La Sandia Mexican Kitchen & Tequila Bar has opened in the new Santa Monica Place mall. The venue, from chef Richard Sandoval and longtime business partner Maestro Placido Domingo, offers modern Mexican cuisine and an extensive tequila bar. It's is the fourth location of La Sandia.
There are 175 seats in the main dining room and 25 for communal dining. A patio lounge has room for 16 seated guests, while the front and side terraces hold 25 each and the bar and lounge seats 50 or holds 60 for cocktails.
Dishes include taqueria-style tacos using handmade soft corn tortillas and fillings like chicken tinga and adobo marinated pork, as well as carne asada over sautéed chile poblano, chimichurri, and chile morita salsa.
La Sandia’s bar includes more than 250 different tequilas and mezcals. Tequila tasting flights and infused tequilas are also available. The cocktail menu offers market-driven Latin cocktails, like Mezcal con Pepino with cucumber, serrano, lime, and chile pequin salt; Horchata Blanco with tequila reposado and horchata; tropical fruit margaritas, mojitos, and sangria; as well as a wide selection of Mexican beers.
Designed by AvroKO, La Sandia has a look done in white stucco, terra cotta, and reclaimed white oak, with views of Third Street Promenade from its balcony and patio. Blue walls and flooring, inspired by the a 16th century palace in Mexico City, are crafted with a pattern of traditional talavera tiles. In the dining room are a bronze fountain and traditional Mexican sculptures beneath an expansive retractable glass skylight.