Inside the newly opened Jefe , the sophisticated Latin vibe is underscored and playfully tweaked by the wine-guzzling, broad-brimmed-hat-wearing metal statue that greets you as you walk through the door. This reinvention of the event center at St. Anthony Main is inspired. The room is warm and inviting, studded with nooks and crannies. The decor reads as chic without feeling cold.
The outside of the restaurant is worth noting, too. The patio overlooks St. Decor and design are well and good, but the food is always the thing. Jefe does a Mexican-street-food-inspired menu, but there are plenty of twists and turns. This stuff was bright, bright, bright β lots of acid and bold flavor, plus a distinct but notably fresh fish aroma that paired well with the warm summer air. We wanted a little more charred roastiness from the cauliflower but enjoyed the dish particularly the house-made Durkee-like fried onions overall.
The spice level was pleasing β a bit of balanced heat β and could have been even hotter without tipping the canoe. On paper, a perfectly reasonable experience for the money. But β¦ tamales! Twenty dollars should, we feel, purchase five to 10 slightly smaller, granted tamales. So often we find margaritas and sangria to be sugary garbage. At Jefe, they were given the consideration they deserve.
Dessert at Jefe was one of those transcendent moments. The texture and flavor of every element amplified and complemented the texture and flavor of everything else. The result was a dessert our table of four crushed in about 90 seconds. Service was warm and attentive our only real complaint: all our food hit the table in one monster plate dump , and the crowd on a Wednesday night was lively and large.
Instead, it committed to its vision and delivered a surprisingly serious experience. Skip to content. Heavy Table Hot Five: July
