Mérida has a good range of restaurants, from cheap student joints near the university to more refined dining in the city centre. The cuisine is Andean — hearty mountain food featuring corn, potatoes, and freshwater trout from the Andean streams. Cachapa (sweet corn pancakes with white cheese) and pabellón (the Venezuelan rice-beans-plantain combination) are on most menus.
The city is particularly famous for Heladería Coromoto, which holds the Guinness World Record for the most ice cream flavours — over 900, including unusual local ones like smoked trout, black beans with cheese, and avocado. The streets around Plaza Bolívar have the best concentration of restaurants and cafes.