ACUYO has opened at 1140 Alberni Street in Downtown Vancouver, introducing an elevated Mexican dining experience to one of the city’s busiest luxury shopping and hotel districts.
ACUYO menu draws from Mexican regional cooking, traditional techniques, and a full-day dining format that runs from lunch through late-night happy hour.
The restaurant was founded by four partners with roots in Guadalajara, Mexico: Diego Ancona, Oscar Navarro, Rodrigo Lopez, and Chef Rodrigo G. de Quevedo. The group created the restaurant with the goal of presenting Mexican cuisine through a more refined lens while keeping the cooking connected to heritage, hospitality, and familiar dishes from their childhoods.
The name ACUYO comes from the Indigenous word for hoja santa, an aromatic Mexican herb known for their fragrance and connection to Mexican cooking. The restaurant also draws from the idea of “calor,” a Mexican concept of heat connected to balance, health, and emotional energy. That theme carries through the menu, service, and design of the space.
Head Chef Rafael Chavez leads the kitchen, with a menu shaped by collaboration and culinary influences from across Mexico. The restaurant highlights traditional methods such as fire cooking and handmade tortillas, while presenting dishes in a more polished Downtown Vancouver dining setting.
ACUYO’s menu is designed to change over time, with monthly regional features and seasonal ingredients. The restaurant is open for lunch, happy hour, dinner, and late-night happy hour, giving guests several ways to experience the room throughout the day.
The 84-seat space includes dining tables and bar seating. Designed by Rodrigo López, the interior uses décor sourced directly from Mexico, with earth tones, textured walls, and an intimate atmosphere that reflects the restaurant’s connection to Mexican design and hospitality.
ACUYO is open Monday to Thursday from 11 am to 10 pm, Friday and Saturday from 11 am to 11 pm, and Sunday from 11 am to 9 pm. Happy hour runs daily from 2:30 pm to 5:30 pm, with late-night happy hour from 9 pm to close.
ACUYO is located at 1140 Alberni Street in Vancouver.