I would describe this as New Mexican food. It’s based on traditional recipes, and many of them carry the names of classic dishes, but their takes on most of them are fairly imaginative.
I make a good classic margarita, so that’s the first checkbox ticked. Has a lot of other interesting cocktails.
We started with tableside guacamole, which was a modest serving of very nicely seasoned guacamole. They asked if we wanted it spicy, and we said yes. They did indeed deliver on that, with plenty of jalapenos mixed in and lots of cilantro.
Next, we had the ceviche of the day, which was octopus, and the aguachile. These dishes are quite different from one another. The ceviche is finely diced and has very complex seasoning. It almost seemed like it had some Indian spices in it. I really liked it. The agua chile was indicated with three red peppers on the menu, and they weren’t kidding about it being spicy. It consisted of thin slices of scallop and shrimp, both raw, cooked only by the spicy lime juice they were swimming in. It was a very good dish, but definitely not one for people who don’t like super spicy food.
Finally, we had a quesadilla. This is one of the better quesadillas I’ve ever had. They’re a dish we often make at home, but this was made with the authentic Mexican white cheese, which seemed like it had been seared to have a nice crust on it and then somehow was enfolded in a housemade tortilla. This is the opposite of the way that I usually make them, where the cheese is between two tortillas that are flipped during the grilling process, so the sear ends up on the tortillas rather than the cheese. I thought this was an innovative and very tasty way to approach the dish.
If there’s a downside to Acuyo, it’s the pricing. I think it’s perfectly reasonable for dinner, but they’re also open at lunchtime. However, there is no lunchtime menu, so our lunch for two, including tip and one margarita, came to $130. We’ll certainly go back when we’re next in the mood for elevated Mexican food.