Our Family
from Mixtlán, with love
Three generations of one kitchen.
Grandma Juana to Mamacita Alicia to Ricardo. A family table in Lake Forest since the eighties.
I · The Beginning
It started with Grandma Juana, the main chef of her town.
In Mixtlán, Jalisco, when the town had something to celebrate, Grandma Juana cooked for it. She was the main chef of her town, and her recipes are where this kitchen begins.
Her daughter, Alicia, the one everyone calls Mamacita, carried those recipes north to Southern California. She kept making them the way her mother taught her. Inspired by his grandfather Arnulfo's spirit, Ricardo persuaded Mamacita to open their first restaurant. The family has been cooking ever since.
II · La Mesa Familiar
Hand to hand.
- I
Grandma Juana
Mixtlán, Jalisco
The main chef of her town. When Mixtlán had something to celebrate, Juana cooked for it. The recipes start with her hands.
- II
Alicia, “Mamacita”
Juana's daughter
She carried her mother's recipes north to Southern California, and kept cooking them exactly the way they were taught to her.
- III
Ricardo
and the family today
Inspired by his grandfather Arnulfo's spirit, Ricardo persuaded Mamacita to open the first restaurant. The family still runs the kitchen.
III · The Room & The Plates
One room, one family.
“It's been here 20+ years and I can always come here for that authentic soul lightening Mexican food.”
Danielle D. · Google
IV · What we hold to
Three things, every plate.
- 01
Cooked the way it was taught
The recipes came from Grandma Juana, the main chef of her town in Mixtlán, Jalisco. Mamacita Alicia carried them north and kept cooking them exactly as she learned them. That is still the standard.
- 02
Family in the kitchen
Ricardo, Alicia, Guillermo and Mario. Guests notice it in the reviews again and again: the owners are right here, and they are kind. You are treated like part of the family tradition.
- 03
Authentic, clean, and fair
Authentic flavors, a clean room, and prices the neighborhood can come back to. That is the promise the family has kept since the first restaurant opened in the eighties.
V · Come Eat
Come sit at our table.
Dine in, order online, or a family pack for the house.
