At Amado, not only does the food tell a story, but the plates do as well.
The soon-to-open downtown Burlingame restaurant is a love note to Mexican cuisine, offering hard-to-find ancestral dishes, including seven mole variations from various regions. Created by Gloria Dominguez, whose first restaurant, opened in 1988, still exists today, and Francisco Perez, the only franchisee of Limon, the ambitious project pairs regional food on plates made in that region.
“I just can’t put my beautiful food on a regular plate,” Dominguez said. “It has to look authentic.”
Dominguez grew up on a farm in Guadalajara, Jalisco, and has been cooking since she was 10 years old. While initially hesitant to open a restaurant (she feared cooking in larger quantities would muddy her flavors), her first was a massive success: Taqueria Salsa in Antioch, a 38-year institution. In 2005, she opened Tamarindo Antojeria Mexicana in downtown Oakland, which had an impressive 15 year run before it ultimately closed during the pandemic. (Dominguez’s daughter, Adriana Dominguez-Porter, is the owner of Tal Palo in Los Altos.)
It was at Dominguez’s restaurant where she met customer Perez and the vision of Amado – meaning “beloved” – was born.
“I was a big fan (of Dominguez’s food),” said Perez, who owns the Limon right across the street from Amado. “I always wanted to open up something that was authentic, not the usual stuff like burritos.”
Dominguez said she’s most excited about her moles, including mole negro from Oaxaca (charred chiles, dark Mexican chocolate, nuts, seeds and spices), guava mole from Aguascalientes (made with plaintains, green apples and piloncillo) and even pink mole from Guerrero (made with white chocolate, nuts, beets and yellow chiles).
Standout dishes include goat birria, tacos with Australian wagyu ribeye and chiles en nogada, a dish of roasted poblano peppers filled with ground meat and fruit and topped with a creamy walnut sauce and garnished with pomegranate seeds and parsley, symbolizing the Mexican flag. Most entrees will be priced around $25-$35, according to Perez.
Dominguez imports heirloom corn from Mexico and grinds it in-house into masa, to be used for various purposes including making tortillas atole. Atole is a comforting Mexican beverage made by thickening milk with masa and flavored with seasonal fruits.
For dessert, expect chocolate tamales, coconut flan and Mexican bread pudding. Amado’s menu is seasonal, with new items switching in every six months, and much of the curation is driven by nostalgia.
“(You’ll see) things that I miss eating from Mexico,” Dominguez said. “It makes me happy to be able to cook more stuff that is also going to make everybody else happy to be able to taste.”
Gibran Garcia, the corporate bar manager of the Mina Group, leads the bar program at Amado and incorporates ingredients from the kitchen into classic cocktails. For example, find a martini made with ingredients typically used in salse verde. Also expect a carajillo on the menu – a popular Mexican cocktail made of espresso and Licor 43, a Spanish citrus and herbal liqueur.
A selection of beer and wine will be imported from Mexico, as well as local wines from Mexican American-owned wineries including Robledo Family Winery and Ceja Vineyards in Sonoma.
Dominguez’s son, Alfonso, runs the interior design studio, StenStudio, that transformed the restaurant from the former space of Flights. At the center of the space is a jacaranda tree (while the trunks are real, the leaves are fake), an homage to Mexico City, where the trees are prevalent and bloom purple flowers.
A large white round art piece made of husks from Caralarga, a Mexican design studio, hangs on the wall and is a contemporary take on the Aztec calendar. Tiles are imported from Mexico, and hand-blown glass chandeliers hang from the ceiling. Ceramic lamps from Los Angeles-based Entler are dispersed throughout the space. The space has a seating capacity of 135 plus an additional 50 outside.
“Wherever you sit, you’re gonna have some visual candy,” Alfonso said.
Amado’s owners expect to open the restaurant in March, beginning with dinner service and later adding lunch and brunch options.
“Our goal is to bring something fresh and new and sexy to the area,” Perez said. “Make them feel they’re in different regions of Mexico.”
Amado, 1100 Burlingame Ave., Burlingame; Instagram: @amado_burlingame. Beginning in March, open daily from 5-10:30 p.m.
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