Levadura de Olla is one of Oaxaca's most respected restaurants, occupying a courtyard on Calle Reforma near the Santo Domingo church. The kitchen focuses on traditional Oaxacan cooking — the seven moles, slow-cooked meats, and dishes made with the wild herbs and fungi of the Sierra Norte — but executed with the precision of a serious modern kitchen rather than the cheerful roughness of the market comedores.
The mole negro here is widely considered among the best in the city: deeply complex, bitter from charred chilhuacle negro and the seeds, sweet from dried fruit, and rounded by a richness that takes all day to build. Reservations are advisable for dinner; lunch tends to be more accessible. The tasting menu is worth considering if you want to cover the range of regional flavours properly.