Colima eats well for its size, with a strong local tradition that mixes coastal seafood — Manzanillo is only ninety minutes away — with the corn-and-pork cooking of inland Jalisco. Look out for tatemado, a slow-roasted pork dish with chillies and vinegar that is the unofficial dish of the state; sopitos, miniature fried tortillas topped with ground beef; and pozole blanco, the white version of the classic Mexican hominy stew.
The best place to eat cheaply and well is around the Jardin Libertad in the evenings, when food stalls set up along the surrounding streets. For a sit-down meal, the restaurants in the colonial centre near the cathedral and along Calle Madero offer regional cooking at very reasonable prices. The village of Comala, twenty minutes out of town, is famous for its botaneros — bars that serve free snacks with each round of drinks, in such quantity that you rarely need dinner.