La Tienda Grande — Restaurant in Jalisco

--There are always some places you wish you could keep all to yourself but are too good to do so. This is that place. This is a do not miss no matter what you have to do to get here. We started out with a short cab ride into an area that ( not being a local) was not too sure of how safe it was. Looking back we would've missed one of the greatest food experiences of our life. We walked into a corner restaurant in an area that I did not see any other restaurants. Greeted as if they were truly grateful we walked into the door. A warmth you rarely get anywhere in the world. We sat at a table by the window and our waiter greeted us immediately. We let him decide what handmade cocktails we were going to start with and at no point in the evening did they ever disappoint.  My wife looked out the open air window while multiple hummingbirds hovered in the tree just outside our seats. We let all the staff decide what we were going to eat with a little guidance. My wife is Gluten Free and that slowed nobody down. I rate this restaurant's food, drink, and experience as one that we will remember for the rest of our lives. All of that is only out done by the amazing people and Chef that work there. Special thanks to sous chef Ana who led the way through this amazing evening. Leo and Joel made this experience one of a kind. There is no relationship, or financial return for this review. It is just from our hearts.... Thank you for...

Built out of one of the first grocery stores in Ixtapa La Tienda Grande sees Chef Salvador Carrillo creating elegant Mexican Cuisine utilizing Mediterranean influences, a Tasting Menu seeing guests invited to choose their own main course plus innovative Cocktails or Wines focused on local purveyors.

Far from the tourist corridor, the sort of Restaurant that has earned the effort needed to visit since it opened, diners will notice streets filled with local vendors on their way into a space decorated with plaster and tile around the kitchen on full-display.

A frequent award recipient, though friendly and professional service assures a lack of pretense, Dinner begins with a crackling Croquette filled with molten Cheese before proceeding to a dish called “Child’s Play” featuring seared local Tuna on a color-shifting plate.

No doubt a Mexican Restaurant, but proudly incorporating global influences into dishes such as a Plantain Empanada or Lamb in Red Wine Demi, Chef Carrillo’s Braised Pork Belly Taco is a work of art balanced by Cream and Greens preceding Pork Ribs with Sweet Potato Puree.

Rethinking Enfrijoladas as an exceptional dish based on Beef Short Ribs, pickled Vegetables cutting through the richness with ease, “Pink Octopus” sees Cephalopod tender with a bit of snap adjacent non-traditional accouterments before finishing the night with an Ice Cream Cone indistinguishable in flavor from...

All hype. We really wanted to like this place. With all the great reviews, we were very excited to finally make the journey inland and try it out. The ride was, as expected, bumpy and dirty. This place is deep in the barrio. We arrived to find the place mostly empty on what would normally be a busy night. We had a lot of questions about the menu, and the lone server Jhonny had little in the way of answers. It was like he didn't know anything about the menu or how the plates were prepared. His answers only left us puzzled and with more questions. He had no clue what the tasting menu items might be, and made no effort to find out. He literally just said I don't know and that was that. This was all in Spanish so it wasn't a language issue. We settled on a la carte, even though we hoped to do the tasting menu. We notified the server of our food allergies but he seemed uninterested and that gave us concern. The food came out without a word from the server. No description of the various salsas he brought, literally nothing. I kept asking what is this, what is that... Is it spicy... We were the only table so it wasn't a time issue. He just literally seemed to not care about our dining experience. In the end we got the bill and for the exorbitant costs we wont be back. Terrible service, mediocre food, horrible location. Definitely not worth the over...