American food and Thanksgiving in San Miguel

With thousands of Americans in town, San Miguel has learned to cook for them. You'll find the peanut butter, the turkey and a TV showing the game. The Costco run takes a little more planning.

The short version

Groceries: La Comer is the biggest supermarket in town; Bonanza, a small family market on Mesones, stocks lots of what Americans miss [1].
Costco: There's no Costco in San Miguel. The nearest one we could confirm is in Querétaro, on Bernardo Quintana [2]. A larger store in Corregidora, Querétaro, is planned for late 2026 [3].
Game day: Mama Mia, on Umarán, shows American football and other sports on a big screen [4].
Thanksgiving: Restaurants and hotels host turkey dinners every year. Book early; it's one of the busiest nights on the San Miguel calendar.
Fair warning: imported US brands cost more than back home. Buy local where you can.

Groceries: where to find a taste of home

You won't find a Trader Joe's, but you'll do fine. Most Americans shop a mix of supermarkets, small specialty stores and markets.

Store	What it's good for	Notes
La Comer	The big weekly shop: produce, bakery, imported brands	The largest grocery store in town [1]
Bonanza	US and imported items expats miss	Small family market on Mesones, in the Centro [1]
Bodega Aurrera	Budget basics	Walmart-owned discount chain [1]
Natura Organic Market	Organic produce and ready-to-eat salads	On Ancha de San Antonio [1]
Sunday market near the Academia	Local farmers' produce and carnitas by the kilo	On Stirling Dickinson [1]
La Europea	Wine and spirits from around the world	Just off the Jardín [1]
OXXO and corner tiendas	Milk, beer, snacks, phone top-ups	On nearly every block [1]

What's easy and what's hard

Easy: good coffee, bread, cheeses (including some aged ones), produce that tastes better than stateside, tortillas obviously, US-style cereal, and most baking basics.

Harder: some US-brand comfort foods, specific spice blends, real maple syrup, canned pumpkin outside the holidays, and sticker-shock items like imported bourbon. Stock up when they appear, or ask a friend driving down from Texas to bring a cooler.

Bring from home: a favorite hot sauce from back home if you're particular (though you're in the right country to find a new one), US over-the-counter meds you depend on, and any special-diet staples.

Shopping tips

Shop the markets for produce and save the supermarket for packaged goods. Prices and flavor both win.
Wash and disinfect raw produce you won't peel or cook. Drops of disinfectant for vegetables are sold in every grocery store.
Bring your own bags. Many stores no longer hand out free plastic bags, so carry a tote.
Cash for the markets, cards at the supermarkets.

The Costco run

Querétaro today

There's no Costco in San Miguel, and no Walmart either [1]. A local shopping guide says the nearest Costco stores are in Querétaro and Celaya, plus a Sam's Club in Querétaro [1]. We could confirm the Querétaro Costco, on Bernardo Quintana boulevard, from recent national reporting [2]. We couldn't confirm a Celaya store, so check Costco Mexico's store finder before you drive.

Querétaro is about 65 km (40 miles) from San Miguel [5], roughly an hour each way. Your US Costco membership works at Costco stores in Mexico, so bring your card. Most people make it a day: a doctor's appointment, a Costco run and lunch.

Corregidora: the new store

Costco began building a big new store in Corregidora, in the Querétaro metro area, in March 2026, with opening planned for the fourth quarter of 2026 [3][2]. Local press in San Miguel billed it as about half an hour from town [6]. Opening dates slip, so check before you load up the car.

Before you go

Bring your membership card and a credit card. Cash works too.
Pack a cooler for meat and frozen food, because it's a long drive back and afternoons are warm much of the year.
Drive by daylight and use the toll road; that's the State Department's general advice for road trips in Mexico.
Split bulk buys with neighbors. A 2-kilo (4.4-pound) bag of almonds goes a long way for one retired couple.

Watching the game

Football season hits differently when kickoff is in Central time and you're watching with a margarita. Mexico dropped daylight saving time in 2022, so San Miguel stays on Central Standard Time year-round. Early in the season kickoff is an hour earlier than in Chicago or Dallas; once the clocks fall back in November, it's the same.

Mama Mia on Umarán is a long-running restaurant and bar with live music and karaoke, and it shows soccer, American football and other sports on a big-screen TV, according to Fodor's [4].
Limerick, an Irish bar on Umarán, has darts and a pool table and draws a younger crowd [4]. Ask whether the game is on before you sit down.
Super Bowl Sunday fills up the bars that show football. Arrive early, or host your own watch party.

For more on bars and late nights, see our guide to nightlife in San Miguel.

Thanksgiving in San Miguel

Thanksgiving is a big deal here. With so many Americans in town, restaurants, hotels and private hosts all put on turkey dinners, and plenty of Mexican and Canadian friends join in.

Restaurant dinners

Listings from recent years show the range [7][8][9]:

Casa Cent'Anni, on Canal in the Centro, hosted a Thanksgiving dinner from 2 to 7 pm in 2025 [7].
Berlin Bar & Bistro on Umarán has, in past years, done a classic menu: roast turkey with pan gravy, cornbread, sausage and mushroom stuffing, cranberry sauce and pumpkin flan [8].
Andanza, the restaurant at Belmond Casa de Sierra Nevada, has offered a four-course Thanksgiving menu in past years, with reservations required [9].

Which places do it changes year to year. Thanksgiving 2026 falls on Thursday, November 26, so start looking in early November on local event listings and book. Popular seatings sell out.

Doing it yourself

Order your turkey early. Whole turkeys show up in the big supermarkets in November, and some butchers take orders. Ask at La Comer or your local butcher a few weeks ahead.
Check your oven. Many Mexican ovens are small, and gas ovens at altitude can run hot or uneven. Measure before you buy a 20-pound bird.
Watch cooking times. At around 1,900 meters (about 6,200 feet), water boils at a lower temperature, so boiled and steamed dishes can take longer.
Hunt for the canned stuff in October. Canned pumpkin and cranberry sauce can sell out.
Make it a potluck. It's the San Miguel way: Americans bring the pie, Mexican friends bring the mole, and everybody wins.

Fourth of July and other American days

The Fourth of July, Super Bowl Sunday and Memorial Day all get some kind of celebration in San Miguel, often from community groups or bars. Our guide to American life in San Miguel covers clubs and events.

When you want to know who has turkeys this week or where to find real cheddar, ask in our community group for Americans in Mexico. Splitting time with the capital? See our Mexico City food guide.

American food in San Miguel de Allende: groceries, game day and Thanksgiving turkey