Limones Restaurant — Restaurant in Asheville

Limones – A Culinary Masterpiece Where Fine Dining Meets Mexican, Meets Asheville, Meets Perfection

There are meals that satisfy, and then there are meals that transcend—lingering in your mind long after the last bite, woven into the very fabric of your memory. Limones is the latter. This isn’t just a restaurant; it’s an experience, an orchestration of flavors and precision, a testament to what happens when passion meets perfection. If I could give it 10 out of 5 stars, I would. And even that might not be enough.

The Prelude – An Appetizer Worthy of Worship

Shishito Peppers with miso-carrot mash and hazelnut-mint romesco.

Oh. My. God. The moment this dish arrived, it became clear: this wasn’t just food—it was art. The first bite? A revelation. The smokiness of the shishito peppers, the silky depth of the miso-carrot mash, and then—the hazelnut-mint romesco. I can only describe it as divine intervention in sauce form. Nutty, herbaceous, rich, yet impossibly fresh—it defied expectation. I would bottle this and take it with me everywhere if I could.

And just when I thought it couldn’t possibly get better…

The Crescendo – Mole Poblano Enchiladas That Redefine Perfection

Enter the Mole Poblano Enchiladas—a dish so beautifully plated that I hesitated to disturb its perfection. But the moment I did? The first bite was a masterpiece.

The roasted chicken was tender, the mole poblano was deep, rich, and layered with complexity that can only be achieved through culinary alchemy. The crema de rancho, jamaica pickled onions, and queso fresco? They weren’t just garnishes—they were indispensable notes in an exquisite symphony of flavor.

With every bite, I thought, this is the best one yet—until the next one proved me wrong.

And then, just when I thought Limones had given me everything it had to offer…

The Climax – The Tres Leches That Changed My Life

I am not exaggerating when I say this tres leches cake deserves its own standing ovation.

Two layers. Perfection in between. A delicate balance of sweetness and texture that felt like it was whispered into existence by angels themselves.

The fresh fruit? The delicate, almost ethereal moisture of the cake? Every bite built upon the last until I reached a state of bliss I didn’t know was possible through dessert alone.

It took a minute to arrive, but I didn’t care. They were crafting magic in the back, and masterpieces take time.

And then… there was the bartender.

The Bartender – A Ballet of Grace and Precision

I sat at the end of the bar, expecting a typical, rushed service. Instead, I witnessed something extraordinary.

Most bartenders hustle, rush, and barely catch their breath. Not here. She moved with grace, methodical precision, and an almost hypnotic rhythm—each drink not just poured, but crafted, each interaction not just acknowledged, but valued.

I personally take my drinks as water, but let me tell you—she served me the most beautifully homemade water I’ve ever had. (Alright, all jokes aside, she was phenomenal.)

She wasn’t just making drinks. She was making people happy. She was part of the magic that makes Limones not just a restaurant, but an experience that stays with you.

The Grand Finale – A Symphony of Culinary Genius

Limones isn’t just about the food. It’s about the team, the precision, the seamless choreography of a restaurant that knows exactly what it is doing.

This is where fine dining meets Mexican, meets Asheville, meets all the things.

This is not the work of a single mastermind—it is a collective masterpiece, an orchestra of flavors, service, and atmosphere working in perfect harmony.

Limones is not just a restaurant. It is a living, breathing installation of food and service, an experience to be felt, remembered, and returned to again and again.

I don’t just recommend Limones. I urge you to...

We have been to Limones on a few occasions, since they opened, always a solid choice, and they are a wonderful community partner as well. The food is excellent and creatively prepared, and the only complaint I would have is this trend for servers to be super pedantic, which seems to have worsened as Asheville has become more of a tourist community.

While, I understand that some people from out of town perhaps have never tried this particular cuisine, I don’t need to be walked through the menu as thoroughly as what happened on our last recent visit. I absolutely respect and enjoy when a server offers suggestions, but I don’t need the server to tell me that “at the top of the menu there are the appetizers and the bottom are main courses, and below that are the desserts. If you turn it over, you will see our drinks. We have cocktails and beers and wines.” It’s a bit insulting; I know how to read a menu. I think this trend of overly pedantic servers is trending upward, unfortunately. All that said, our server was attentive, if not overly, so, and the food was creative, as always. Below are my food choice and seating pros and cons.

Pros: Food: The lobster nachos were over the top! Big chunks of lobster and the flavor palate was excellent, and it was not simply mounds of cheese with a little bit of lobster as a as an afterthought. Lots of lobster, the crema agria and black bean sauce was inspired. Really a beautiful dish.

The ceviche trio was also on point! It is difficult to have three different ceviches, all with different flavor profiles that are all excellent, but this really hit the spot.

The seabass was the standout here though! It was a special, and I love seabass, and if it’s on the menu, I will usually order it. Seabass is never a bad choice. I cook it at home with some frequency as well. But seabass can range from very good to excellent, depending on the skill of the chef. Seabass is fairly oily in nature, and that’s what makes it so moist and wonderful, but sometimes it’s almost too slick. They seared the outside of the seabass first, eliminating a lot of that extra oil, but inside, the seabass was still incredibly moist. This was one of the best seabass preparations I have had, just in terms of the chef knowing what they were doing.

Cons: I was really disappointed with the margarita I chose. I have had caliente margaritas on many occasions (this one also purportedly offered a hint of berry). With other Caliente margaritas, the flavors are exquisite and the profiles complex. This just tasted like a regular margarita with maybe a little spice. The hint of berry must’ve been much more of a whisper, because I did not find it to be present Overall pretty disappointing.

Seating: by the window on a rainy day proved to be a bit chilly. Normally this would be a choice seat, so I know they seated us there as a treat, as we told them it was a special occasion, but in the winter, the cold from the window was a bit chilly. Not enough to move... I'm certain that seat is a prize seat in other seasons.

Bottom Line: It’s one of those restaurants that we forget about, even though we live locally, because we end frequenting the same places over and over, and so we will put this one into...

It took us a long time to discover Limones, but we were ecstatic when we did. The first time we went, on a Monday, the place was packed but the lovely hostess working that night managed to find us a table. Our waiter was polite and prompt though, for working in Beer City, somewhat clueless about the difference between an IPA and a stout. Still, the food was downright excellent and we made plans to return the following Monday, this time with a reservation.

Being 10 minutes early for that reservation, even though our requested seat was already available, proved pointless as it took our waiter 45 minutes to take our drink order. A gentleman filled our waters back up twice in the meantime, and it was only after this second time he showed up that I politely mentioned that no one had stopped by our table yet. Finally, our waiter came over and took our drink order and seemed annoyed that we didn't want to order our food at that very moment also. Maybe I'm a weirdo, but I like to order my beverage and an appetizer, then our food. It's called slow eating and since I didn't think we were in a fast food joint, that shouldn't have been an issue.

So anyway, drink order taken, 15 minutes later still no beverages. The hostess, again the same lovely young girl from the first time, saw this and went and grabbed our drinks for us. The place was busy, but it was not packed. I saw our waiter attend other tables twice before ever coming over to us.

His service remained amazingly unremarkable. He felt it appropriate to mention how quickly we ate our appetizer, which we received about an hour and twenty minutes into the entire affair. Scooping up the appetizer (which he didn't bring to our table...nor did he bring our main course...he actually did very little "serving", just took our order and our money) he left before I could tell him the obvious, I'd like another drink considering my glass was empty and yeah, we inhaled the appetizer because it's now after 9:30 and we're starving.

All in all the exceptional quality of the food - and I do mean it is exquisite - was ruined by...