A new restaurant celebrating California's Baja coast is coming to Dallas' Design District: Called Puerto Cocina & Bar, it'll be a seafood-forward restaurant opening at the new 155 River Edge development in early December, with a coffee program, breakfast, lunch, grab-and-go items, and dinner.
According to a release, the restaurant is from culinary entrepreneurs and restaurateurs Mauricio Gallegos and Gerardo Barrera, following the success of their other concepts, Xaman Café and Ayahuasca Cantina.
“When we partnered up years ago, we wanted to create culturally aware new brands that highlight the richness and diversity of our Mexican culture,” Barrera says in a statement. “Puerto Cocina & Bar is yet another extension of our Mexican heritage, offering guests a menu of dishes with highly curated flavors, works of art and design that enhance awareness, and music to complete the full, sensory experience.”
Gallegos calls it "the next chapter of the work we started at Xaman Café and Ayahuasca Cantina."
“The spaces we create illustrate our passion for our cultural heritage and community," Gallegos says. "They help us pass down our experiences and highlight our roots through storytelling, all while capturing the places of our travels through design and world-class hospitality.”
Puerto Cocina & Bar will celebrates the relaxed sophistication of the Baja California coast, with a focus on craft, culture, and community.
The culinary program and operations are being developed in partnership with Oh Hi! Hospitality, a new hospitality and consulting group launched earlier this year by award-winning culinary veterans Chef Anastacia Quiñones-Pittman, Victor E. Rojas, and Carlos Marquez. The menu will feature seafood including a raw bar, crudos & tiraditos, house-made tortillas, and an emphasis on various shellfish and roe/caviar.
The wine list will spotlight the depth and diversity of Mexican winemaking, with 100 percent of the offerings coming from producers in Mexico including winemakers from Valle de Guadalupe and Baja California Sur, Queretaro, and Coahuila.
The cocktail program will blend regional Mexican flavors and contemporary techniques — a continuation of the innovative program employed at Ayahuasca Cantina.
The interior design led by Dallas-based Coevál Studio will feature an elegant-yet-relaxed space echoing the contemporary coastal direction of the concept as envisioned by Barrera and Gallegos, with handmade ceramics, natural textiles, and a warm color palette of ocean greens, sand, and coral.
