Recommendations Corner: San Miguel De allende
Final verdict on San Miguel de Allende? I guess I’m glad I didn’t blindly buy property here after all. Maybe when I’m of retirement age I’ll feel differently, but for now it was just a little too sleepy of a small town for me.
These are the spots and experiences I most enjoyed during my three week stay:
The basil sour at Tostévere
Tostévere: Tiny space, reservations are recommended. Amazing cocktails, friendly staff. I ordered the tempura shrimp tacos and ahi tuna tostada. The basil sour cocktail was super refreshing.
Essential Massage and Watsu: A 90 minute deep tissue massage with Adriana for $1250 pesos ($68 dollars) was absolute heaven. I wish I had gone back to try the Watsu water based modality.
Café Umaran: I had coffee and breakfast here several times. Fantastic café de olla lattes, pastries, and savory breakfast options like enchiladas and chilaquiles for the egg hater in me.
Café de Olla latte at Café Umaran
Cien 24: Great café in San Antonio filled to the brim with expats both times I visited. Super affordable prices and generous portions.
Bocaciega: Chic Greek restaurant that provided a break from Mexican flavors when I needed one.
Tunki by Handshake: Terrace bar at the Belmond Hotel. Reservations are recommended. Great food and a beautiful spot to take in the sunset.
Fabrica La Aurora: I spent half a day wandering through the former textile mill, since converted into art galleries and shops. San Miguel is known for it’s vibrant art and music scene, and the Fabrica has something for everyone including antiques, art capturing the charm of the city, workshops, jewelry, textiles and more. With zero luggage space to work with, I bought this necklace designed by CDMX based designer, Lila Parrilla.
An artist’s studio space at Fábrica La Aurora
A piece by Lila Parrilla that my turquoise obsessed Granny would have loved
Hierba Santa Cocina Del Sur: I stopped by this adorable outdoor spot on my way to Fabrica La Aurora for breakfast and coffee. It’s tucked away into a little market with boutiques, an English bookstore, and other well-curated gems.
Tarot reading with Ximena: One hour reading, $999 pesos. Prior to my visit, I joined a Facebook group for people living in SMA and stumbled upon recommendations for Tarot readers. Ximena was warm, intuitive, and easy to relate to. She offers readings in English and Spanish.
Don Taco Tequila: I didn’t stop in until the end of my trip since the idea of vegan tacos didn’t appeal to me. Oh, how very, very wrong I was! Not only was the food delicious and the ambiance lively (hard to find during the week in the low season), but the guayaba and mint margarita was the best cocktail I had over the entire month in Mexico.
Mexico is gatekeeping their best limes (and avocados, tbh) and I don’t blame them one bit. The amount of juice you get out of one of these puppies is unbelievable.
The mint and guayaba mezcalita at Don Taco Tequila
