Bee Appetit: A fire-kissed taste of coastal Jalisco arrives in South Land Park
A new Mexican restaurant has debuted in South Land Park, filling a space that lately has been a rotating list of Mexican restaurants, including Dali’s Kitchen, which opened in 2016. In the last two years, the space rebranded as Arabella’s and then Bibi’s, which closed late last year.
The new dining spot, Vallarta Prime, seeks to transport diners to coastal Jalisco. The restaurant is centered on three main pillars: fire-grilled meats, handmade tortillas and resort-style seafood dishes.
Owner Leo Beas hails from Jalisco, and frequently returns with his wife and children. He was inspired by the restaurant’s space, but getting operations up and running proved challenging.
The new branding went up early this year, but Beas wasn’t able to really soft launch until mid-June. The holdup hinged on his hope to build out a more substantial patio cover for the restaurant’s outdoor seating area, which wraps around two sides.
“It’s been a six-month battle with the city, it’s been back and forth, but then I said, we have to open. But that’s the plan to have a built-out commercial patio cover with TVs, heaters, fans. It’s gonna be really nice once it’s fully built out, but in the meantime we have to use our umbrellas,” he said.
Vallarta Prime is Beas’s first restaurant, but it is a half-sister to several others. His business partner, Junior Sanchez, is the owner of Taqueria La Nueva Vallarta, which has three locations in the region, and Taqueria La Perla on Marconi Avenue. La Perla has three new locations in development.
“He’s the mastermind behind the operations., I’m taking care of the front end, from hospitality to marketing the brand, which is what I do, and we’ve been a great team,” Beas said.
The kitchen is a petite affair, but sufficient for the chef to work his magic on the grill. To up the ante on authenticity, they have a woman come in each morning to make stacks of fresh corn tortillas.
Given the combination of those two things, tacos are one of the main attractions. The tacos al carbon ($3.49) come hot off the griddle, topped with grilled meat, cilantro, onion and salsa, fully reminiscent of Mexican street tacos.
Plates, like the bistec a la mexicana ($21.49), come with quite good Spanish rice and refried beans. Don’t sleep on the corn tortillas to scoop it all up.
Seafood is a highlight as well. Aguachiles are presented in rustic square, black lava bowls, served with the requisite tostadas and Saladitas crackers. On one visit, the plump shrimp in my aguachile verde ($21.99) was still freshly “cooking” in lime, leaving it tender and supple, not rubbery.
Vallarta Prime only has a beer and wine license, so they’re making margaritas ($5.99) with agave wine.
Note that there is a nominal surcharge for using credit instead of cash.
Even before officially opening, Vallarta Prime was quietly serving neighbors to test the waters.
“We’ve seen the response from just local people. These last few weeks we’ve had people come back like five, six times already, so we’re just super grateful for the opportunity,” Beas said.
Vallarta Prime
Address: 1948 Sutterville Rd., South Land Park
Hours: 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Fridays, 9 a.m.-9 p.m. Saturday-Sunday
Phone: 916-661-5567
Website: vallarta-prime.com
Vegetarian options: Vegetarian tacos, burritos and quesadillas are available
Noise level: Moderate
