Ancestral Cocina Tradicional — Restaurant in Oaxaca

I had a very negative experience eating at that place, ranging from the food taking 1 hour to come to being blamed for not paying for the food I paid for. When I arrived at the restaurant, I ordered shrimp tacos. I waited one hour for that dish to come only to discover the tacos contained beef. Also, the size of the tacos was tiny, and each taco contained only one piece of shrimp (are we in México??) Yet the price was $7.5 USD. Usually in México waiters ask whether the person is vegetarian, vegan, pescetarian, etc. before taking their order. This place doesn't do that. Also, it took 30 mins for the waiter to come just to take my order. Alright. Since I don't eat meet, I had to return the tiny tacos I ordered and wait for another hour for a different dish to come. After I waited and ate my meal, I was still hungry. I decided to order a dessert only to find out the place did not have guayaba tart that they advertised in the menu. I asked the waiter for a recommendation of a dessert and ordered it. I waited for another hour, almost wanting to leave as I felt like my entire evening was spent waiting for the food to come. I decided to stay. When my dessert finally arrived, I tasted it ans felt like it was tasteless (it lacked the flavor). I told the waiter I would like to return the dessert. He kept aggressive saying something in Spanish I could not understand. He took the dessert with him. I asked a different waiter for a check. When he gave me the check, I saw the dessert included. I told the same waiter (who was acting aggressively) that I'm only going to pay for the food that I ate. The waiter kept stating that I needed to pay for the dessert. I smiled and said I'm not going to come back to that restaurant. He said I did not have to pay them. The waiter took the bill and left. I did not understand what that meant. I left the money on the table for the food that I ate. The moment I approached the exit, another waiter stopped me and told me I couldn't leave because I didn't pay. I told him I paid. That same waiter who was rude came up to the table I ate at, count the money and told the other waiter who didn't left me go, that everything was fine. The waiter who was blocking my way left without apology, and I finally escaped that restaurant. Wow! What a shameful experience! If you have respect for yourself and value your time, I don't recommend eating at that restaurant. There are plenty of restaurants in Oaxaca where the service is incredible and the food gets delivered within 10 minutes. Ancestral isn't that type of place. I have very negative memory based on my experience and interaction with the people...

Where do I start…I went with my wife last night, on July 27, 2025 and from the moment we entered, it was just a bad experience and nowhere near what a Michelin star restaurant. Nobody spoke a lick of English, the internet nor the wifi worked and their menus are digital, so the waiter had to use their phone for the drinks menu which they don’t have physically. We order cocktails and my wife orders water, and they only bring 1 glass for her?? We then look at a menu and nobody could explain what a Tasejo is. The guy said “beef”, I then proceeded to google translate what kind/how it is cooked, and they really gave no information — almost like they had 0 pride about their food. I can generally see beyond the service and focus on the food, then we start by ordering a couple of dishes, and when they bring they put on the table prison style and walk away, first time we receive NO explanation of what the dish is, not even in Spanish which we can handle a little. Ok…maybe the ancestral way don’t explain the dish? Then the Octopus came, same thing, I ask what the dish is. His response “Pulpo y mole”, for which he poured the mole sloppily. Ok…again no elaboration of the dish. The octopus was tender, but the vegetables were RAW! Once again we wonder whether the ancestral way of eating potatoes is raw? I make sure to leave 3 of 4-5 quartered what appear to be fingerling potatoes on the side, so we can show the Chef that the knife hardly goes through (I do this motion). The guy says “si si”, goes away, and nada. We were flabbergasted that this was a Michelin starred restaurant, just couldn’t believe it — from service to food.

PEOPLE, your research may tell you to go to this heavily toursit-focused resto (0 spice in sauces), if you’re visiting Oaxaca city, your friends may have been there and tell you the same, it is NOT worth it. Maybe it used to be good back then, it is NOT now — beyond the 0 english and service, they have no pride in the food they serve as evidently demonstrated when SHOWING them the potato and...

Do not go here. Please save yourself and your stomach, and your wallet. If I could give the food zero stars I would. You are only going here for the atmosphere- and if you are a tourist it appears. It looks like no locals are eating here- and if you read the reviews, it sounds like they intentionally don’t allow locals to eat here- or they prefer tourists. It’s an ironic name for the influence they have on gentrification and ostracizing the local population.

For reference, we ordered three different starters- and one main meal. All were terrible. Also- we are tourists that went here on a recommendation from another tourist. We love mole and most foods/ we have a very open pallet and will try anything. We love food. We love spices and spicy food and most things. We are not picky. But We made a huge mistake coming here. It was WAY too expensive for inedible food. We literally did not even eat our meal, (which was awful) and they still charged us full price. We do not have money, and are very intentional about where we eat and where we spend money on a fancy meal when we can. To say we were disappointed is an understatement. That $$$ we spent is what we would have used for another meal we might have enjoyed. Instead- this was our one big meal on this trip, and it is so sad to have to say that for our vacation.

Just do not go here. Do yourself a favor and go to the local food trucks - the food is way better and honestly more affordable.

Our favorite meal was a food stall at the market. Seriously so sad about this experience. I still feel like I...