Former owners of La Madonna open Mundo
La Madonna has a child. The former owners of that well-reviewed Mexican eatery, in the southwest valley until it closed last year because of a rent dispute, have reopened in the World Market Center, 495 S. Grand Central Parkway, under a new name.
Mundo: A Culinary Haute Spot offers the same upscale American approach to Mexican cuisine: more expensive cuts of meat and fish, smaller portions and (as the name screams) food more haute than hot.
"But the flavors of my grandma, my mother and my aunts’ cooking are still there," says executive chef and co-owner Robert Solano.
Mundo (Spanish for "world’) uses recipes native to the Yucatan Peninsula, where Solano lived until he was 12.
"All our sauces are what you would find in any house in that region," he says.
The newly purchased decor matches the food in its mix of modern (a bubbled glass bar) and classic (clusters of antique hanging lamps imported from San Miguel de Allende).
Mundo takes over a corner space, with patio, that had been the World Market Cafe deli. (Signs inside the Las Vegas Design Center still point to the former establishment.) It seats 180 inside and 40 on the patio.
Relocating to the World Market Center is a bold strategy. As of this year, portions of the gigantic wholesale furniture showroom have opened to the public. However, this is still a complex that jams only twice annually — during the Las Vegas Market trade show. A slow trickle of browsers is otherwise the norm.
What Solano and his partners realized, however, was this was no ordinary trickle. It consists mostly of wealthy interior designers and their clients.
"The caliber of people that come here are very discriminating in their tastes," he says, adding that word also is beginning to spread among the law firms downtown.
Packing them in here is not as necessary as it was for Solano at La Madonna.
"We got a way better deal here," Solano says. "And every day, slowly but surely, we’re picking up."
The restaurant is open 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Mondays-Thursdays, 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays. Reservations are recommended.
Signature dish: Smoked chili crust swordfish, $12
Starters: Ahi tuna tostada, $14; queso flameado, $14; crisp calamari, $12
Soups and salads: Traditional chicken tortilla soup, $7; rose petal salad, $8; poblano chili corn soup, $8
Entrees: Jumbo tiger shrimp diablo, $28; green chili spiced lamb chops, $36; pollo rostizado, $24
Desserts: Mundo signature flan, $7; apple cinnamon crepes with cajeta sauce, $8; rum raisin sauteed banana empanadas, $8
Information: 270-4400
By COREY LEVITAN