Ana & Lydia Castro’s Acamaya: From Lengua Madre to New Culinary Venture

Barrios Wool congratulates clients Ana Castro, Lydia Castro and Acamaya on the successful opening of their restaurant, Acamaya. Acamaya is the first hospitality venture from the restaurant group, Grupo Chamuco. Acamaya is located in the Bywater of New Orleans at 3070 Dauphine Street (at the corner of Clouet) in an old Kirschman’s Furniture warehouse and showroom.

Born in the US but raised in Mexico City, the Castro sisters seek to merge the best of the bounty of the Gulf of Mexico, the flavors and techniques of Mexico, and Louisiana’s food traditions. Signature dishes include a hamachi “al pastor” tostada, shrimp costra, bass cevice, and whole Sunburst trout with chileatole and tortillas. The restaurant is open Thursday through Monday for dinner, with plans to expand to lunch on the weekends and then service 7 nights a week. Reservations can be made online with Resy.

Eater has written about the restaurant, as has Axios.

The firm assisted Acamaya and the Castro sisters through the opening process, from business entity formation to contract review with the architects and contractors to assisting with HR-related tasks.

Ana Castro was the former head chef at Lengua Madre in New Orleans, where she received multiple accolades for her cuisine (from the James Beard Foundation and Food & Wine magazine, which named her one of the best new chefs in America in 2022). Her sister Lydia was the first to run the front-of-house operations at Lengua Madre. While Ana oversees her team in the kitchen, Lydia runs the front of the house, setting the tone for the whole dining experience. The result of their hard work is great Southern hospitality serving modern Mexican seafood in a relaxed upscale environment.

The restaurant is proud to offer excellent benefits to its staff, including paid time off, healthcare benefits, and retirement benefits.