San Miguel de Allende is a town in central Mexico that has long been a hidden favorite of expats and local travelers alike. It's a haven of delicious food, beautiful churches and exceptional culture, but has long been ignored by the masses opting instead for Mexico City or other sun soaked destinations on Mexico's coastline. However, Travel and Leisure put this city on the map a couple years ago when they named San Miguel the #1 city to visit in the world, a designation they've kept for a couple of years. And I'm here to tell you...it's worth the hype. We spent 5 days in San Miguel de Allende and could have stayed longer...
For some reason when I think of this place I just associate it with the word, MAGIC. When I really try to think about why to me this place is so magical, one of the main things that springs to mind is how incredible the sunset hour, my favorite time of day, is in this city. I just absolutely love when the sun slowly sets and the sky changes from blue to purples to pinks and everything just seems so still and rejuvenating. San Miguel has perfected the art of enjoying this hour, mainly through their use and love of beautiful rooftop bars. There’s nothing better than sipping a delicious cocktail on a rooftop bar watching the pinks and oranges completely transform the beautiful city in front of you, maybe even chatting with a new friend or old or just enjoying by yourself. Heaven!
We arrived in San Miguel in the evening and settled into our guesthouse, Casa Juana, named for the owners rescued cat and occupied by two other feline friends. One of the many relaxing spots in the house was a little outdoor courtyard right outside of our room with a couple of couches and chairs to choose from. Juana, the main house cat, had found a warm spot of sun to curl up in so I chose the chair across from her to do the same. Reading and recharging here was complimented perfectly with a bottle of chilled white wine and freshly popped popcorn that our host, Katie, supplied shortly after settling in. True hospitality. Afterwards, we asked Katie and her husband, Dave, for an Italian food recommendation since after 5 consecutive days eating Mexican food we decided that we needed to switch it up. They sent us to Antigua Trattoria Romana, which was a short 10 minute walk, and absolutely delicious.
The next morning we awoke to the sounds and smells of breakfast cooking. As we made our way upstairs, we were greeted by our host Dave, a former chef from Michigan who moved with his wife, Katie, to San Miguel for a slower life. And to my surprise, a delectable multi-course, homemade breakfast.This morning was a fruit parfait with yogurt and granola, freshly squeezed orange juice and eggs benedict accompanied by Jimmy Dean sausages (which apparently is a huge score at the nearby Sams Club!). To say it was delicious is an understatement. These meals are cooked fresh every morning and included in the cost of your accommodation. I'm not sure if I enjoyed the breakfast or the company more, as we always had a long chat with Dave and / or Katie and some cuddles with the cats. But I will say after 5 days, it was something I decided I could get used to.
Then it was time to explore. The first thing we always like to do in a new city is just walk around and get to know it, see what we run into. As we walked into town and the central jardin, we popped into numerous shops selling incredible artisan goods from ceramics to jewelry and clothes. This was some of the most amazing shopping I've seen in Mexico. A few of our favorite shops were Marquesa De Mancera, Mixta and Dôce 18 Concept House, where we bought hand carved granite shot glasses. When we got to the central jardin we of course had to stop and admire the main church, Parroquia de San Miguel Arcángel. It's a gothic style structure and worth a quick peak inside. We were lucky enough to stumble on an art market that was happening in the jardin and like most of our art purchases, we fell in love with a piece that we had to have, and unexpectedly bought it on the spot. The artist, Fermigrante, depicts scenes of migrants from above set against bright pops of color. He actually custom painted one for us in 4 days because we liked one design with another color and dropped it off himself at our guesthouse. I can't wait to hang it in our house one day and think back on our time in San Miguel.
For the first night, we had to position ourselves to best see the sunset and were recommended the Selina rooftop by a friend of ours. It was already crowded but we slipped into the last two bar seats and quickly ordered a couple of cocktails as the sun was already descending. The rooftop was buzzing with tons of people there to see the sunset and enjoy the company and we had a great time. We ended up meeting a couple from Australia who live in Aspen and chatted for 2 hours while sipping on cocktails. By this time we were starving and they recommended we pop over to Tostevere, which serves Mexican fusion in a cozy, dimly lit setting. We quenched our hunger with some unique tostadas and a delicious flatbread, then walked (a few) of the calories off and headed home for the night.
The next day was one of my favorites. Mexico has a new but growing wine scene and we can never miss a day of wine tasting when we travel if it's available. We ate breakfast at home (pancakes today) and headed over to Bodega Dos Buhos, a winery producing natural and organic wines (and beer!) which was a real treat for these natural wine lovers. We settled into a table right on the patio next to the main Spanish style structure housing the kitchen and winery. We got a tasting which is served with a cheese pairing (yum) and also ordered some lunch. They hand fire their pizzas onsite using ingredients sourced from their gardens, it was delicious. In a tipsy wine haze, we wandered the property, meeting the various chickens, roosters and cats roaming around and admiring the structures. I could have stayed there all day in a wine / cheese stupor. But instead we left and headed to Vinendos San Lucas, a much larger winery that also produces lavender. This winery is in a new development and also has a restaurant that made me think of being in the South of France, with its white shade structures and rose on tap. We enjoyed a guided tour and tasting (again paired with cheese - Napa take note!). After a long day wine tasting, we headed home to enjoy the rooftop dipping pool and watch the sunset. Stumbling downstairs, tired and happy, we ended up sitting with Dave and Katie for a glass of wine that turned into two, then three, then a bottle or two. Chatting for hours made it feel like we had been friends forever. It was a perfect evening.
The next morning we awoke to another, much needed breakfast (french toast) and coffee, and stumbled out to explore once again. This time we went to the Mercado de Artesanías to check out the goods and foods being sold by local vendors. At lunch time we walked to Turk Restaurant for some delicious Mediterranean fare. We met the owner, an LA-expat, who like many came to San Miguel, fell in the love with the city, and never left. After a refreshing dip in the rooftop pool at home we headed out to one of the most recommended places, Luna Tapas Bar, on the Rosewood rooftop. This is the place to be seen and of course to see a beautiful sunset in San Miguel. We were seated facing out into the breathtaking view and ordered some cocktails and guacamole. It was a great place to pass the sunset hour so we ordered another cocktail and started chatting with our neighbors. One couple was from New York and other from LA. We were really branching out. We decided we didn't want to splurge on dinner here so instead opted for a walk to a "hole in the wall" recommendation from our host Dave, El Manatial, known for its delicious tacos and surprisingly, steamed artichoke (just get it, I promise). This packed and loud space was a big and welcome change from the spacious and, sorry, pretentious Rosewood rooftop and we enjoyed a few beers before ending the night.
Our last full day started as it always did, delicious breakfast by Dave (omelette today) and then we walked into town to start the day the Mexican way, with some tequila! Casa Dragones is a high-end tequila brand started in 2009 by the first woman to ever be certified as a ‘Maestra Tequilera’, and based in San Miguel. Their tasting room, the smallest tasting room in the world, is a quant but chic black and white space with a bar and 4 bar stools. Our tasting was led by a woman who had been working for the brand for many years and had a passion for tequila. On the first sip you can see why this tequila demands the price point that it does, it was flavorful but without that "bite" that you might come to expect with other tequila brands (looking at you Don Jose). We left with a buzz and a bottle and actually ran straight into the couple we had met at Luna the night before. I guess we're all hitting the popular spots. Our tasting director recommended one of her favorite spots for lunch, La Azotea Rooftop, so we headed there to soak up the alcohol. And wow. We were so happy we did. We started with these paper thin jicama tacos with the most delicious sauce and split a carne and queso sandwich served with pickled veggies and french fries. It was incredible. Then we did what every rational person that was extremely full would do, attended a mole cooking class of course! Although we weren't starving, we are so glad we did this Airbnb experience. Run by an ex-chef at one of the oldest and largest privately owned estates in the center of San Miguel, we were taught how to make the masterful and ingredient rich mole sauce, plus some salsas to boot. We will, hopefully, use these recipes to impress our friends in the future.
Our last day we savored our last delicious breakfast (poached eggs on polenta with bacon) and sadly picked ourselves up to pack up and get ready to move on to the next destination, Guanajuato. As we were waiting for our taxi to arrive and chatting with Katie and Dave, I marveled at how quickly they had come to feel like family and imagined how easy it would be to call San Miguel home. Maybe one day. For now, we keep moving with promises to be back in the future.
TL'DR
Where to Stay
Casa Juana Guesthouse - Casa Juana is a completely remolded 4 story home designed by the Katie and Dave's son, who studied Interior Design in San Miguel. The design is beautiful (in my humble opinion), modern Spanish style with beautiful wrought iron touches that are common to find in this area. The 3 guest rooms are all one bed one bath and have unique colorful designs. The room was very comfortable, but the real delight of this stay is not the room but the other facilities. The roof deck has a heated plunge pool with loungers to relax after a long day walking around the town, or in our case to use to drink some wine and watch the sunset. The main floor area has a beautiful open kitchen that Dave uses to whip up his master pieces. The name, it’s named after one of their cats, Juana. There’s two more roaming around that love to say hi to guests. A huge plus for me. It’s these types of stays that really satiate the soul and leave you wanting to come back to something like feels like home.
Rosewood - Higher end option in a lovely Spanish style hotel. They have residences that you can split between a few families or couples. Even if you don’t stay here, this is a must for a sunset drink at their rooftop bar.
Where to Eat
La Azotea Rooftop
El Manatial
Luna Tapas Bar
Sol Tribe
Sai-Ko
THE Restaurant
Bastardo
La Rustica
Inside Cafe - great grilled cheese!
Where to Drink / Rooftop Bars
Selina
Casa No Name
La Unica
Fatima @ 7 Casa Blanca
Vinendos Dos Buhos
Vinendos San Lucas
La Mezcaleria
How to Get There
We were in Puebla first, so we took (a really, really nice and cheap) Futura bus from Puebla to Queretaro and then an Uber to San Miguel, but there’s easier ways to get there if you’re only visiting San Miguel on your trip. The easiest is to fly into the Leon / Guanajuto airport and take a quick hour and a half cab or Uber ride to San Miguel. We actually used a shuttle service but unless you’re the type of person that NEEDS to the stability of knowing your ride will be there when you arrive, the cabs and Ubers are just as reliable and cheaper for the same type of car.
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