Coastal Mexican Cuisine

Zazil, pronounced “zah-ZEEL,” comes from the Mayan word, sáasil, which means “clarity.” The clarity, lightness and openness of Mexico’s coastline are interpreted on the menu in an unusual but tantalizing way by Executive Chef Rocío Gómez. Chef Rocío brings her wealth of culinary experience from Mexico City (including cooking for Mexico’s President Vicente Fox Quezada and his family) and mixes it with her homeland’s traditional recipes and the “presence of grandmothers who left their recipes imprinted in our memory,” serving cuisine that is at once authentic to coastal Mexico and unique to the San Francisco restaurant scene.

The appetizers at Zazil instantly tempt with a blend of bold and adventurous flavors and ingredients indispensable in Mexican kitchens. Diners will find more sophisticated creations such as the Chipachole de Cangrejo, a spicy soup made with crab and four kinds of peppers, Tiradito de Pulpo, octopus carpaccio with sea salt, olive oil, lime juice and chile piquín, or the Panuchos, handmade tortillas, lightly fried and filled with black bean puree, Yucatan-style smoked fish, red onion escabeche and xni-pec salsa. Main dishes, which take patrons on a splendid trip along the coast of Mexico, boast the fresh seafood, shellfish and the other prevalent ingredients of Mexican cooking – tomatillos, jicama, chocolate, spices and the like. The mouthwatering results include the fresh, flavorful Empipianada de Camarón, sautéed shrimp wrapped in fresh corn tortillas, smothered in a green mole of avocado and fig leaves, pumpkins seeds, tomatillos, nuts and spices, or the Ravioles Mexicanos de Langosta, lobster ravioli in creamy shallot and chipotle sauce. Dinner prices range from $10-18 for appetizers and $18-$26 for entrees.

Not to be missed are the over three hundred premium 100% agave Tequilas displayed on the bar’s glass shelves. Indulge in “lo mejor de lo mejor” (the best of the best) with choices like Oro de Jalisco Especial Edition, aged for nine years and one of the best “artesanal” tequilas, or the Tres, Quatro, Cinco Gran Reserva Añejo, a special family blend of three añejo Tequilas with only 1,000 bottles made. Side by side the exceptional tequila selection is the list of refreshing specialty cocktails, many highlighting the celebrated agave. There are also a variety of Mojitos available: Apple, Mango Vanilla, Raspberry and Strawberry, all made with flavored Bacardi Rum and fruit purees.

Basil Lemonade is a Zazil favorite: Fresh basil muddled with lemon pieces and shaken with Ketel One Citroen served on the rocks. The non-alcoholic version of that drink is also a best seller.

Coastal Mexican Setting

Zazil’s design simultaneously matches the sophistication of the menu with the style of its shopping surroundings and an expansiveness that suggests a coastal Mexican setting. Designer Charles Thompson, of Thompson Planning & Design in Larkspur, Calif., created a relaxed yet stylish environment, using a color palette of cool and warm whites and a multitude of blues – aquamarine, cobalt, cerulean and turquoise. Pillowed booths and banquettes flank the main interior dining area over a beautiful yellow Fiorito Dorado stone floor, awash under the intoxicating natural light of the great rotunda’s atrium overhead. The open front of the restaurant enhances the outdoor feel with a view into the restaurant that guides the eye all the way back to the bustling exhibition cookline. Details such as a handmade bamboo ceiling filtering in light overhead and hand-wrought steel railings resembling woven blades of grass, the light alder wood of the bar and the handmade metal fish seemingly swimming along on the wall over the booth round out the coastal Mexican setting of Zazil. The result is a sophisticated dining experience reminiscent of a culinary adventure along the coast of the Mexican Caribbean.

Zazil is owned and operated by Eduardo and Sylvia Rallo’s Resmex, the owner-operators of San Francisco’s successful Colibrí Mexican Bistro and the popular Consuelo and Thea Mediterranean restaurants in San Jose’s Santana Row. Located on the fourth floor of the Westfield San Francisco Centre at 845 Market Street, Zazil is open every day for lunch, from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., and serves dinner every day, starting at 3 p.m