Oscar Valle opens Tonana in San Miguel de Allende
Tonana is a new venue from Oscar Valle, part of the team at Licorería Limantour and the founder of Despacho Margarita in Mexico City.
Valle opened Despacho Margarita earlier this year, with the goal of spotlighting Mexican ingredients in the eponymous cocktail.
Tonana, meanwhile, draws from pre-Hispanic traditions, including the ancient goddess Tonantzin, the Aztec mother associated with creation.
The bar is on the rooftop of Casa Hoyos, a boutique hotel in the historic centre of San Miguel de Allende.
To create Tonana, Valle worked with Vianney Torres, founder of Casa Hoyos, and interior designer Andrés Gutiérrez of AG Estudio.
They aimed to create a concept that feels ‘both contemporary and deeply rooted in Mesoamerican tradition’, linking to matriarchal energy, ancestral knowledge, and the ‘enduring rhythm of life’.
The bar’s philosophy draws from Tonantzin’s wisdom: “Everything is born, everything dies, everything is reborn.”
Torres said: “Tonana began with a desire to honour the women who came before us. We didn’t want to simply preserve tradition; we wanted to reinterpret it for today.
“Through hospitality, design and cocktails, we created a space where Mexico´s cultural traditions can be experienced in a way that feels contemporary, relevant, and alive.”
The cocktail menu draws inspiration from ancient healing practices, culinary traditions passed down through generations of women, and Mexico’s herbal traditions.
Hyperlocal ingredients featured on the drinks list include garambullo, pulque, ancho chile, copal, and palo santo.
Cocktails include: the Carmesí, a mezcal-based drink layered with beetroot and raspberry; the Recia del Sur, made with sesame oil fat-washed pisco, habanero honey, and membrillo liqueur; and the Maximiliana Milk Punch, a clarified tropical cocktail using raicilla and finished with volcanic salt.
The food is equally inspired by pre-Hispanic culture, using staple Mexican pantry ingredients and snacks such as corn, insects, wild greens, chicken, and chillis. Dishes include wood-fired street corn, tuna tostadas, and tacos made with roasted mushrooms al pastor style or grilled beef.
“Tonana was built to feel deeply connected to memory, ritual, and ancient Mexico,” added Valle. “For the cocktails, I kept returning to ingredients and traditions that have existed in Mexican culture for generations, then reworking them in a way that feels contemporary and alive. Every drink is meant to feel layered, aromatic, and full of energy.”
The interiors mimic Mexico’s material history, featuring Tezontle, a deep red volcanic rock, on the walls and floors.
References to indigenous spirituality are woven into the design through crocodile-shaped benches that nod to Cipactli, the primordial mother; fire pits that evoke sacred ritual; and water fountains that reference Chalchiuhtlicue, the goddess of water and rivers.
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