La Mesa Opens in Bryn Mawr with Ecuadorian-Inspired Food

The long, slim restaurant at 230 Cedar Lake Road South in Minneapolis’ Bryn Mawr restaurant is now called La Mesa. The new venture comes from Juan Yunga and Ann Carlson-Yunga, a couple who met 19 years ago while working at the Nicollet Island Inn. Yunga is the chef, using the large wood-fire oven that dominates the room to serve food inspired by his upbringing in Cuenca, Ecuador. That means mahi-mahi tacos, guajillo spiced wings, half chickens roasted in that oven and served with choloula aioli, ceviche and more.

In addition to a beer and wine list, there is also a selection of non-alcohol drinks like Andean flower tea, traditionally made with amaranth flowers, lime and sugar; and Fioravanti, an Ecuadorian strawberry soda that’s said to be one of the world’s first commercial sodas, according to a profile on the couple in the Southwest Journal.

La Mesa is open Tuesday through Sunday for lunch and dinner.

• La Mesa Opens with Bryn Mawr Neighborhood Roots [SWJ]
• La Mesa [WEB]