Inside MXO, the Mexican Steakhouse From a Pioneer of L.A.’s Taco Scene

Wes Avila may be best known for revolutionizing the taco scene in Los Angeles: At his Guerrilla Tacos, he used his fine-dining training and high-end ingredients to delight diners and command a higher price tag than the $1 tacos Angelenos were used to. At his new restaurant, he’ll be flexing his fine dining muscles in a different way, turning his attention to steak instead of tacos.

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MXO , which opens in West Hollywood on Friday, is a collaboration between Avila, the restaurateur Giancarlo Pagani, and the L.A.-based hospitality company sbe . It’s a Mexican steakhouse inspired by Avila’s travels to Monterrey, with a heavy focus on seasonal California ingredients and wood-fired meats, seafood, and vegetables.

Across the menu, California ingredients are kissed by the fire. To start, there is a grilled cabbage Caesar and roasted squash with mole rojo. Avila’s small plates include a seasonal tlayuda with black beans, mole rojo sprinkled with Oaxaca cheese, and avocado; and lobster ceviche with heirloom tomatoes. Larger dishes, meanwhile, range from whole grilled prawns with a kick of hot sauce to a 20-ounce, bone-in ribeye. And if you really feel like balling out, there’s the $285 birria beef hammer—a whole braised Wagyu beef shank in consome, served with radish, lime, cilantro, and salsas.

The beverage program leans toward craft cocktails, like the boozy MXO Negroni, with rooibos-infused mezcal, amaro, and vermouth. Fruitiness shows up in drinks such as the Pura Candela, featuring chipotle-infused tequila, mango gomme, cilantro, and lime.

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The almost 5,000-square-foot restaurant has enough space for 150 diners across a central dining room, bar and several outdoor patios, which house fire pits for the cool California evenings. The sleek, wood-covered interiors come courtesy of the celebrity designer Jae Omar, who’s worked with everyone from Joe Jonas to Zedd. It’s a far cry from the illegal street cart Avila launched in 2012 that set him on the path to a brick-and-mortar Guerrilla Tacos location (which he departed from during the first year of the pandemic) and to become one of the leaders of Alta California cuisine —a Golden State take on Mexican food.

As a two-time James Beard Award finalist, Avila has had his share of accolades with his restaurants, but this new steakhouse could be his most ambitious offering in L.A. yet.

Click here to see all the images of MXO.

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