who love Mazatlan -and want a culinary adventure.
Marco Bernal creator of Barrio Gastronómico and owner La Molcajeteria.
S.C. says: “I highly recommend the Barrio Gastronómico food tours. If you haven’t heard, Mazatlan is an up -and -coming foodie scene. I went with a group of three women on Ruta 2 [see the website for all the routes] and then immediately booked the Ruta 1 for the next night. Each restaurant had a table waiting for us and served a signature drink promptly. The food was fresh and fabulous and the portions were more than enough to fill us up. Our host shared so much about the history and the architecture. We’ll definitely return when we visit again.”
A.W. Says: “ It was a great evening! We had a birthday girl in our group and we were pleasantly surprised that every restaurant recognized the occasion. Everyone enjoyed themselves immensely.”
S.N. says: “ This week we finally got to doing the food tour through Centro Historico. Barrio Gastronómico was fantastic! We went to six different restaurants and had a tasting of their food and specialty cocktails. All really fabulous and the nice part was we went to some places we haven’t tried. Our hostess Chris Davidson, filled us in on some really cool history about Mazatlan and these incredible homes – there are some stories behind those walls! We are definitely going to do the other tours the next time friends and family are in Mazatlan.”