The entrance to Mírate, the modern Mexican restaurant from the team behind Beverly Hills’ Mírame, is meant to disguise what lies ahead. Make your way up a candlelit staircase to the bar leading to the mezzanine dining patio. “You can literally watch people’s jaws drop when they round the corner of our bar, and they see what’s kind of hidden behind the storefront,” says co-owner Matthew Egan.
The massive, 7,500-square-foot multi-level space is indeed stunning. “We have an upstairs agave bar that is a little bit more quiet and dark. Downstairs, we have what we’re calling Bar Mírate, which is more lively. And then we have a mezzanine dining deck with a roof that opens up. It’s an open-air dining deck with wraparound patio seating throughout the rest of the restaurant,” says Egan, who left a career in the film industry to open Mírame in 2020 with chef Joshua Gil, whom he discovered in a cookbook and subsequently befriended.
Now, after traveling all over Mexico together (Gil grew up in Rosarito, Baja California), the two have opened their second project, founded on the same principles as their first: sustainability and the desire to bring the kind of upscale food they’ve eaten in Mexico to the U.S.—inventive food that tells a story.
At Mírate, where the menu centers around the mezcal-heavy cocktail program of star barman Max Reis (previously of Gracias Madre), this means tacos you wouldn’t find anywhere else, like skewered spicy oyster mushroom tacos arabes with ground toasted corn and sesame salsa on house-made flour tortillas.
The restaurant grinds its own masa for tortillas and uses grain from the Tehachapi Heritage Grain Project. Thick-cut yucca fries come drenched in cheesy, meaty queso. Generous bowls of hamachi aguachile ceviche with black lime and tomatillo are fresh and bright, and pair nicely with a frothy sour papaya tequila cocktail. Every spirit on Reis’s menu comes from Mexico.
“One of our core values is that anything on our menu has to tell a unique story,” says Egan. “We always put our spin on everything we do.”
1712 N. Vermont Ave., Los Feliz, mirate.la
New & Notable…..
ECHO PARK
Konbi Ni. The sandwich counter once known for its perfect egg salad sandwiches and chocolate croissants has reinvented itself. After a yearslong pandemic pivot to takeout only, the tiny spot is now serving pre-fixe Japanese breakfast, including kabocha squash and grilled fish. 1463 W. Sunset Blvd., konbi.co.
VENICE
Paloma Venice. This newcomer serves organic, California-produce-driven Mediterranean dishes that include spinach ravioli and avocado-infused hummus. Three seating options (indoor, patio, or bar) make this beachside destination a hit in the making. 600 Venice Blvd., paloma-venice.com
Willie Mae’s. It’s the restaurant’s first outpost outside of New Orleans, and founder Willie Mae Seaton’s great-granddaughter Kerry Seaton Stewart is serving her signature fried chicken along with mac and cheese and cornbread. 324 Lincoln Blvd., williemaesnola.com
Stay on top of the latest in L.A. news, food, and culture. Sign up for our newsletters today.
