Ancestro — Restaurant in San Miguel de Allende

We have been wanting to try this place for almost a month. We finally made it this evening and we were so glad we did.

Ancestro specializes in indigenous foods from both northern and southern Mexico. There is a big emphasis on corn and it is prominently featured in most of their dishes.

As far as atmosphere, the owners have done a great job utilizing a relatively small space. The outside courtyard is spacious and they recently hung attractive lighting. The inside space is relatively small, but it is light and airy and gives the appearance of a larger space.

The service was fantastic. We were greeted and seated immediately. Our server (I did not catch her name) apologized that the menu was only in Spanish. We let her know that it wasn't a problem but she let us know that she could explain any items on the menu if we needed help. The staff checked on us frequently, bussed dirty dishes as needed, and did so in an extremely friendly manner.

The food was amazing. Every single thing we ordered was delicious. To drink, Stacy ordered the Kimolavanda, a limonada mineral infused with lavender. She loved it. I ordered the Tejuino, a fermented corn drink served with lime sorbet, salt, and chili powder. It was so good I wanted another, but I had to save room for our meal.

As appetizers we both ordered the roasted corn, their version of Mexican street corn. It is prepared with garlic mayonnaise, cojita cheese, lemon juice, and topped with grasshoppers. Yes, grasshoppers. Stacy ordered hers without but within minutes she was stealing my bugs. The grasshoppers were fried and had a salty, citrus taste. In addition, we shared the guacamole, served with pork belly chicharron and freshly made corn tortillas. They also provided three very tasty salsas that could be put on the tortilla chips.

For our main courses, Stacy ordered the Taco Norteño, a rib eye taco with beans, steak, cheese, and some delicious seasoning. Because this particular dish comes from northern Mexico it was served with a flour tortilla. Stacy absolutely loved it. Beware, this taco is huge!

I ordered two items for my main course. The first was a Taco Kekken, served with pibil (Mayan style roasted pork), pickled red onions, and cheese. It was served on a small corn tortilla and was simply delicious.

I also ordered one of their house specialties, the Tetela. It was a multicolor corn tortilla with mushrooms, amarinth, watercress, chili oil, and a traditional mole. Just amazing.

We wanted to try several other items, but we were stuffed. Now we have a great excuse to come back.

Highly...

Ancestro has a great concept mixing culinary traditions from northern and southern mexico with hand ground Indigenous corn as their focal point.

We tried almost everything on the menu that did not contain any red meat or pork and were blown away by the variety and complexity of flavors.

I was particularly impressed by the "Tejuino" corn based mocktail.

granted we were the only table, the attention to detail by the staff was commendable as they were very friendly and eager to please.

prices are very reasonable like our daytime favorite with a similar concept at Raizes down the road from Ancestro, we feel like we've found a new evening go to!

*Only gave 4 stars for atmosphere as thr outdoor dining area lacked lighting. They have little candles on the tables but it was windy when we visited and they never would have stayed lit. Some string lights or something to that effect would go a long way...

We went to Ancestro Restaurante after hearing rave reviews about the place, which opened about 2 months ago. What a pleasant surprise! A simple and intimate setting with a few inside tables and more outside tables. We were warmly greeted and welcomed by the owners and servers. This gem of a place specializes in traditional food from the Yucatan and Quintana Roo. I had the cob corn with grasshoppers, mayo, chili, etc - amazingly good! The Tejuino beverage (fermented corn, lemon juice, chili powder, salt) had a unique, delicious taste. They don't yet serve alcoholic beverages, but intend to in the future. My wife had the Tekken taco and the Chula quesadilla. For dessert, I was wowed by the Marquesitas! A sort of crepe affair with cajeta. My wife was impressed by the guayaba flan. We loved this place and can hardly wait to return! It was a delightful and adventurous...