Abstract: Food in tourism is not just an aspect of the “food” component among the six elements of tourism activities; it’s also a crucial medium through which tourists engage with and interpret local culture, emerging as a notable attraction. This study introduces a classification framework for ethnic-themed restaurants in tourist destinations, grounded in the authenticity-locality dimension. It examines four case studies: Gerileama Milk Tea House in Inner Mongolia, Wuluduo Mongolian Cuisine, Lubrusi Western Restaurant, and Little Fat Sheep Baotou Flagship Store. The research delves into their classification, the mechanisms underlying their local production, and the experiences they offer to visitors. The findings reveal: (1) Within the authenticity-locality context, ethnic-themed restaurants exhibit four distinct types of local production: traditional locality, reconstructed locality, embedded locality, and global localization; (2) The local production processes differ across these types, encompassing the preservation of local traditional culinary culture, the modernization of traditional cuisines, the inventive combination of traditional dishes from other areas, and the globalization of local foods; (3) Tourists’ experiences at these restaurants vary, focusing on elements like taste, ambiance, exotic culture, and local uniqueness. The local traits of ethnic-themed restaurants in tourist destinations highlight the complex interplay and mutual influence of tradition and modernity, local and global elements in ethnic tourism settings. The tourist’s perspective plays a pivotal role in shaping the local character of these ethnic-themed dining experiences.