Diego’s, a husband restaurant to Frida’s, opens tomorrow in University City – St. Louis Magazine

The day has finally come, quips Natasha Kwan, co-owner of Diegos Mexican restaurant which opens tomorrow, It only took 22 months.

Planning a restaurant, especially retrofitting an exciting one, is never easy because of the unknowns, and there were a lot of them, says Kwan regarding the former Momos Ouzaria Taverna. Our plan was to keep the walk-in and the hood, move the bar, do a little painting, and open the doors. Little did we know there was a disaster behind every wall. Contractors told us it was the top two of the worst projects theyd ever seen. Then in the middle of the prolongation, along came COVID-19.

Opening a restaurant in the middle of the pandemic is risky, to be sure, but Kwan and Roloff were fortunate to be able to open utilizing 50 percent of the seating rather than 25. The look and layout of Diego's will evolve due to furniture and artwork delays, Kwan says, and patio seating and to-go service will become increasingly important. Regardless, she says, the response from pre-opening guests has been more than positive, with echoes of well worth the wait.

Kwan and Roloff own a handful of several businesses in a (west-of-the-Loop) pocket of U City that includes Fridas, a vegetarian caf named after Kwans cat and as an homage to painter Frida Kahlo. She married a fellow painter, Diego Rivera, in 1927, and the name and culinary theme was a natural, says Kwan.

A bright blue, orange, and green color palate matches the one at Museo Frida Kahlo (a.k.a. La Casa Azul), the artists childhood home. Homages to Frida and Diego are both obvious (prints on the wall) and hidden (check the mosaic tile in the window seats and the art on the patio walls). The script in the logo was built off of Diegos signature.

The back bar is festooned with Mexican masks, the bar top has moveable dividers, and the bar face boasts a sea of Day of the Dead-themed tile. Liquor cubbies (where tequila and mezcal are both featured) are splashed with colorful ceramic tile, a theme repeated throughout the three-room cantina.

Espolon is the house tequila and Montelobos supplies the mezcal (we want people to understand and recognize the difference, says Kwan). The former is base for an unconventional margarita, served in a pint glass and made with fresh lime juice, a touch of agave, and splash of orange juiceno Triple Sec or orange liqueur of any kind. The resulting quaff is brighter and thankfully, not cloyingly sweet.

The cocktail list includes a selection of two margaritas on tap, $10 house and classic cocktails, and a flight of tequilas. Except for a $75 top, top shelf margarita, topped with Grand Marnier Cuvee du Centenaire (a blend of XO Cognacs aged up to 25 years combined with the essence of wild tropical oranges), there are no overwrought preparations. No 10-minute cocktails and no two-foot mixing spoons, says Kwan. I would rather my bartenders establish a rapport with the customer than spend that time crafting a cocktail with an egg white that took forever to froth. To me, tending bar is about knowing the customer and getting them a cocktail, fast.

Those speedy cocktails are paired with street food-themed, small plates, featuring seafood and poultry, but no beef or pork. Its more about the seasoning and the sauce, rather than the choice of meat, says Kwan. Favorites are the tacos with grilled barramundi, chicken carnitas (pictured above), and grilled shrimp, served in a flavorful and just-thick-enough single corn shell.

Recommended are the costras, traditionally a cooked disc of cheese that doubles as a surrogate taco tortilla. Here, the cheese is cooked onto the tortilla, and the result, served two ways, is memorable.

Other options include tlayudas (like a thin masa pizza); sheet pan nachos, thoughtfully constructed in a single layer (not a heap); and the attention-grabbing queso flameado (think: Mexican saganaki), an homage to Chuck Paner, the late owner of the former Momos.

Theres a dessert showstopper, too: grilled bananas with strawberries and caramel, dusted with cinnamon and a smidge of cayenne, an adaptation of a dish that intrigued Kwan.

Knowing that tables at Mexican restaurants often get cluttered (chips, salsa water glasses, margaritas, plates, etc.), Kwan opted for more real estate at Diegos, which is all the more dramatic since theyre all made of different, hand-selected stonepink, gray, yellow, and quartzite (Rick and I share a mutual dislike for wooden tabletops, Kwan says).

There are hanging gardens, a copper Mayan calendar, Mexican fishing baskets doubling as pendant lights, and kitschy coconut palm trees. Mexican tiles sweeping the archways cause guests to linger, just for a moment. Arriving soon are works from local artist Kevin Glazer and a print from Espolon, to be set in an 8-by-6 foot frame.

In a nod to the times, Kwan and Roloff have pulled out all the stopsdividers, partitions, air scrubbers, stanchions, single use tableware, table carafes, and bags for masksto keep staffers and diners safe. Despite the current climate, we plan on being here a while and we have other things in the works," Kwan says. "A pandemic wont stop us building the community we have created in U City."

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Diego's, a husband restaurant to Frida's, opens tomorrow in University City - St. Louis Magazine