Everything We Ate in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico - February 2024
I just got back from a lovely 5-day family trip to San Miguel de Allende in central Mexico and I have a lot of thoughts, especially around food. I hope this is helpful if you are planning a trip anytime soon!
A general note about the food in SMA: A lot of the “higher” rated food spots are really catered to the ex-pats (aka gringos) in the area and are (sadly) probably rated by them as well. I would tread lightly on some of the more flashy spots as we had some not-so-great meals at those spots.
Andy’s Taco Cart:
There is no website to link as this is exactly as it sounds, a taco cart! The cart gets put up in the same place every night (corner of Hidalgo and Insurgentes) and they are serving up some of the most insaaaane tacos. I tried the al pastor, bistec, chorizo and the ribs and my favorites were the al pastor and bistec. You can also add cheese to any taco and the melt it down for you on the tortilla. It was so good we went twice.
Los Milagros has two locations Terraza or Relox, so you can go to either but Terraza has a nice view of the whole city and seems to be a bit less packed with tourists. Everything we had there was really delicious and they have a love of authentic options. I would absolutely recommend getting a molcajete, which is a traditional Mexican version of a mortal and pestle, and in this case is used as almost a hot plate. It comes with a variety of meats and veggies and a side of rice, beans and tortillas.
Panio:
I would recommend Panio for coffee and or a light breakfast if you are in the central area. Their croissants are super good and so are their coffees, plus it looks to be located in an old synagogue.
Lavanda was one of my top two favorite meals all of the trip. It was SO good and I was dying to go back while we were there but it just didn’t happen. We had the most delicious coffee and the most delicious breakfast that I still have not stopped thinking about. I would recommend their huevos rancheros and the salsa de huevo. I would go back to SMA just for this.
The Rosewood San Miguel de Allende:
We went to the Rosewood for two different meals and I would recommend both experiences! The first was for breakfast at the 1826 Restaurant. We went on a normal morning but apparently their Sunday brunch is something to write home about. We also went to the Luna Rooftop for an early / sunset dinner and drinks and it was lovely. I really liked their fish taco and the sunset margarita. Plus the view was unreal.
The nice thing about Inside Cafe is that it is open earlier than some other spots in SMA and they offer quite the selection of breakfast and lunch options. I would recommend their coffee and the Sexy Mexican breakfast.
We had a super lovely meal at Aperi which is a very reasonably-priced tasting menu serving up creative food with Mexican flavors and produce. The space is beautiful and the service was really amazing.
We had a really lovely meal at La Mezcaleria and this is a place I would absolutely recommend. They had wonderful cocktails and small bites to share the place itself is very cozy and cute. I would recommend the grilled artichoke, the ribeye tostada, and the pork belly with black Oaxacan mole.
Cafe de Cajon:
We stopped here randomly for a breakfast and it was nice! Not as good of a breakfast as Lavanda but it got the job done. I had the chilaquiles and they were good.
Hacienda El Santuario:
Ok bare with me on this one, but this hotel (which is sooo pretty and worth a stop in) has a little juice bar in the back where they make fresh and unique flavored juices with purified water. I had the papaya juice and it was really delicious. It is a great place to stop and sit for a second, with a refreshing drink.
Ki’Bok Coffee:
We stopped in for a quick coffee as we were walking around and the coffee was wildly delicious. I wish we could have gone back and tried some baked goods!
We spent a day in Guanajuato and for lunch we met some friends here and had a really delicious lunch. I had one of the best shrimp tacos I have ever had in my life and they made some really delicious steaks (I recommend the arrachera and rib eye) as well as ordering the salmon con costra de chiles, and the pasta ajo aceite de olivo y chile de arbol.
While this is not technically a restaurant recommendation, I would really recommend doing a market tour and cooking class with Gilda while you are in SMA. It was such a great way to spend a day and we made a delicious lunch together at her beautiful home.
Ignacio Ramirez Market:
There are a lot of food stands to try or shop around in this market and I would recommend checking out some of the tostada spots.
Other places we wanted to try but didn’t get to this trip:
El Manatial
La Posadita
La Favolosa
