Amaranta Toluca

Amaranta in Toluca, Estado de México, is one of the most important fine-dining destinations in central Mexico and the flagship of chef Pablo Salas, who has built an international reputation on his dedication to the culinary heritage of the Estado de México — a region whose cuisine is largely overlooked despite its extraordinary ingredient diversity and rich pre-Hispanic agricultural legacy. Located in an elegant hacienda-style building on Avenida Independencia Poniente in La Merced district, the restaurant operates with the aesthetic and professional standards of a world-class establishment while keeping its content anchored in the specific landscape of the Mexican plateau. Salas's cooking is distinguished by its use of ancestral ingredients — heirloom corn varieties from indigenous Mazahua and Otomí communities, pre-Hispanic vegetables like quelites (wild greens), insects including chapulines (grasshoppers) and escamoles (ant larvae), fermented preparations, and locally sourced lamb and duck — elevated through French and Japanese-influenced technique. Tasting menus run eight to twelve courses and change with each season, narrating the agricultural calendar of Estado de México from the wet summer months to the dry winter harvest. Wine pairings are carefully considered and include Mexican producers from Baja California and Querétaro alongside European selections. The hacienda setting — arched stone corridors, interior gardens, and high-ceilinged dining rooms — provides an architectural frame appropriate to the culinary ambition. Reservations are required and should be made several days to a week in advance; the restaurant is closed Monday and Tuesday.