[title]
New York has Mexican restaurants at every register: Michelin-star temples like Cosme, buzzy imports like Cariñito and corner taquerias slinging late-night al pastor. The one thing missing? A true homegrown Mexican concept from one of the city’s major dining groups. Enter Limusina, the new 215-seat, tri-level stunner from Quality Branded (the team behind Don Angie, Zou Zou’s and Quality Italian), opening Monday, September 15 on the corner of 34th Street and Ninth Avenue in what was once—wait for it—a parking garage.
Executive chef and partner Craig Koketsu is behind the wheel, steering a menu that fuses regional Mexican flavors with playful detours through California and Texas. Dishes aren’t shy on spectacle: Lobster al pastor arrives slicked with achiote-chili butter and pineapple pico de gallo, while the long-bone short rib quesabirria dares you to build your own tacos with blue corn tortillas and dunk them into consommé poured tableside. There are also machetes (supersized quesadillas stuffed with squash blossoms or black truffle and guava jam) and solteros, cheeky single-serve nachos topped with steak barbacoa or lobster and Montauk corn.
The bar program keeps pace with equal swagger. Margaritas run in multiple directions, but Limusina’s calling card may be the Tajin Martini—a dirty Martini gone rogue with Tajin-infused tequila and spicy olive brine. Frozen fans can chase the Vampiro, a tequila-and-grapefruit number that nods to a Jalisco street classic or sip on mezcal-spiked riffs like the Mezcalero.
Desserts from pastry whiz Lucy Blanche are no afterthought. Picture jelly donut conchas oozing strawberry jam and Bavarian cream, or a lemon icebox cake cloaked in hibiscus petals. Even the sweet corn sundae gets a tricked-out upgrade with peanut-popcorn brittle and passion fruit sauce.
Design-wise, Limusina wears its contradictions with pride. GRT Architects transformed the old garage into a retro-modern playground with raw concrete columns, luxe custom fixtures, peach-and-amber tones and enough texture to make Studio 54 blush. Quality Branded’s CEO, Michael Stillman, calls it a tribute to late ’70s New York—the glamorous and the gritty, side by side.
So, buckle up: Limusina isn’t just Quality Branded’s first Mexican concept, it’s a full-throttle joy ride into New York’s ever-evolving dining scene. Reservations are live on OpenTable.