Tucked into Beverly Hills just off Wilshire and Bedford is Taberna Mexicana where Chef Alex Padilla culminates his life-long culinary journey of flavors creating sophisticated Mexican Fare. While you can find all the familiar dishes such as quesadilla, tacos and enchiladas, Taberna elevates these traditional meals through the use of some less familiar proteins such as rabbit, duck, lamb and blue crab.
Ingredients picked up at the farmer’s market frequent the menu as special of the day and creative use of these seasonal ingredients provides the diner with the freshest quality culinary delights.
On the night we visited Chef Jose Miguel was in charge of the kitchen and graciously accommodated our tasting menu request. Plantain and Blue Corn Chips are served first with a tart tomatillo and red pepper salas. The plantain chips are a welcome change to traditional tortilla chips and hold up well for dipping into the tasty salsa. We also sampled the Taberna House Margarita that has quite a kick from fresh jalapeno slices and lime. A nice spicy start. A Skinny Margarita, made with agave was a little limey but fewer calories than a traditional margarita. And when Yuzu, a Japanese citrus fruit was discovered at the Farmer’s Market this day, they were incorporated into a Yuzu Margarita that carried Yuzu’s grapefruit, tangerine, honey and floral notes.
First on the appetizer menu was a special of the day - fresh Yellowtail, simply dressed with citrus slices, chili oil and fresh dill sprigs. We really liked the bite of sweet and tangy citrus with the mild fish, a nice combination.
Next was the Tiradito De Pulpo, or poached octopus. An absolutely gorgeous appetizer presentation. Octopus and peppers are gathered into a roll, then poached and sliced wafer thin. Dressed with a fresh baby arugula salad, heirloom tomato, garlic chips and caper aioli, this is a light appetizer that has lots of flavor and textures.
The Guacamole this night was prepared with avocados from Shanley Farms in Morro Bay. The avocado was more buttery than we’ve had before and doing a little research we discovered that these particular avocados have a creamier texture with higher oil content because of the growing season. In any case, they made a deliciously light guacamole that was simply finished with pumpkin seeds and Queso Fresco.
The Pescado Del Dia, fresh fish of the day was a lightly roasted Scottish salmon atop black knight carrot puree and roasted Brussels sprouts. The rich salmon was nicely set off by the sweet carrot puree and the touch of bitter in the fresh Brussels sprouts. A lovely dish for the healthy diner. Our salmon was a little undercooked to our liking so let the waiter know your preference when ordering.
A traditional entrée Cochinita Pibil- Yucatan Pork Stew was clearly a comfort dish favorite. Slow roasted pork in chilies and spices served with house made corn tortillas, pickled onions and crema. Spoon the rich pork stew onto incredibly fresh tortillas, top with a little crema and onion – delicious.
Dessert was a traditionalTres Leche cake topped with toasted marshmallow. The sponge cake is typically soaked in three kinds of milk, evaporated, condensed and heavy cream. A sort of Mexican Tiramisu. Even soaked, this dessert was sweet and light and the toasted marshmallow topping provided a little texture crunch.
Taberna gives you Mexican comfort food as well as fresh and exciting dishes from other parts of Latin America that you cannot readily find in Southern California. A perfect fit for the neighborhood and a must try if you are in the area.
Taberna is located at 369 Bedford Drive, Beverly Hills, CA 90210 – phone 310-858-7070.
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