Palmilla Menu: Twist on Mexican Flavor

Hermosa Beach’s new upscale Mexican restaurant is now open with regionally influenced home-style Mexican cuisine crafted from fresh seafood, free-range chicken, and the finest cuts of beef.

The latest venture from father-son restaurateurs Ron and Greg Newman began serving the public on Nov. 8 and, Ron said it has been packed ever since.

"It’s unbelievable the type of people we’re getting in—groups coming in for a drink and appetizer because they heard about our fabulous margaritas, people looking for a good meal, and groups of women coming in with friends to have a drink and to eat and talk," Ron said.

While Hermosa Beach Patch gave you a sneak peek of the restaurant’s interior design, now here is a glance at the menu, which is filled with a variety of tacos, enchiladas, salads, fresh fish, and meat dishes.

Here are some recommendations:

• Coctel De Camarones (Jumbo Mexican prawns, tequila lime cocktail sauce and avocado)
• Ceviche Tres Maneras (Ceviche de pescado blanco, ceviche aji Amarillo, ceviche de papaya and crispy plantain chips)
• Nachos De Marisco (Wild Mexican shrimp and fresh Dungeness crab, black beans, Palmilla queso, guacamole, pico de gallo, and crema)
• Prawns Pacifico Con Salsa (Jumbo Mexican prawns sautéed in garlic, tomato, chile flakes, tequila and lime, Spanish rice, refritos blanco and Palmilla queso)
• Short Rib Taquitos (Corn tortillas filled with sweet chipotle braised beef, tomatillo jalapeno salsa, crema and cilantro)
• Tacos De Pescados (Grilled Mahi Mahi tacos, hand-made flour tortillas, jalapeño cabbage, chipotle crema, roasted garlic mojo, pico de gallo, arroz de tomatillo, black beans, and queso fresco)
• La Asada Con Salsa (Cilantro lime skirt stead, salsa asada, and arroz de tomatillo)
• Chipotle Pollo y Hongos (Pan-seared airline chicken breast, chipotle cream sauce, cremini mushrooms, caramelized onions, arroz de tomatillo, and honey lime mashed sweet potatoes)

"The ceviches are unbelievable. We use all fresh sea bass and halibut. We have our own twist on the steaks with a little contemporary Mexican flair and the mole enchiladas are unbelievable. It’s not a dark mole, it’s very light so it has a great flavor to it," Ron said.

While the food is exquisite, it’s the drink menu that has been bringing in foodies off the street. The bar serves a variety of handcrafted Mexican-influenced cocktails created with seasonal and local fruit, which is hand squeezed.

In addition to specialty cocktails the menu includes a variety of margaritas, sangria, mojitos, wines, and Mexican beer. Patch gave a few of them a whirl:

• Fresh spicy mango margarita (Hornitos blanco tequila hand shaken with fresh squeezed lime juice, mango fruit, and muddled jalapeno and cucumber served on the rocks)
• Pepino Diablo (Cazadores Blanco tequila, organic agave nectar, fresh squeezed lime juice and muddled jalapeno and cucumber)
• Mexican Hot Chocolate Martini (Cazadores Reposado tequila, disaronno originale and crème de caco chilled, shaken and served up in a chilled glass swirled with chocolate syrup and topped with a pinch of hand-crushed chipotle powder)

"Our mixologist is just amazing," Ron said. "He made a Bloody Mary and it’s the best I’ve ever had. He uses chipotle in it."

Located at 39 Pier Ave., Palmilla Cocina y Tequila is just steps away from the beach and sits across the owner’s sports-oriented venture, .

"Sharkeez has great food for its level but it’s sports, entertainment, and dancing. Sometimes people want something different though so that’s why we developed Palmilla," Ron said.

Palmilla’s chic interior is what designer Gulla Jonsdottir of Rick Bayless’ Red O Fame refers to as a "Bohemian-Latin mix."

The walls are composed of individual stone accented by Mayan pyramid art replicas. An intricate pebble design covers the floors and accents custom LED lit tabletops.

Ornate fixtures descend from the ceiling and illuminate tiny tables and pillow-lined booths. An outdoor patio is softly lit by means of a fire pit.

"Everything that we did, we did the best," Ron said. "We spent a fortune doing this place so we wanted to make sure that we had all the details right."

He added that he couldn’t be happier with the results, and thanked the Hermosa Beach community for being so patient with .

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