A seafood-driven Mexican restaurant tucked into New Orleans' Bywater neighborhood has just been ranked the single best Mexican restaurant in the entire country. Acamaya, the Dauphine Street spot co-owned by sisters Ana and Lydia Castro, took the No. 1 spot on a new national list of 41 restaurants, adding yet another headline-grabbing accolade to a two-year run that already includes a Michelin Bib Gourmand and recognition from Esquire and Bon Appétit.
The ranking comes from The New York Times, which published its curated guide, “41 of the Greatest Mexican Restaurants Across the United States,” on August 13 after reporters spent more than a year traveling the country to survey regional Mexican dining, according to Mouth by Southwest. Acamaya landed at the top of that list, according to New Orleans CityBusiness, whose report on the honor was written by Presley Bo Tyler, the Louisiana Deep South Connect Team reporter for the USA Today Network. It's not the restaurant's first time on the Times' radar either — Acamaya was also featured on the paper's restaurant list back in 2024, per the same report.
A Family Restaurant Built on Mexico City and Gulf Roots
Acamaya opened in July 2024 at 3070 Dauphine St., with interior elements including pink tiles, stonework and decorative breeze walls imported directly from Mexico City to recreate the capital's modern aesthetic, according to Out All Day. The name itself nods to the acamaya, a freshwater river prawn native to Mexico's Gulf coast regions like Veracruz, symbolizing the restaurant's focus on coastal seafood, as detailed by New Orleans tourism outlet New Orleans.com.
The restaurant is run by sisters Ana Castro, who serves as executive chef and created its seafood-driven menu, and Lydia Castro, who oversees front-of-house operations as director of operations. Per CityBusiness, the sisters were born in Texas, raised in Mexico City, and later moved to New Orleans, where Acamaya became their first restaurant project together. The menu blends Mexico City influences with Gulf of Mexico seafood and New Orleans sensibility, featuring dishes like shrimp costra, tuna tostada, carne asada, chochoyotes and masa tres leches.
From Coquette's Kitchen to a National Spotlight
Ana Castro's path to Acamaya runs through some of New Orleans' most respected kitchens. Before striking out on her own, she previously ran Lengua Madre, an acclaimed Mexican tasting-menu restaurant that earned a James Beard Best New Restaurant semifinalist nomination in 2022 before closing on December 31, 2023, according to the Southern Smoke Foundation. Earlier still, she served as sous chef at Magazine Street landmark Coquette under chef Michael Stoltzfus, an influential kitchen incubator that closed in June after nearly 18 years in business, as Hoodline previously reported.
That trajectory has kept earning national attention. Castro was named one of Food & Wine's Best New Chefs in 2022 and was selected as a James Beard Foundation Best Chef: South finalist in both 2023 and 2026, per the Southern Smoke Foundation. Acamaya itself was recognized by Esquire and Bon Appétit as one of the best new restaurants in America in 2025, and in November 2025 the Michelin Guide's inaugural American South selection awarded the restaurant a Bib Gourmand distinction, one of 11 New Orleans spots honored for quality, value-driven cooking, according to the Louisiana Restaurant Association.
The Kitchen Behind the Accolades
Inside the kitchen, Acamaya pairs traditional Mexican mariscos techniques — dry-aging fish, ceviches, Veracruz-style preparation — with fresh Gulf seafood including scamp grouper, Maine mussels and Louisiana drum, according to Eater. The approach has resonated enough that the Castro sisters expanded their Bywater footprint in April, opening Casimiro, a 40-seat Mexico City-style breakfast spot just a block away at 800 Louisa St., as Hoodline reported earlier this year.
Acamaya isn't the only Mexican restaurant to make waves off the Times' new list — Hoodline has also covered how Oklahoma City's La Aguascalientes and a pair of Northeast Portland restaurants landed among the 41 honorees nationwide. But for the Castro sisters, the No. 1 ranking marks the high point yet for a restaurant that started as a single Bywater storefront just over two years ago.
