Tostévere — Restaurant in San Miguel de Allende

The very small space is charming, the menu is very small, but creative. The food is delicious. However, our experience was not great. We arrived for our 1:00pm reservation, and there was a party of three waiting for the doors to open. It seemed the restaurant didn't have their reservation, so we were seated ahead of them while they tried to sort out the confusion. They were eventually seated at the bar instead of at a table. Our server promptly served us drink and took our food order. Then, the confusion must have been resolved and the party of three was moved to a table. After about 15 minutes, I noticed they had been served their food. As I watched, the server passed and caught me looking at their table, then turned on her heel and headed toward the kitchen. A moment later, she came back with our first course. Not a huge deal, so we enjoyed two interesting and delicious tostadas, then shared the only sandwich on the menu, a very tender and flavorful short rib with disappointing, soggy sweet potato "fries" swimming in some kind of herb pesto. Afterward, the server asked about dessert and, unusual for us, we opted for the flamed bananas with homemade ice cream. Then we waited. After about 20 minutes, we lost our patience. I caught the server's attention and asked her to cancel the dessert and bring the check. She hurried to the kitchen (?) and came back saying it would be another 3-4 minutes - which made us think she had simply forgotten to put the order in. I can't say how the bananas were, because we were tired of waiting, paid the bill and left.

The overall impression we had is that the place is overrated. We didn't have one, but the cocktails looked very nice. The menu is small. You have to plan well in advance for a reservation, unless you don't mind sitting in a row at the small bar. The service was such that we...

A Must-Visit in San Miguel de Allende

We had the most unforgettable lunch at Tostevere—a true highlight of our time in San Miguel. I originally had an evening reservation but mistakenly booked it for 5:15 instead of 7:15, which didn’t work with our plans. We thought we’d missed our chance, and since it was possibly our last day, we decided to swing by just before 2 PM, right before opening, to try our luck.

As fate would have it, a very kind man walking in—Miguel, who we later found out is the owner—welcomed us warmly and said he’d absolutely find us a table. He seated us at the perfect window-side table for two, and from that moment, everything was magic.

We started with drinks: my mom had a margarita she said was the best she’s had not just in San Miguel, but possibly ever. I had a refreshing tequila soda with fresh lime. We then shared a few dishes—each more delicious than the last. The soft-shell crab wrap was phenomenal, the pulpo tostada was bursting with flavor, and the Peruvian ceviche was fresh and bright. We finished with a banana dessert that was absolutely divine.

Miguel is one of the kindest, most genuine hosts we’ve ever met. I told him the restaurant felt like home—it’s beautifully curated, warm, and welcoming. Our server, Lolita (who Miguel has known for over 20 years), was equally wonderful and added so much joy to our experience.

We hadn’t even planned to come—and now it’s one of our favorite meals anywhere. We’re even heading to Miguel’s Mediterranean-Lebanese spot, Boca Ciega, tonight because we trust anything he’s behind.

If you’re in San Miguel, Tostevere is an...

I liked it, but didn’t love it. Very small place. The table given to us was right by the front door and kitchen. Not the most comfortable, and small table, they had a hard time putting the food on the table. The food was just ok. Beet salad was good, the large warm beets would have been better chilled and cut up into smaller pieces. The corn tostada was different, good flavor, the fish ceviche tostada was just ok. All the food was brought out quickly. Not sure if it was our fault, but a suggestion would be to order one appetizer at a time and don’t order your main meal until you are done with your appetizers because shortly after our appetizers were brought our our main dishes arrived. Not sure if they try to rush you out because of the size of the place but the food service was not timed well at all. The ham pizza was my least favorite. Not sure if you can call this a pizza, it’s like a salad on top of soggy pizza dough, and a ton of cold ham. Just a weird combination for me. With all the other places to try here, not sure if I would go back. The menu selections...