For the first time in its history, the Michelin Guide has honored restaurants in Mexico, and four of the winning chefs have close ties to San Diego, including Drew Deckman.
The awards were handed out Tuesday night at a dinner in Mexico City. In total, 157 restaurants were honored. This included two restaurants that earned two Michelin stars and 16 restaurants that received one star. Six restaurants also earned green stars, a relatively new category that honors sustainability efforts. There were also 42 Bib Gourmand awards, billed as affordably priced restaurants with very good cooking. And 97 restaurants received Michelin recommendations for good cooking.
Longtime Valle de Guadalupe restaurateurs Drew and Paulina Deckman — who aim to open their 31THIRTYONE restaurant in North Park late next month — were awarded a combination of three Michelin stars. Their outdoor seafood and wine bar, Conchas de Piedra, earned both a Michelin red star for its culinary efforts and a green star for sustainability. The Deckmans’ 13-year-old flagship restaurant Deckman’s en el Mogor, also earned a green star.
In a Zoom interview from the airport in Mexico City Wednesday, Deckman said he was thrilled to receive the stars, particularly as a member of the inaugural class of Mexico awardees.
“I always say we’re working for a full restaurant, not for awards, and that’s still the same. But I think this was something different. This was really special,” he said. “It was the first edition of the Michelin Guide in Mexico. You’re not just in the guide, you’re part of the original slate. This is a big deal.”
Chef-owner Drew Deckman cooks on his outdoor grill at Deckman’s en el Mogor restaurant in Baja California’s Valle de Guadalupe. Deckman will open his first U.S. restaurant in San Diego’s North Park in summer 2024.
(Courteys of Drew Deckman)
Deckman, 54, said he was surprised to win the Michelin red star for Conchas de Piedra rather than Deckman’s. He said the experience has taught him a lesson about paying closer attention in the future to the diner experience at Deckman’s, which is a popular Valle de Guadalupe restaurant famed for its rustic outdoor farm setting and open-fire cooking.
Conchas de Piedra opened eight years ago near Villa de Juarez, about six miles southwest of Deckman’s. It’s a 50-seat outdoor restaurant that serves only Champenoise-style wines and locally caught mollusks.
“At Conchas, the quality is all about the food,” Deckman said. “We have long-term relationships with the producers and fishermen that allow us to bring the best there is to the table.”
Hearing Conchas’ name called out Tuesday night for a star was “more than incredible,” he said. “I feel like a little kid. It just hasn’t sunk in yet.”
This isn’t Deckman’s first dance with Michelin. In 2000, he earned his first star for his cooking at Restaurant Vitus in Germany.
“It threw me for a loop. I lost my footing and I lost contact with the ground,” he said of that first star 24 years ago. “In hindsight good it happened. It made me who I am today.”
As a leader in Mexico’s sustainable agriculture and fishing movement, Deckman said he’s honored that two of the six Mexican restaurants to receive a green star this year are his own. As a result of the news, he said he has already received numerous texts and emails from farmers and restaurants seeking his advice.
Deckman plans to replicate the wood-fired, locally sourced, Baja-style of cooking at the new restaurant he’s opening with his wife, Paulina, at 3131 University Ave. in North Park.
Valle de Guadalupe chef and restaurateur Javier Plascencia earned a Michelin star for his restaurant Animalon on May 14, 2024, as part of Michelin Guide’s inaugural Mexico awards this week.
(handout photo)
Javier Plascencia, a longtime Valle de Guadalupe chef who has worked in the past with San Diego’s Romesco and Mediterranean Hospitality restaurant groups, also earned a Michelin Star for his Animalón restaurant in the Valle.
Roberto Alcocer, who earned a Michelin Star last year for his Valle restaurant in Oceanside, earned a Michelin recommendation for his Villa de Juárez restaurant, Malva. In a statement, Alcocer said he is grateful for the honor and dedicates it to his wife and children for their support and sacrifice.
Robert Alcocer, San Diego’s newest Michelin-starred chef, inside his Oceanside contemporary Mexican restaurant, Valle.
(John Gastaldo/For The San Diego Union-Tribune)
“I couldn’t be prouder of our team at Malva for their dedication and passion, which have earned us a place in the inaugural Michelin ceremony in Mexico,” Alcocer said. “Being included in the Mexico Michelin Guide is a testament to our relentless pursuit of tireless dedication, passion, and countless work we have put into Malva since its inception 11 years ago. I’m thrilled to share this honor with my team and inspired to keep pushing the limits of our craft.”
Chef Ruffo Ibarra of Oryx restaurant in Tijuana is a graduate of Tijuana’s Culinary Arts School.
(Courtesy of James Tran)
Chef Ruffo Ibarra also earned a recommendation for his Tijuana restaurant, Oryx.
Last year, Ibarra began working with San Diego’s Be Saha Hospitality Group to revamp the culinary program at the Guild Hotel in downtown San Diego. He has also collaborated with Romesco in San Diego and done fund-raising dinners for Feeding San Diego and Mainly Mozart. Ibarra is a hometown favorite in Tijuana, where he studied at the city’s Culinary Art School.
While many of the restaurants honored by Michelin on Tuesday were in Mexico City, there were 51 awards for Baja California restaurants.
Damiana, led by chef Esteban Lluis in the Valle de Guadalupe, earned one Michelin star. Among the Bib Gourmand winners were Carmelita Molino y Cocina in Tijuana; Villa Torél in Valle de Guadalupe; Merak in Villa de Juárez (just north of Ensenada); La Cocina de Doña Esthela in Rancho San Marcos; and Ensenada restaurants La Concheria, Casa Morcelo, Sabina and Humo y Sal.
For the full list of Michelin Guide Mexico honorees, visit guide.michelin.com/us/en/restaurants?q=mexico.