The local cuisine uses many seeds, vegetables, herbs and birds of the region, as well as the meats and species that were brought by the conquerors.

San Cristóbal offers some of the best dining options in the state, has a variety of restaurants offering traditional, regional and international cuisine.

The typical regional dishes include: bread soup, baked pork, jerky (beef cut into thin slices, marinated in achiote sauce), pork in pipian (pumpkin seed sauce), “shutis” (river snail) broth, armadillo in mole, chanfaina (rich stew of mutton liver, brain, heart, and kidney), dried beef in pulque, tamales chiapanecos, longaniza (sausage similar to a chorizo), “jamón serrano” (a type of dry-cured jam), butifarra (ground beef and pork with spices), tamales de yuyos, among others.

The artisan cheeses produced in the town of Ocosingo, deserve special mention for their flavor and quality.

Among the typical desserts are: “coleto” bread (breads stuffed with yellow sweet potato, sprinkled with powdered sugar), “nuégados” (delicious traditional cheese donuts), “cocadas” (caramelized coconut treats), “cajetas” (caramel sauce), “jamoncillo” (milk and sugar candy bar), dough sweets, bananas of glory, “trompadas” (boiled cinnamon candies), marshmallows, nougat and sweet watermelon.

The typical drinks are: “rompope” (kind of eggnog), pineapple punch with “marquesote” (a typical sweet bread), sweet beer, “champurrado” (chocolate based atole), cocoa pozol, cocoa water, “café de olla” (ground coffee, cinnamon, and piloncillo) and “pinole de maíz” (ground toasted maize kernels, mixed with a variety of herbs and ground seeds, sugar and spices).