Descanso Restaurant opened in Costa Mesa nearly two years ago, and despite driving past the restaurant many times since then, I never made it in to dine until last month.
Better late than never, as they say.
Descanso is billed as a modern taqueria that celebrates authentic Mexican flavors and recipes executed on a large traditional plancha (think teppanyaki but south of the border), except that section of the restaurant remains off-limits until indoor dining capacity is allowed to increase.
However, the regular Descanso menu is available for dining inside, or al fresco on the restaurant’s expanded patio, which is where I sat.
After perusing the menu, I asked my server for some recommendations as far as popular items. She told me the restaurant was known for its guacamole, made with Hass avocados, lime, white onions, serrano chilis, and cilantro, served with homemade tortilla chips.
I love good guacamole, so after a fast “yes,” she also suggested trying one of the Descanso alambres plates, which I did. Alambre is a popular Mexican dish consisting of grilled beef (or other protein) topped with chopped bacon, bell peppers, onions, cheese, salsa and, in some variations, avocado. It is usually served with freshly made corn or flour tortillas.
The guacamole showed up first, and I readily dug into the bowl of green decadence. It was indeed delicious, and I had to pace myself and save room for the main event.
My alambre used shrimp as the main ingredient, along with tres quesos and the other traditional ingredients. I immediately fell in love with this dish—the shrimp were perfect, the dish hearty yet not heavy, and spicy but not overpowering.
After dinner, Descanso operating partner Jeffrey Grasso gave me a mini tour of the restaurant, including the indoor taco bar, the indoor/outdoor bar, and expanded patio.
The bread and butter of Descanso, said Grasso, is their plancha section. Each area normally seats six to eight people (six once the plancha sections reopen during COVID).
“Your chef talks about the food while he prepares it, and you have your own personal server” Grasso said. With pandemic concerns, Grasso noted that “some people are very sensitive, and some people don’t care, but right now we are taking precautions” since they can only seat indoors at 25% capacity. “We’d rather build a demand, but luckily we have the taco bar.”
After the restaurant shut its doors in March and then reopened for take-out, Grasso said he wasn’t sure how much demand he would have with a to-go market, but “we got bombarded,” he said, adding that it gave him “an opportunity to bring back more staff. Between Door Dash, phone calls, and emails, it shows there was a demand.”
Now, Grasso said, “we’re still doing very well with to-go, and we have lots of walk-in diners. Things are going really well for us. The bulk of our business is after 7 p.m., and we are packed with reservations on weekends.”
Descanso just launched a new lunch menu available Tuesday through Friday that will no doubt increase its daytime business.
Descanso Restaurant, 1555 Adams Ave. Ste. 103, Costa Mesa, (714) 486-3798, DescansoRestaurant.com.
