Leña Craft Mexican is a new addition to La Jolla’s food scene. The authentic Mexican eatery is a family owned business, started by Andre Lomelii, 30, and his parents Cristina and Rosendo who opened the restaurant on March 15 after 40 years of having other restaurants in their family, which specialized in more “Americanized” Mexican food.
Leña Craft Mexican instead features food from the Yucatán Peninsula and Mexico City, which is all prepared in the traditional method and with a firewood burning oven, which, not coincidentally, leads to the restaurant’s namesake, “leña” translates to firewood. Lomelii describes his restaurant as having upscale food with a casual setting, and being an opportunity he couldn’t pass up. Every meal and drink at Leña is prepared with precise attention to detail, using nothing other than the traditional methods, and with responsibly sourced meat and produce 100 percent of the time. “It’s the lifestyle that we live,” said Lomelii about his restaurant’s farm-to-table approach. “We, and by we I mean my parents and I, we all were in that consumer segment that we call organic, we believe in eating clean. This is a representation of our lifestyle not just for a trend or marketing. We’ve been living this lifestyle for 16 years.”
The Lomeliis says customers should visit their restaurant with an open mind and high expectations for the menu and food served. The ultimate goal for Leña Craft Mexican is to create an experience, not just a meal, and for people to get the chance to have an experience to taste the real flavors of Mexico. Leña Craft Mexican
Where: 909 Prospect St. 290. Hours: Daily from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Info: lenacraftmexican.com or 858-263-4190.