Mezcal Spotlight: The Room Mezcaleria

By Jonathan Lockwood

Bleak. Desolate. Grim. That used to describe the hunt for exceptional artesanal mezcal in San Miguel de Allende. The good stuff—the kind made in small palenques, by families who’ve been doing it for generations—was mostly the stuff of legend, or maybe long weekends in Oaxaca. But those days are over.

Among the handful of mezcal-forward establishments in town, one shines especially bright. The Room Mezcalería isn’t just a place to learn about mezcal and discover bottles you’ll love—it’s one of the most attractive bars in San Miguel, period. A friend of mine, who’s not even a frequent drinker of mezcal, called it his favorite bar in town. That should tell you something.

The Room opened in November 2021, the vision of Ana Sofia Tidball, who was born in Colombia and adopted by an American diplomat. Her childhood took her across continents. In adulthood, she landed in Los Angeles, where she sold a business and eventually made her way to San Miguel. There, she met Luciano Abaca, originally from Mendoza, Argentina. Together, over many sips and stories, they discovered a shared passion for mezcal. And each other. A pilgrimage to the palenques of Oaxaca sealed the deal. The Room was born.

As someone who might be medically classified as a mezcal obsessive, I can tell you: the most dispiriting thing in a mezcalería is a bartender who knows next to nothing about what’s on the shelf—and couldn’t care less. You order something interesting, and they blink like you’ve asked for an oil change.

That is not The Room.

Ana Sofia and Luciano have traveled across Mexico, connecting with small-batch, artesanal and ancestral producers who still make mezcal the way it’s been made for centuries. These are family-run operations—no automation, no gimmicks, just agave, fire, and time. At The Room, they bring that world to your glass. New to mezcal? They’ll walk you through a curated tasting, explaining each pour’s origin, process, and why it’s worth your attention. Already on the agave train? You’ll find kindred spirits behind the bar and beside you.

And while purists like me might sip neat until the end of days, The Room’s cocktail program is nothing to overlook. You’ll find a Mezcalita, a Mezhattan, the Jamaica Me Happy (featuring an agave and cannabis distillation), and several other imaginative entries. My wife, Cecilia, simply loves their cocktails! Now, if you’ve lived here any length of time, you know how brutal this town can be on bars and restaurants. Passion and talent are no guarantee. Many pour their hearts—and savings—into a place that never quite catches. So you might expect a spot like The Room to cut corners when it comes to design or ambience.

They didn’t.

From the street, The Room draws you in with walls painted in bold geometric designs by local artist Lucas Rise. The patterns—including a compass and a north star—reflect Ana Sofia’s own search for direction, and the magnetic pull that led her to mezcal. Inside, palo santo gently smolders, infusing the space with a sweet, woodsy calm that feels both ceremonial and intimate.

Every detail was built without investors or family backing. Just grit, late nights, and a whole lot of love. One more thing you’ll notice right away: The Room is small. And while that’s part of its charm, it’s also clear they’ve outgrown the space—physically, perhaps, but conceptually even more so.

You see, Ana Sofia and Luciano didn’t really set out to open a bar. They wanted a kind of portal. And in its next iteration—a soon-to-come new space—they plan to lean even harder into mezcal education. The casual, social vibe will still be there, but layered over a more intentional experience: guided tastings, deeper storytelling, meaningful connections with agave culture.

A place where you don’t just drink—you learn. You feel. You remember.

In a previous piece, I wrote about the best way to learn mezcal: find a bar with a great selection and staff who know their stuff. The Room Mezcalería checks those boxes—and redraws them with neon. As more spots in San Miguel step up their mezcal game, that’s good news for everyone. But The Room remains my top recommendation. And the fact that they’re evolving toward something even more focused and immersive? That just reinforces the point.

This is where mezcal belongs—in a room that respects it, celebrates it, and invites you to sit down, slow down, and drink it with care.

Jonathan Lockwood is an American Voice Talent living in San Miguel de Allende, México. He is also a Mezcal lover, explorer, and collector and writes the Mezcal Maniac Substack. Read and subscribe here: mezcalmaniac.substack.com