The decor at El Sacromonte, Livermore’s newest restaurant was inspired by its namesake in Guadalajara, Mexico
After months of renovations, Livermore has a new upscale gourmet Mexican restaurant on First Street. The co-owner of the new restaurant, Juan Delgadillo runs a string of successful restaurants in Mexico. El Sacromonte in Guadalajara, Mexico is the restaurant from which the new Livermore restaurant takes its name, menu, and inspiration.
My sister Nancy, daughter Laina, and I had lunch at El Sacromonte a couple of weeks ago. We enjoyed the eclectic decor that includes whimsical paintings and figurines, nontraditional lighting, and artifacts from Mexico. The tables, chairs, and a large wine rack are all made of dark hardwood. Three clocks above the bar (another full bar in Livermore folks!) keep the guests on track with the time in Guadalajara, Livermore, and New York. The dining room is fairly large and can accommodate large groups for lunch or dinner.
Whimsical paintings and . . . . . .
. . . . . whimsical figurines
A few of the artifacts from Mexico
The large dining room can accommodate large groups
Three clocks keep the guests on track with the time in Guadalajara, Livermore, and New York
Nontraditional lighting provides light in the dining room
Instead of the tortilla chips we are accustomed to in Mexican restaurants here in California, a basket of warm bread was brought to our table shortly after being seated. The food we were served was all very well presented and well-seasoned. Most of the food was not spicy hot, and the food that was spicy was not over the top. My favorite was the rib eye tacos, which was a sliced rib eye steak served with small corn tortillas, salsa, guacamole, cilantro, and chopped onion. To finish off our lunch we tried the Natilla Mexicana, which is a Mexican version of crème brulee. It was served warm, which is how crème brulee can be served. However, it was a bit watery–but it tasted very good. We had coffee with dessert and the coffee was very good as well. Two things I would have liked to have seen different was instead of serving the cream for coffee in the individual plastic Mini Moo containers, the cream would have been better presented in a small creamer. The Mini Moos remind me of dining at IHOP. Also, the too cold butter pats came in the gold individually wrapped papers and should be whipped and served in a glass container.
The service the day we were there was spotty. There were only two other tables occupied in the restaurant and the servers appeared to be confused as to whom was responsible for our table. After waiting way too long, we had to flag someone down to order and to get our check.
Diners are served warm bread
Aztec Tortilla Soup – Traditional tortilla soup served with fried tortilla strips, panela cheese, avocado and pasilla chiles
La Chava Shrimp – Large shrimp prepared in a 12 dry-chile sauce with a touch of garlic
Comala Stuffed Avocado – Half avocado stuffed with hearts of palm and shrimp, served with black pepper and hard-boiled egg vinaigrette
Rib Eye Tacos – Rib eye fajitas served in a bed of tortilla accompanied with cilantro, guacamole and onion
Natilla Mexicana – A Mexican version of crème brulee
Overall, we enjoyed our experience and the food at the El Sacromonte and I would definitely go back. However, I hope the rest of Livermore is ready for an upscale gourmet Mexican restaurant.
Buena comida, buena carne, buen Dios, vamos a comer!
~merry~