Tahona Brings Modern Mexican Food And A Proper Mezcal Tasting Room To San Diego

by Mike Cooch

Tahona is about to open it’s doors in Old Town, and we’re big fans! The recently announced mezcal bar and tasting room opens on Tuesday, November 13 with a special Tahona Taco Tuesday that welcomes all to explore south-of-the-border specialty tacos, modern Mexican cuisine and drink specials while raising funds to benefit the very communities from which mezcal and tequila originate.

Tahona’s opening makes San Diego home to one of the country’s few proper mezcal tasting rooms, with more than 120 varieties of the agave-based spirit and creative cocktails like the Whaley House Punch(mezcal, lime, pineapple, salted watermelon, Campari, Absinthe), Campo Santo (mezcal, lime, passion fruit, Cointreau, agave syrup, coconut water) and many more concoctions like the Bien Picado andJimador’s Dream – all available on opening day, with a range of drink specials to be offered.

Tahona’s rustic yet refined design is imbued with a sense of exotic wanderlust through features including authentic Oaxacan elements, oversized Spanish archways leading into the mezcal tasting room, hand painted tiles, Mexican rope seats and large rattan lights overhead. Vintage furniture curated by Tahona’s founders and hand troweled clay walls will round out the aesthetic.

It’s a style that adds a new swagger to Old Town, balancing some of the more tourist-oriented restaurants with a sophistication and authenticity that we think is going to attract more locals to the neighborhood regularly.

Located next door to Old Town’s historic Cemetery of El Campo Santo, Tahona’s Taco Tuesday takes place from 5 p.m. to midnight and invites guests to feast on Tahona’s modern Mexican menu including gourmet tacos like Pork Belly Quemado (seared pork belly, mole negro, habanero pickled, onions, smoked apple puree, and cilantro crema) and a revisited Chicken Tinga (chicken, chipotle, green onions, queso fresco, and cilantro crema), Baja favorites like Scallops Aguachile and Pulpo Negro, a modern Tres Moles tasting flight and Churro S’mores with chocolate ganache and lightly charred fluff. Tahona will donate $1 for every taco sold on November 13 to Corazon de Vida, a 501C3 nonprofit that supports ten orphanages throughout Baja California, and whose San Diego chapter was founded by Tahona’s owner, Amar Harrag.

Tahona is located at 2414 San Diego Avenue and open daily from 5 p.m. to midnight. Stay tuned for future events including mezcal medications, spoken word nights and mezcal-centric group trips to Baja and Oaxaca by visiting www.tahonabar.com and following along on Instagram at @tahonamezcal.

See you there! A lot.