Small Plates at Casa de Sierra Nevada

by D Ryder
(San Jose, California, USA)

The patio dining area at Andanza at Casa de Sierra Nevada, San Miguel de Allende

Since the untimely demise of Azafran, we needed to find another favorite. We found it at the Casa de Sierra Nevada restaurant on Hospicio. The hotel restaurant is called "Andanza" and the chef has introduced "small plates." The price of a meal is now much more reasonable.

The food and setting are spectacular--a beautiful, candle-lit central courtyard that is open to the sky in fine weather, which is most of the time in San Miguel.

Service is leisurely, which is part of the charm when dining in Mexico, but not excruciatingly slow. The wine list is somewhat pricey, but the last time we were there we had an excellent bottle of French red, a Cote du Rhone, at less than US$50. All in all, Andanza is a fine dining experience that would be welcome in any major city in the US.

Total cost for dinner with wine is no doubt on the high end in San Miguel, but only a fraction of the cost for a similar experience in any major city in the US. The "small plates" help the bottom line, but if you have a very large appetite, the prices will not look quite so reasonable!