Restaurant in Toluca, Mexico
Daytime-only regional Mexican, consistently ranked.
Amaranta is the most compelling reason to visit Toluca for food. Chef Pablo Salas runs a daytime-only Mexican restaurant that has ranked on Opinionated About Dining's North America list three consecutive years — reaching #437 in 2025. Easy to book and calm in atmosphere, it suits food-focused travelers who want depth and regional grounding without Mexico City's reservation friction.
If you have been to Amaranta once, you already know what brings people back: a morning or midday meal rooted in Mexican regional cooking, served in a city that most food travelers skip on their way to Mexico City. A return visit confirms that consistency is the point here. Chef Pablo Salas has built something that does not chase novelty — and for a food-focused traveler who values depth over spectacle, that steadiness is worth a detour to Toluca in its own right.
Amaranta earned an Opinionated About Dining (OAD) Leading Restaurants in North America ranking of #437 in 2025, up from #439 in 2024, after appearing on the OAD Recommended list in 2023. That upward movement across three consecutive years on one of the more technically rigorous peer-reviewed lists in the industry tells you this is not a restaurant resting on a single moment of press. With 1,667 Google reviews averaging 4.4, the rating holds across a large enough sample to be meaningful — this is not a venue propped up by a handful of enthusiastic posts.
Amaranta runs a daytime-only operation, open Monday through Friday from 8 am to 6 pm, and Saturday and Sunday from 9 am to 6 pm. For the explorer who structures a trip around meals, that format shapes the entire day. A late breakfast or long midday lunch is the move here , you are not coming for a candlelit dinner, and the experience is not designed for that kind of occasion. The kitchen's focus on Mexican cuisine translates well to daytime formats, where the cooking tends to feel grounded rather than performative.
The atmosphere runs quieter than a high-volume weekend brunch spot in Mexico City. Toluca sits at over 2,600 meters above sea level and operates at a pace that reflects the city rather than the capital's energy. If you want a room that buzzes with the competitive social theatre of a reservation-flex restaurant, Amaranta is the wrong choice. If you want to eat well, without ambient noise that kills conversation, the daytime format here works in your favor.
Booking is direct. No complex reservation system or months-long waitlist , this is an easy book relative to OAD-ranked peers in Mexico, most of which require planning weeks or months out. The address is Calle Francisco Murguía 16 Ote. Poniente 402, in the Francisco Murguía neighborhood of Toluca de Lerdo. Toluca is roughly an hour from Mexico City by car or bus, making this a viable day trip for travelers already based in the capital, though a standalone visit holds up too. See our full Toluca restaurants guide for broader context on the city's dining scene, and check our full Toluca hotels guide if you are staying overnight.
Amaranta suits the food traveler who wants to eat at a regionally significant Mexican restaurant without the logistical friction of Mexico City's most competitive tables. If your frame of reference is Pujol in Mexico City or Le Chique in Puerto Morelos, Amaranta operates in a different register: less theatrical, more direct, and anchored to a specific place. That is a deliberate choice, not a limitation.
Solo diners will find the daytime format particularly suited to their needs. A long lunch at a table in a calm room, with no pressure to vacate for a next seating, is the kind of experience that works well alone. Special-occasion diners should set expectations correctly: this is not a tasting-menu extravaganza, and the ambiance is measured rather than celebratory. It is the right place for a milestone meal if what you are marking is a meaningful meal in a less-traveled part of Mexico, not a production.
For broader regional context on where Amaranta sits within Mexico's serious dining circuit, compare it with venues like KOLI Cocina de Origen in Monterrey, Levadura de Olla in Oaxaca, or Animalón in Valle de Guadalupe , all OAD-tracked restaurants with strong regional identities outside Mexico City. Amaranta holds its own in that company. You can also explore our full Toluca bars guide, our full Toluca wineries guide, and our full Toluca experiences guide to round out a visit to the city.
Amaranta is a daytime restaurant , it closes at 6 pm daily, so plan for breakfast or lunch, not dinner. It serves Mexican cuisine under chef Pablo Salas in Toluca, about an hour from Mexico City. It holds an OAD Leading Restaurants in North America ranking (#437 in 2025) and a 4.4 Google rating across over 1,600 reviews, which gives you a reliable baseline for quality expectations. Booking is easy relative to comparably ranked peers, so you do not need to plan far in advance. If you are coming from Mexico City, treat this as a day-trip lunch destination.
Yes. The daytime-only format and calm atmosphere in Toluca make Amaranta a comfortable solo experience. You are not walking into a loud, table-turning weekend brunch operation. A single diner can settle in for a long lunch without feeling rushed or out of place. For solo food travelers working through Mexico's regional dining scene, Amaranta is a lower-friction option than many OAD-ranked peers in Mexico City, where solo counter seats can be harder to secure.
No dress code information is available in our database. Given the venue's daytime hours, neighborhood setting in Toluca, and OAD recognition rather than Michelin-star positioning, smart casual is a safe approach. You are not walking into a white-tablecloth tasting-menu room. For reference, other regionally recognized Mexican restaurants at a comparable level , such as Levadura de Olla in Oaxaca , typically hold to a relaxed but considered dress standard.
It depends on what kind of occasion you have in mind. Amaranta is the right choice if the occasion is a meaningful meal in a less-traveled part of Mexico, eaten at a restaurant with three consecutive years of OAD recognition and a strong regional identity. It is not the right choice if you need a high-production dinner atmosphere, a long tasting menu, or a table in Mexico City's competitive social scene. For that, Pujol or Le Chique are better fits. At Amaranta, the occasion is the food and the place, not the theatre around it.
Toluca's dining scene is limited relative to Mexico City, but within the city Pizzería Nolita is worth knowing. For travelers willing to make Amaranta part of a wider regional food trip, the comparison set broadens significantly , Pangea in San Pedro Garza García, Lunario in El Porvenir, and Olivea Farm to Table in Ensenada all represent serious regional Mexican restaurants with distinct personalities. For the full picture of eating well in Toluca, see our full Toluca restaurants guide.
Amaranta does not serve dinner , the kitchen closes at 6 pm Monday through Friday and on weekends. Lunch is the format, and a midday meal gives you the full experience. Arriving late morning for an extended lunch is the ideal approach. The daytime-only structure is not a limitation for a food-focused traveler; it is simply how the restaurant is designed. Plan your Toluca day around an Amaranta lunch rather than trying to work it into an evening itinerary.
| Venue | Cuisine | Price | Booking Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amaranta | Mexican | Easy | |
| Pujol | Mexican | $$$$ | Unknown |
| Quintonil | Modern Mexican, Contemporary | $$$$ | Unknown |
| Rosetta | Italian, Creative | $$ | Unknown |
| Le Chique | Mexican, Contemporary | $$$$ | Unknown |
| Em | Mexican | $$$ | Unknown |
Side-by-side comparison to help you decide where to book.
Amaranta is a daytime-only restaurant — doors close at 6 pm every day — so plan your visit around a morning or midday meal. Chef Pablo Salas focuses on Mexican regional cooking, and the restaurant has been ranked in Opinionated About Dining's Top 500 restaurants in North America for three consecutive years through 2025, which gives you a reliable external benchmark before you go. Go without rush: this is not a quick-lunch stop.
Yes. A daytime-only format with defined service hours suits solo diners who want to eat well without coordinating a group. The regional Mexican focus means there is real culinary intent to engage with at your own pace, and the Toluca setting makes it a practical anchor for a solo day trip from Mexico City rather than a dedicated evening commitment.
The venue data does not specify a dress code, and Amaranta's positioning as a daytime regional Mexican restaurant in Toluca does not suggest formal attire is expected. Clean, comfortable clothes are a reasonable baseline. If you are traveling from Mexico City specifically to eat here, treat it with the same respect you would any OAD Top 500 restaurant without overthinking it.
It depends on what kind of occasion. Amaranta suits a food-focused celebration — a meal worth traveling for, shared with someone who cares about regional Mexican cooking. It is not a late-night dinner setting; the 6 pm close means you are marking the occasion at lunch or a long midday meal. For an evening special occasion with a formal dining room, Mexico City options like Pujol or Quintonil are structurally better fits.
Toluca does not have a deep bench of OAD-ranked restaurants, which is part of what makes Amaranta notable. If you are weighing the trip against staying in Mexico City, Pujol, Quintonil, and Rosetta all offer high-recognition Mexican and contemporary cooking without the travel. Amaranta's case rests on its regional specificity and the fact that Chef Pablo Salas is doing something in Toluca that is not replicated in the capital.
Dinner is not an option — Amaranta closes at 6 pm daily. Lunch is the format, which means arriving mid-morning to midday gives you the most flexibility. If you are coming from Mexico City, factor in the roughly 65-kilometre drive or bus journey so you are seated well before the afternoon winds down.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
