A few…maybe more than a few…years ago, Cheryl Young, a writer and friend of mine was going to a lunch at a new restaurant called Aperi. As it was a “ladies lunch” and as I wasn’t invited, I asked if she would write about it on my blog; she agreed. A few days ago, Cheryl was going to another “ladies lunch”, this time at Ziracco. Again I wasn’t invited and again I asked if she would write about it. Again she politely agreed. As did her photographer friend Sherry McDougall to take a few food and people shots. This is what Cheryl wrote.

Google AI says “a restaurant review is to help others make informed decisions about where to eat by sharing their personal experiences”. Fair enough. But what happens if your tastes don’t align with those of the reviewer? And when good value for one person is another person’s cheap and not so cheerful?

For Don Day, well-known and respected foodie in San Miguel, the top qualities he looks for in a great restaurant are food quality, value, and service. They may not be yours, with the exception of food quality, which should be a given for any diner who has ever put fork to mouth.

I would say that the purpose of a thorough and thoughtful review is that it’s all about reducing risk.  People who read reviews, particularly tourists, or those considering a previously untested spot, are relying on those reviews to mitigate the risk that they will have a sub-par experience. It seems obvious, but when you consider that you eat three times a day, some of them out at a restaurant, sometimes bringing a friend or another couple, it is clear that people need some kind of assurance that a new restaurant will live up to and maybe even surpass their expectations. We have many choices on where to spend our dining dollars, especially in San Miguel, so it is important especially to those of us who consider ourselves “foodies”, not to let a single outing go to waste!

So you peruse the reviews to reduce the risk that the chef is inconsistent in his delivery: some days or even times of day, what should have been brilliant was just so-so. Then there is the risk that you will be disappointed when the gorgeous “food porn” photos from the web which entice you to pick up that reservation line won’t match the reality when the plates are slid in front of you. The online review sites like Trip Advisor or Open Table have a wide range of people that will post an opinion but most of them do not go into any useful detail on the food or service. And how do you discern the honest reviewers from the paid diners? Or the ones whose tastes and preferences are in-tune with your own?

When I was asked by Don Day to write this review of a relative newcomer to the fine dining scene in San Miguel, of course I said yes! I am a past blogger about travel and food and welcome any opportunity to stretch my writing “muscles”. I had asked a large group of women to join me for luncheon: this was a particularly sophisticated and well-travelled group which I knew would have well-considered opinions and not be afraid to express them. And, with 18 diners, I was assured of a good sampling of the menu.

Overall, they judged the object of this review, Ziracco, to be a definitive 5 out of 5. One lady asked if she could give it a 10 out of 10!

Why such an enthusiastic response? Ziracco is new to the Italian fine dining restaurant scene in San Miguel, only open in Centro for 7 months. But the owners, Ricardo Ziracco and Eduardo Bonilla, have already had three years of experience in delivering superlative dining experiences in Queretaro. And the Chef in San Miguel, Edgar Manuel Patena, has more than ten years of experience with Italian cuisine. He also spent a month honing his culinary skills in Lima, Peru, which has been deemed the ultimate global foodie hangout by The Robb Report (If you don’t know that glossy magazine you are likely not in the market for a private jet or third home located in the Maldives. It’s that kind of rag.) Even Gordon Ramsay has put in some Lima time: I can only assume that he found some suitably vulgar Spanish expressions to use in the kitchen or he put his famous angry outbursts and potty mouth on hold.

So to the review, which should ease any trepidation you may feel about picking up the phone. Ziracco is set in a beautiful courtyard in a renovated hacienda style home, perfect for an intimate dinner or, as we were, a large group. I cannot speak to the music – between our chatting and sharing food and catching up, music was a lost cause. Ziracco’s menu lists over 70 unique dishes which, quite frankly, gave me pause. I am accustomed to short menus from fine dining places, menus which list a few entries for each course, and invariably have daily specials for fish, pasta or meat. Most often too, they boast of being seasonally driven and sustainably farmed or fished. There is no such preciousness at Ziracco. This place does not experiment with nouvelle cuisine fripperies such as foam or edible plates. (all due respect to those temples of gastronomy that need to sustain their diners’ interest for ten plus courses). In contrast, Ziracco offers a culinary tour of Italy, from the mountains to the boot, highlighting the best of each region.

A word on prices – the menu is very reasonably priced, even more so when you consider the level of skill involved – most dishes are between 200 and 400 pesos, with a few outliers reflecting the cost of the ingredients. Three types of house-made bread were complimentary and there was “Agua de Casa” (plain water) by the glass if you asked for it. The long wine list was also well-priced and had a fair selection of wines by the glass as well as Mexican, Spanish and Italian bottles under 1000 pesos, my personal limit for everyday consumption. There was also a short list of “mocktails”: the Paloma was my favorite.

Service provided by Sebastian, Benjamin, Arturo and Luis was excellent: all of the food arrived promptly, hot, and got to the right person even when the diner shifted seats. I will say that the request for separate cheques for such a large group took our server Luis aback, but he quickly recovered and they all performed admirably (Monique from Quebec made the point to the servers that separate cheques will result in bigger tips and less agony over dividing up the final bill – and she was right).

The last and most important question a reader can ask is “does this review make me want to book a table?” All I can say is that everyone of those ladies were already making plans to return. Enough said.

Ziracco is located at Hernandez Macias 98 in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. The restaurant is open from Noon to 11:00 pm, seven days a week.

You’ll find Cheryl Young’s novel, The Golden Pasha, on Amazon websites.