Mama Coco is a family-owned restaurant opened July 9 by longtime Menlo Park residents Omar Piña and Monica Pilotzi. They named the restaurant after Pilotzi's grandmother, whose recipes inform much of the food. Read this Almanac article for more detail on the family's story.
Mama Coco serves up a good range of food, from staples like tacos ($10 for four), ceviche ($9-$10), tostadas ($10-$14), quesadillas ($11-$14) and burritos ($8-$11) to more intriguing sounding entrees like salmon veracruzano (pan-roasted salmon with red rice, chayote, carrots, green beans and Veracruz salsa; $15) and cochinita pibil (achiote-marinated suckling pig, slow cooked in banana leaves and served with banana-coconut rice and mango salad). And the owners know their audience ? there's even a take on kale salad, made with red cabbage, avocado, carrots, mango, red peppers and snow peas dressed with a tamari-ginger vinaigrette ($10).
Enjoy any of the food in an outdoor patio in the back of the restaurant, which has been upgraded under the new ownership, with a glass of wine, beer, margarita or sangria. White wines span from an Argentinian torrontes to an Italian prosecco to two Napa Valley pour; reds include a tempranillo from Spain's La Rioja region, a Josh Cellars cabernet sauvignon and Meiomi pinot noir. All are available by glass ($8-$12) and bottle ($32-$48). Beers include bottles of Corona, Pacifico and Negra Modelo, all $4 a pop.
Margaritas are $7 and sangria, $8.
View the lunch menu here (the only menu that's been posted on the restaurant's Facebook).
Cheers to what sounds like one of the more interesting restaurants to descend on Menlo Park in a long time. Has anyone been yet? Feel free to share your experience here!
Mama Coco Cocina Mexicana
1081 El Camino Real, Menlo Park
650-272-6634
facebook.com/mamacoco
Hours: 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily.
