The first thing I want to do is quash the rumor. The story that if you become a residente permanente of Mexico you will not want to eat lunch until 1:00 or 2:00 pm is total BS. Just ask my stomach. It still thinks the bitchin’ hour, the time to start cussing and complaining that it’s had no visitors since that last cup of coffee is high noon.

My stomach was at it again a few weeks ago. It had only been back here in San Miguel de Allende for two days but, in its other home, Toronto, it’s used to Asian delights every other day. And promptly at twelve.

That presented a problem. The Asian restaurants that we wanted to go to, the ones with the right amount of class as well as the right cuisine, cater to Mexican stomachs and don’t unlock their doors until 1:00 pm.

“You know which one you’re forgetting”, said Don Day’s Wife. “You’re forgetting one of your favorite restaurants. Not exactly Asian. But with some great Asian dishes and lots of Asian influences. And they open at noon.”

We arrived at The Restaurant at 12:10. We were its only customers until 12:45. There’s an obvious reason why San Miguel restaurants don’t open their doors until 1:00.

The Restaurant…yes, upper case T and R…opened its doors for the first time in 2008. It was rather revolutionary in its day. The first chef-driven restaurant ever in San Miguel. The brainchild of a guy called Donnie Masterton. With, over the years, intriguing and inviting words like miso, teriyaki, nori, shiitake, wakame and wasabi on its menu.

Chef Masterton once told me, “I’ve always loved Asian food. My uncle used to take me the cheapest places in Chinatown in LA and we’d get Chow Mein, slippery shrimp, egg rolls and dumplings. Man what a treat.”

“Moving to New York at 15 changed my perception of the levels and taste of Asian food. It was there I first had sushi, Korean BBQ, ramen and pho. Once I became a chef and writing my own menus, Asian cuisine always had influence. Not only do I like to eat it I love to cook it.”

I’ve always liked the look of The Restaurant. I like the look of almost all courtyard restaurants. Especially in these days of the foodbiz entrepreneurs usually choosing rooftop real estate. What makes The Restaurant look a little better than most courtyards are some Moorish arches, a wall of plants and a flower-filled fountain, dressed in December with seasonal poinsettias. 

We almost always go through the same routine when it comes to ordering at The Restaurant. We stick to the starters, choose four of them and tell the server that we’ll be sharing everything and to please place the dishes in the center of the table.

Since The Restaurant added the next door Bar at the R, a couple of years ago, they’ve added a lot of new, mostly Asian, dishes. We contemplated the ramen (I find it impossible to not consider ramen) but thought it might fill us up a little too much. We did go for the tuna maki.

The rolls at our go-to (now former go-to) San Miguel sushi restaurant are about half the size they used to be so it was nice to see how plump The Restaurant’s are. Lots of moist yellowfin inside as well.

The pan-fried dumplings are skinnier than most of the ones you get in Chinese restaurants. But that’s the way they’ve always been and they’re one of the longest lasting dishes on The Restaurant’s menu. They’re stuffed with both pork and shrimp and both flavors come through. As simple as it may be, the soy and ginger dipping sauce makes a nice change from the more common Sriracha.

We wandered away from our trip to Asia with our third dish. But despite its Mexican pedigree, some of the flavors are reminiscent of Japanese.

I’m talking about the tuna tostada and I still remember my first one ever. It was at The Restaurant. It was also the first time in my life I’d ever had crispy leeks. Memories are made of this.

Last but absolutely not least, we had what I consider The Restaurant’s best dish (and one of San Miguel’s). It’s another that’s been on the menu since the beginning. The menu calls them pork riblets but the cut of the meat is very different than most ribs.

I’m never quite sure if they’re side or back ribs and the bone and meat combo is very reminiscent of the cut for beef short ribs. I’m not a big fan of sweet sauces on meat but I love Chef Masterson’s teriyaki. I yanked the plate from the waiter’s reach when he tried to take it before I’d scooped up all the onion greens soaked in the sauce.

I looked again at the menu before I left. I’d never thought about it before but The Restaurant, a restaurant I’ve never really thought of as Asian may actually have the most diverse range of Asian dishes in town. Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Thai, Indian all there in one place.

A couple of nights after our lunch, I travelled from Asia to Europe, to a place called Berlin. Sat at the bar was another San Miguel chef, a guy called JJ Castenada. JJ’s relationship, both business and pleasure, with Donnie Masterton goes back a very fond 20 plus years. We talked about what makes Chef Donnie and his dishes special and what has kept The Restaurant busy (at least after 1:00 pm) for almost 15 years. We came up with one word and agreed that it was one of the most important but difficult things to achieve in the hospitality biz. That word was consistency and, when it comes to Asian or any other dish on The Restaurant’s menu, it’s been very, very consistent, in quality and diversity, since 2008.

The Restaurant is located at Sollano 16 in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. It’s open on Sunday, Tuesday and Wednesday from Noon to 10:00 pm; Thursday, Friday and Saturday from Noon to 11:00 pm. For reservations, email reservation@therestaurant.com or telephone 415 154 7862.