It’s been happening for a few years now. The decline of 50+ expats out on the town. And their rapid replacement by 20+ nationals. But I really noticed it on Sunday. First, on the streets of Centro. And then at lunch at one of our favorite San Miguel restaurants.
“Remember when the granddaughters came down about 15 years ago and we had to do the mini-lecture about wearing shorts in the jardin”, said Don Day’s Wife. “Did you notice how short some of those cut-offs were today.”
“Oh yes, I definitely noticed”, I replied, “and I took a couple of turnaround looks. And I recall that even I wouldn’t wear shorts in Centro 15 years ago. Remember when you couldn’t get into a church with bare shoulders?”
We were meeting up with Ben Penman and his wife Cheryl. Ben was one of my best buds in Toronto during the seventies and that friendship was rekindled when Ben joined the snowbirds who flocked to San Miguel each winter.
We were a loud “yes” when Ben and Cheryl suggested Zumo. We had definitely wanted to squeeze in another visit before we took to the wing and headed North again. And Zumo has that wide open atmosphere that’s become so important to us during covid.
We took the elevator up to Zumo’s rooftop restaurant (glass elevators fascinate me) and noticed the difference as soon as we walked into the dining area. Out on the patio was Bob Glaze, the creator of the food and travel website, Globalphile. And that was it for anyone over 40. The look and sound of the rest of the crowd was almost definitely Mexican.
“My customers are now 90% Mexican and nowhere near the age of the old crowd”, Stewart Haverlack, owner of Zumo, told us later.
We’d already been told that Zumo no longer served brunch, only lunch. The difference? Brunch at Zumo included bottomless mimosas. Not any more.
“I’d look around the room”, said Stewart, “and every table I saw drinking mimosas was another table where I’d be losing money. It was a great draw but didn’t make any economic sense.”
There are still, however, some reasonably-priced wines on Zumo’s list and Ben chose a Casa Magoni rosé for the table.
There’s a new executive chef at Zumo, the Swiss-trained Jonathan Cuevas Fuentes. There are a lot of new items on the menu as well, many of them reflecting what’s trendy but also what’s already tried and true in kitchens run by young Mexicans.
I always look for dishes I don’t get at home and two caught my eye: the soft shelled crab tostada and the grilled octopus. Don Day’s Wife went for the pork belly tacos and a salmon tartare.
San Miguel restaurant Tostévere has made the tostada de jaiba a somewhat legendary dish in this town and every one else’s soft shelled crab is always subject to comparison.
Chef Jonathan’s is marinated in chile morita and Japanese ponzu and served with Chinese cabbage and grapefruit. It rivalled but didn’t top Tostévere’s. I would have liked a little more of the chile mayo and I’m always waiting for someone to scrap the tostada and wrap the crab in a big flour tortilla so I don’t end up with half in my lap. But I guess I’ll have to wait.
Zumo’s salmon tartare is unusual in that it includes both fresh and smoked salmon. Cucumbers are the dominant green and a sweet and sour lemony mayo holds it together.
Potato chips instead of the usual corn chips were also welcomed.
I liked the presentation of the suckling pig tacos. The cast iron pan worked beautifully with the blue corn tacos. The meat was tasty but a little dry and the beer salsa didn’t really help to add moisture.
Pork and fried onions, though, always seem to make perfect partners.
Octopus seems to be on almost every San Miguel menu these days including Zumo’s. The first measurement standard of grilled octopus is tenderness and Chef Jonathan has obviously mastered the technique. The second way octopus is judged is with the spicing. The chef blends tamarind and harissa and plates it over an avocado emulsion and baby red potatoes. Everything worked harmoniously.
Apart from adjusting to a younger, Mexican crowd, I asked Stewart Haverlack if there had been other changes necessary during covid times.
“One big change has been our hours. San Miguel has become much more of a weekend place so we’ve cut back on our hours”, Stewart told me. “We’re now only open on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.”
“I remember one Tuesday. I had seven staff and zero customers. Not one the entire night,” Stewart continued.
“Last night we did 90 covers. That’s a great night with or without covid.”
I can never leave Zumo without circling the patio, checking the view from each vantage point. The angles are different than from most rooftop restaurants and especially beautiful in April when the jacarandas are in bloom.
The scene in Centro had become even busier when we emerged after our two relaxing hours at Zumo. More 20ish Mexican couples were now walking hand in hand. More 30ish moms and dads scurried after their balloon carrying kids. But nary a retired expat was to be seen anywhere.
It’s been much more difficult for almost everyone to enjoy San Miguel during the last year. But I still consider it to be the best little town in the world. I wonder if it will change again post-covid. I wonder if, then, I’ll like the town even more.
Zumo is located at Quebrada 93 in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. The restaurant is open from Friday to Sunday, 1:00 pm to 11:00 pm.
Always love reading your pieces and wish you the very best as you travel and reside up north. I have been here all year in Vancouver…yearning.
It’s always lovely to read your perspective on the food and the local scene.
I too remember telling our granddaughters to be conservative in their attire. Perhaps this influx of a younger market will provide more options for our families when the visit 🤞
Enjoyable review as always. Enjoy your summer north. Hope you’ve had (or will have soon) your Covid vaccine.
Here’s hoping things are much better when you return.
Best,
Susan Parkinson
Well, . . . my husband and I went there on our wedding anniversary, was a Sunday, 2/21, at 4-5 p.m. I told them in advance it was a special event. I’m a vegetarian and at the time was struggling to follow.a dairy-free diet, as well. Asked the waiter what my options were for. a main. course. He was totally clueless, Clearly had no idea what ingredients made up each dish. Finally a more senior mesero showed up. My husband’s plato principal showed up, mine came 10-15 minutes later. (And we were the only diners there.) Desserts? Every one had a dairy element, except for the zorbeto. The hero was the waiter who saw my disappointment with everything, and gave us the whole bottle of prosecco for the prize of 2 glasses. So. . . .I get it that they don”t want my business anymore. I will vote with my feet, There are PLENTY of other great places here.
Perhaps, with such restrictive dietary concerns, you should peruse a restaurant’s menu before you go to make sure you will find something that will appease your limited food considerations.
I do agree. Even though I eat just about everything, I always look at a restaurant’s menu before going. I found the on-line menu at Zumo pretty detailed about the ingredients in each dish.
Hi, I have been enjoying your columns for years. We were lucky to have enjoyed the town from 2000 till last winter. I do look back at our earlier years there wistfully.
The town has changed. It feels at times like a party town on weekends and at night. We still love it there and miss it. Thank you for vivid word pictures of the food scene
Possibly the reason you are not seeing the “usual” over 60 crowd is because we have not completed our vaccinations and have been asked to “stay home” until they are completed. Especially on the weekends when there are many “visitors” from other parts of Mexico.
In addition, expats who have homes elsewhere scurried out of here thirteen months ago and still have not returned.
Most of us have meals delivered from restaurants or cook at home nowadays!
We all look forward to dining out again, hopefully in the near future
I too enjoy your posts and writing about the food scene in San Miguel. Zumo has definitely changed in all directions like hours, days, menu—appreciate the heads up before venturing there in the future. I have not set up a lunch group in over a year. As far as I can tell, the over 50’s, 60’s, 70’s are still staying home with the Covid vaccines lagging in San Miguel and Centro filling up with tourists. Delighted to hear you were dining was Ben y Cheryl.
I will have to try what my compatriot trained cook offers and as a restaurant owner I have to say that if you inform us of any restrictions you have any chef can do a lovely dish, but we need at least 48 hours to compose something and buy the necessary ingredients – please be as gentle and let us know in advance I I strongly believe that a chef at zumo or any other high end restaurant cans create a lovely dish you will enjoy. On a separate point please remember we are in a pandemic and struggle to survive every day so we do not stock what we used to and depend on our clients to inform us in advance por food restrictions and preferences – thank you all in advance for your understanding and support
Marco
We will be visiting SMA for the first time in a few weeks. I had been planning on going to Zumo because of all it’s great reviews. However, after reading your post, I am having second thoughts. We are in our early 60s (also have been vaccinated), but we don’t want to feel like a fish out of water being the only older people with a lot of young party people! We go to many high end restaurants in NYC where there is always a good mix of people. Would we feel very out of place at Zumo and other popular SMA restaurants?
We didn’t feel at all out of place in Zumo. There’s still a classy and comfortable atmosphere.
Thanks for a lovely review and have a great summer in Toronto! We finished our vaccine regimen and have another week of the two-week immune-building period to go. Looking forward to start visiting our favorite restaurants as well as some of those that you have reviewed throughout the pandemic. We appreciate your courage to keep up the effort.