No matter what cuisine you’re craving, you needn’t venture far to find it in Oklahoma City. Sure, our steakhouses are legendary, but nowadays our world-class food scene touches all reaches of the globe. Like EPCOT at Walt Disney World, where the World Showcase features 11 different country pavilions that allow guests to almost literally dine around the world, OKC’s restaurants offer the same globe-trotting flavors. From chef-driven Spanish tapas and homespun Thai recipes to Mexican menudo and French fare so legit that it comes with a miniature Eiffel Tower, here’s how to eat your way around the world—all within OKC city limits.
photography by Shea Alan, Rachel Maucieri & provided
Spain
Tapas at Riserva Bar + Tapas
1332 W Memorial Road Suite 108
On the contemporary front, Riserva Bar + Tapas is a shining star in Chisholm Creek, where Spanish plates deftly toe the line between tradition and innovation. As the name implies, the stylish restaurant focuses on scratch-made tapas that pack every morsel with flavor. The fan-favorites are all here, including patatas bravas seasoned with smoked paprika aïoli and manchego, and verdant fattoush salad teeming with textures of crispy quinoa, romaine, radish, cucumber and pomegranate. The shareable portion sizes make it easy to feast on an array of dishes, like creamy hummus topped with meltingly tender short rib and pomegranate molasses, pistachio-flecked sweet potatoes in coconut curry or harissa shrimp kebabs with cucumber melon relish and shawarma salsa. Save room for one of the best desserts in town: chocolate tart with tahini mousse, toasted sesame and apricot rose jam.
China
Szechuan Story
2800 N Classen Blvd #108
Like Sheesh Mahal, if enough restaurant industry experts point you to the same place, you know it’s gotta be good. Szechuan Story frequently tops the list of recommendations for Chinese restaurants, for its scorchingly authentic take on the fiery flavors endemic to the southwestern Chinese province of Sichuan. Beyond its modest Asian District facade, the restaurant makes up for its sparse decor with a menu that erupts with flavor, from plump pork dumplings awash in chili oil and cumin-spiced lamb chops to crowd-pleasing platters of dry crispy spicy chicken and ribbon-like threads of sliced pig ears in—you guessed it—chili oil.
India
Sheesh Mahal
4621 N May Ave
When I first moved to Oklahoma City, the restaurant that everyone told me to try wasn’t a downtown steakhouse, or a buzzy hot spot. It was Sheesh Mahal, a frills-free, family-run institution in a nondescript building on North May. Open since 2013, and specializing in halal Indian and Pakistani cuisines, it’s a testament to the eatery’s authenticity that it reigns among the most lauded neighborhood restaurants in town. On the night I moved into my house, fortuitously close to Sheesh Mahal, I paused from unpacking to see what all the fuss was about. Suffice to say, I have returned countless times to Sheesh Mahal, and bookended my time in that house by eating there again the night before I moved across town. The encyclopedic menu might seem overwhelming at first, but every single dish, bread and curry is executed perfectly, from the flaky samosas brimming with spiced potatoes and the rich, stew-like splendor of goat haleem to lamb naan and green masala chicken.
Guatemala
Cafe Antigua
1903 N Classen Blvd
A taste of home for some is a taste of adventure for others. Cafe Antigua is a Latin American love letter for Benjamin and Elida Valdez, who opened the colorful restaurant as an homage to their home country of Guatemala. Open for breakfast, brunch and lunch, the restaurant radiates familial warmth and cultural character, from the marimba music to the Guatemalan coffee—marked by notes of acidity that come from the country’s higher elevations and volcanic terroir. The food, however familiar or not, is pure comfort. Start with shareable appetizers like enchiladas chapinas, stuffed with shredded beef and crowned with a pickled cabbage and beet salad, before graduating to the spicy motuleño, a handmade corn tortilla with beans, eggs, salsa, avocado, queso fresco and corn chips. Lunch options include Mayan rice topped with grilled chimichurri chicken, picadillo-filled flautas and white rice with black beans and grilled tilapia. Whatever you do, save room for platanos en Gloria, fried plantains with brown sugar syrup and cinnamon.
Italy
Flip’s Wine Bar & Trattoria
5801 N Western Ave
23 W 1st St Ste 130
My favorite kinds of Italian restaurants, at least stateside, are the red sauce joints swimming in marinara, where Chianti comes poured to the brim and burly bowls of pasta come heaped with meatballs and shaved parmesan. It’s all part of the allure of Flip’s Wine Bar & Trattoria, a funky Nichols Hills anchor since 1985, where convivial crowds chow down on calamari, lasagna, garlicky bruschetta, sausage pizzas and chicken parm. The dining room itself, an odd triangular shape with tables decorated with antiques and trinkets, is a hoot, and the food—the kind of unabashed indulgence that makes you feel like you’re at nonna’s house—follows suit. It’s not all decadence, though. One of my favorite things on the menu is the Caesar salad with a perfectly cooked fillet of grilled salmon. It’s one of the best Caesar salads in the city, and one of the best dishes on the Flip’s menu.
In Edmond, among the most promising—and underrated—Italian entries of late is Vignola’s. We wrote about it when it opened in 2024, and the family-run operation has been chugging away inside the Edmond Railyard ever since. Manned by husband-wife team Ashley and Giovanni Vignola, who moved to Oklahoma after creating an Italian catering company near D.C., the fast-casual eatery serves up hearty, wholesome, scratch-made family recipes, like pea-studded arancini, cheese tortellini salad, pappardelle bolognese in beef ragù and the best eggplant parmesan sub I’ve ever had.
Japan
Awaji Izakaya
12305 N Rockwell Ave
OKC has experienced a major boom in Japanese restaurants over the past couple of years, but if you’re looking for the full Tokyo immersion, head to Awaji Izakaya. A cozy Japanese pub, resplendent in vibrant paper lanterns, characteristic signs and Japanese umbrellas, the nook-filled space is the vision of seasoned chef Richard Ly, who meticulously slices some of the freshest fish and seafood in the city, for sushi dishes like snow crab nigiri, yellowtail sashimi with blood orange and yuzu ponzu and the Duo Osaka Style Press, a pressed maki roll made with spicy yellowtail, avocado, tuna, spicy mayo and eel sauce. Beyond sushi, his expansive menu is meant to be shared and snacked upon, from gyoza dumplings and Japanese fried chicken to lobster rangoon and a full menu of yakitori skewers.
Morocco
Cous Cous Cafe
6165 N May Ave
A rare Moroccan treat in OKC, Cous Cous Cafe spotlights North African cuisine on North May. Another oft-cited restaurant for delicious and authentic cooking, a la Sheesh Mahal just down the street, Cous Cous offers traditional tagines filled with the likes of tender chicken with raisins and sweet onions, or chermoula-marinated salmon in tomato sauce with potatoes, olives and carrots. Verdant salads include the Zaalook salad with mashed eggplant over crisp lettuce with tomatoes and garlic, while heftier house specialties include chicken bastilla, a sweet-and-savory chicken pie—enrobed in flaky warka dough—studded with ground almonds, herbs and cinnamon-sugar. The massive menu takes the something-for-everyone approach, offering kabob platters, sandwiches and even Moroccan burritos, filled with the likes of hummus, rice and Moroccan salad.
Mexico
La Esquina
2400 SW 29th St
El Coyote
925 W Britton Road
Often, the best kinds of taquerias are those that eschew decor for kaleidoscopic shelves of pastel-hued conchas and hulking trays filled with crispy pork cracklings. At La Esquina, a casual cafe and taqueria on the southwest side, it’s all part of the decades-long tradition. The corner shop doubles as a neighborhood market, with snacks and sundries like Mexican candies and sodas, while the kitchen cooks up a beefy medley of shredded barbacoa, tortas, tacos and menudo, a spicy soup simmered with beef tripe, hominy and red chili peppers.
On the contemporary side of the plate, El Coyote offers its own take on tortilla traditions. While the Britton District cantina is technically New Mexican, specializing in items like green chile queso and stuffed sopapillas, there’s enough regional similarities to merit a shoutout on this list. Especially considering how immersive the adobe-style space is, decked out with kivas and chile ristras, while offering dishes like sorghum-glazed beef tacos, adovada steak in smoky red chile sauce and blue corn enchiladas with coyote beans. Don’t sleep on the cocktails and margaritas, either, like the green chile- and strawberry-infused Taos Desert Heat.
France
La Baguette Bistro
7408 N May Ave
From steakhouses to Italian restaurants, Oklahoma City is not lacking in comfort food, but there’s something extra savory about filet au poivre, rolled in black pepper and flambéed with brandy, or onion soup gratinée, bubbling under a crown of caramelized Gruyere. More than mere comfort, French food is a transcendent—and transportive—celebration of cuisine and culture. That culture is alive and well at La Baguette Bistro, where a 30-foot Eiffel Tower beckons Francophiles to a marketplace, bakery and full-service bistro, festooned with throne-like chairs and convivial booths. It’s an apt setting for some of OKC’s foremost French cuisine. The expansive menu hits all the high notes, from carpaccio-style smoked salmon flecked with capers and lemon-chili oil to meltingly tender beef tartare and a pitch-perfect French onion soup, wafting with rich beef broth, jammy onions and a molten medley of gooey Gruyere. A staple since the ’80s, La Baguette is an homage to the south of France, where brothers Alain and Michel Buthion fell in love with food at their father’s boucherie. That homegrown heritage is evident in every facet of the brand, from the curated market to the plates, like herb-crusted rack of lamb with Cabernet glaze and chicken crêpes draped with Chardonnay cream. These dishes, and the hospitality that the Buthions foster, are the kinds of timeless traditions that have kept customers coming back for generations.
Vietnam
Pho Cuong
3016 N Classen Blvd
Twenty Pho Hour
1332 W Memorial Road
A staple in the Asian District, Pho Cuong is one of the foremost pho stops in the hub of OKC’s thriving Vietnamese community. I first visited for a friend’s birthday dinner, and after one slurp of anise-scented soup, brimming with beef brisket and rice noodles, I could understand why they chose it for their celebration. The homey, family-owned eatery offers familiar comforts, like egg rolls and beef pho, and more adventurous offerings, such as noodle soup with brisket and tripe; beef noodle soup with pork shank, ham and pork blood; and rice congee with shrimp, squid, mussels and crab. On the other end of the spectrum for noodle eateries, Twenty Pho Hour in Chisholm Creek delights diners with not only exceptional pho and other Asian dishes but also a dining room unlike anything else in town. Every single thing in the restaurant besides the food is entirely black and white, right down to the monochrome soda machine and trash can–giving diners a real life comic book experience.
Ireland
Sean Cummings Irish Pub
7628 N May Ave
I have yet to make it to Ireland, but I imagine it looks exactly like Sean Cummings Irish Pub. As you enter the dimly lit pub on North May, you’re asked whether you want to visit Italy or Ireland (the pub shares a building with Vito’s Ristorante), and if you’re indecisive, the siren song of live Celtic music should do the trick. Inside, you’d think you were whisked away to Dublin, where draught Guinness flows like wine and walls are lined with Irish memorabilia, family photos and flags. It’s all thanks to the titular Sean Cummings, whose parents were both from Ireland, and instilled in him a love for potato cakes, colcannon and Irish breakfast. Those traditions carry through at his namesake pub, where diners have their pick of Irish stew, beef boxty (potato crêpe filled with beef, onions and mushrooms), shepherd’s pie and perhaps the best beer-battered fish & chips in the city. Music is equally integral, held on a nightly basis, with folksy bands like the Flowers of Edinburgh, acoustic Ravens Three and the flutes and guitars of Pierce-Hart.
Thailand
Four J’s
2920 S Agnew Ave #3
Years before Ma Der skyrocketed to national fame, earning chef Jeff Chanchaleune two nominations at the James Beard Awards, Four J’s was among the first restaurants in town to introduce real-deal Thai and Laotian cuisine to OKC. Today, the pint-sized southwest side eatery is still cooking up food that reminds me of my travels through Thailand. What started as a homespun business, cooking food for colleagues and friends, evolved into a family-run brick and mortar named after the owners’ four daughters, whose names all start with “J.” On the menu, look for Laotian-style papaya salad, splashed with pickled fish sauce, and rice noodles tangled with ground pork, fermented soy bean sauce, cabbage and bean sprouts. Sure, it has the requisite pad Thai, but venture afield and try something more legit, like tom kha coconut milk soup scented with galangal, lemongrass, kaffir lime, basil, young corn and cilantro.
Ethiopia
Queen of Sheba
2308 N MacArthur Blvd
My favorite African restaurant in OKC, Queen of Sheba has become something of a ritualistic treat for me. If I have a free night, one of my favorite traditions is roller skating at Skate Galaxy, and then bopping over to Ethiopia for dinner. Not the actual country, but considering its diligent authenticity, it’s the next best thing. The restaurant is a lot larger than its strip mall facade suggests, outfitted with African baskets and artwork, while the menu hits a bullseye with its injera—a spongy, pancake-like sourdough flatbread that doubles as plateware and utensils. Various stews and salads are layered atop the injera, which guests tear off to eat with their hands, making for a wholly unique dining experience not found in most OKC restaurants (where ripping apart the plates would likely be frowned upon). Here, though, it’s the vessel on which to savor dishes like buttery lamb tibbs, seasoned with green chili and onions, and bozena shurro, a medley of chickpeas, beef and berbere sauce. Queen of Sheba also offers an ample vegetarian selection, emphasizing ingredients like lentils, split peas, potatoes and collard greens.
