Born in Mexico City, Puesto Comes to OC

If you’ve ever been to Puesto in San Diego or La Jolla, you’ll be excited about the new Puesto that just opened in Irvine at Los Olivos Marketplace. Puesto is known for its Mexico City-style tacos created by Executive Chef/Partner Luisteen Gonzalez who hails from Mexico City. The concept also pays tribute to Mexico City’s vibrant modern architecture, design and culture.

Chef Gonzalez, along with executive creative chef Katy Smith source local ingredients to create Puesto’s signature tacos made with crispy melted cheese, freshly made salsas, and tortillas made in-house using organic, non-GMO, blue corn masa sourced from local purveyor, Kernel of Truth.

Puesto’s menu is designed so that you can mix and match specialty tacos such as the Filet Mignon Taco with crispy melted cheese, avocado & spicy pistachio serrano salsa, Chicken Al Pastor Taco with crispy melted cheese, hibiscus & chipotle tinga, avocado & piña habanero pico, vegetarian options such as the Zucchini & Cactus Taco with crispy melted cheese, zucchini, corn, tomato, cactus, avocado & cilantro-tomatillo, and sustainable seafood options like the Tamarindo Shrimp Tacos with crispy tamarindo-chile shrimp nestled in guacamole & cilantro.

Puesto also offers an array of original guacamoles and shareable plates, such as the Puesto Perfect Guacamole with Parmigiano-Reggiano and Crab Guacamole with lump crab meat. Other starters include fresh seafood options such as the Striped Bass Tiradito, in a spicy guava broth & sesame oil, accented with avocado, pickled manzano chiles & sea beans, and the Coctel Campechana, a seafood cocktail of local fish, shrimp, octopus & avocado, finished with tajin roasted peanuts.

There’s also a handful of larger plates such as the traditional Carnitas Plate with fresh nopales salad and the Filet Mignon Asada with chimichurri, grilled onions, salsa quemada, nopalitos, and housemade tortillas.

For dessert, Pastry Chef Jessica Scott creates seasonal, modern interpretations of traditional Mexican desserts such as Tres Leches de Café with mascarpone whip, café anglaise & fresh strawberry.

Puesto’s extensive drink menu includes nearly 50 kinds of tequila and mezcal, 12 local and Mexican beers on draft, six wines on tap and specialty cocktails made with freshly squeezed juices and house-made liqueurs and sodas. Popular libations include the Puesto Perfect Margarita with blue agave reposado tequila, lime & agave nectar, El Mezcalito with Vida mezcal, Guanabana, tamarindo, lime & charred orange and La Rosita with house-made strawberry-cilantro infused vodka, lemon & cane sugar.

Non-alcoholic options include refreshing agua frescas made from scratch daily and frozen horchata, of which Puesto donates $1 of each sale to a rotating charity as part of its Horchata for a Cause program.

Open 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily.

Puesto is at 8577 Irvine Center Drive a Los Olivos Marketplace in Irvine. 949.608.9990.