What comes to mind when you think of a Mexican eatery? Is it free chips and salsa hitting the table as you peruse a bible-sized menu? Or a cool, salt-rimmed margarita glass meeting your lips? Maybe you envision papel picados hung up and adorned with multicolored strings of lights?
These are all common notions, but the owners of the beloved Sand Dollar Lounge are set on changing that standard with their newest venture, La Casa De Juliette Mexican Cocina. The restaurant is located in Centennial Hills, miles away from their centralized stomping grounds, and for good reason.
“We get inquiries all the time about different areas, whether it be Henderson, Summerlin or the Southwest … none of them felt like a place that really needed the added culture,” says co-owner Nathan Grates. “We saw that [the northwest area] needed love and thought that this was an underserved market when it came to great food and great hospitality.”
Executive chef Eduardo “Lalo” Saavedra, a seasoned kitchen pro with two decades of experience at Charlie Palmer Steak, and culinary development group Honest Hospitality hopped on board to fully craft the team’s vision. Named after co-owner Anthony Jamison’s grandmother Julie Castillo, the new restaurant evokes a sense of familial warmth and tradition with elevated twists.
Visually, the interior design sets you in a Tulum-inspired space with basket lighting fixtures, dark wood details, terracotta-hued walls and hanging greenery galore.
“The bar is made to be like a shrine with gold and copper leaf all over,” Grates adds. “It’s kind of our place of worship—we love drinks and feel that it sets the energy for the rest of the room.”
While we’re talking drinks, co-owner Chase Gordon, who spearheaded the cocktail program at both Sand Dollar locations, has reimagined a number of classic regional Mexican concoctions for La Casa De Juliette. “We found a lot of really great agave spirits outside the realm of tequila and mezcal that we’re going to be introducing to people up here, things like raicilla,” Gordon says. Natural ingredients are the cornerstone of the cocktail offerings, with a large juicer ensuring all fruit extractions remain fresh throughout service.
The food menu is no less impressive. In the same fashion as Jamison’s grandma, the enchiladas are prepared in tray pans rather than individually rolled, each layer meticulously built with house-made sauces and different proteins and cheeses.
“Chef Lalo brings the details that are missed when you’re raised in America. He’s bringing the real Mexican ingredients,” says Jamison. “None of us have ever heard of some of the things Lalo pulled out of his bag of tricks.”
Set to open on July 31, La Casa De Juliette aims to shift the way people look at culinary options in the northwest corner of the Valley. “The menu is condensed to all winners—every dish, down to the rice and the beans has a lot of love and character,” says Grates.
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