Crepes, caipirinhas and a ‘volcanic kitchen’: Coachella Valley restaurant and bar news
May is almost certainly the best-kept secret in the desert. In fact, it might just be the best desert month of them all.
Sure, March and April may get the crowds and accompanying craziness, but true desert rats know those months always just end up being spent complaining about and avoiding the hordes of spring breakers and too-cool-for-school Coachella kids. May, in contrast, is locals' time to shine, baby.
First, there’s space to breathe again, thanks to the departure of the last hungover Stagecoach cowboy and the wimpy snowbirds who head north at the first mention of triple-digit temps.
And while May definitely sees the mercury do some climbing, the temps are generally comfortable more often than not, especially when compared to the absolute oven that awaits us in just a few short weeks (OK, fine, we’re hoping it's at least a few weeks). It all adds up to a great time to hit the town, which makes it particularly fitting that so many new restaurants and bars opened up in April.
Whether you’re seeking a quiet night out with your beau, a rowdy spot to watch the Lakers in the playoffs (er, I guess the Dodgers in the regular season — sorry about the early playoff out, Lakers fans) or to simply gorge yourself silly on unlimited servings of over a dozen different cuts of meat, you’ll find a place to do it among our list of the latest openings.
Just don’t delay too long: We all know that when the real heat comes, there’s an increasingly good chance the only restaurant food you’ll be eating will be coming via DoorDash.
Openings in Palm Springs
Tony’s Grill & Bar, 665 South Palm Canyon Drive, Palm Springs
For fans of Tony’s Burgers in Cathedral City, visiting its new sister spot in Palm Springs will be a bit like viewing one of their favorites through a funhouse mirror. The burger-centric menu is recognizable, but notably different thanks to the addition of dinner dishes such as ribeye steaks, seafood and chicken piccata.
The digs are also spiffier (the old Pete’s Hideaway space went through an extensive renovation), while the drink menu is heavier on martinis and other higher end cocktails. Owner Jose Cuevas has also said there are plans to use a smaller bar area in the back for private events such as drag shows.
Churrasco Brazilian Steakhouse, 450 South Palm Canyon Drive, Palm Springs
The former Woody’s Palm House space is now a haven for carnivores with the opening of this new Brazilian steakhouse. If you’ve never been (and if you have, it was probably outside the Coachella Valley) then know you should come hungry and expect a rather unique experience courtesy of the waiters who go from table carrying slabs of meat, chicken and lamb which are sliced tableside.
Most customers will likely opt for the full Rodizio dinner ($61) or lunch ($44, available only on weekends) which includes as many cuts of the restaurant’s 15 meats as one can eat, plus unlimited access to the market table, which offers a variety of salads, cheeses and side dishes.
There’s also a market table only option that allows one to skip the meats (but who would want to?) for $42 on weekends and $36 during the week. Wines, cocktails (caipirinhas are the Brazilian specialty) and a lengthy dessert menu are available at extra charge.
El Tacogaldo Tacos and Cerveza, 231 East Tahquitz Canyon Way, Palm Springs
This small storefront near downtown Palm Springs has a new tenant following the quick closure of the Mexican dessert shop that opened there last year. But this time around, the new owners are bringing some serious experience to the space as they also own local Mexican mainstays El Patio and Felipe’s.
As you’d probably expect, the focus here seems to be squarely on tacos and beer. The eastern wall is dominated by a large map of Mexico showing where the various taco varieties served here originate.
Pastelistos and More, 186 South Sunrise Way, Palm Springs
Shellfish is out and Latin American puff pastries are in at this space on the edge of a Palm Springs strip mall (the former home of Snow & Crab). As the name suggests, the menu features several varieties of pastelistos, a pastry similar to empanadas that comes stuffed with either savory meat or sweet fruit fillings.
Not sure how pastelistos differ from their other stuffed cousins? This is as good a place as any to find out as the menu also includes empanadas and arepas (fried dough pockets stuffed with meat, cheese and other fillings). Patacones (fried plantains), tequeños (cheese sticks) and several Latin American juice drinks and desserts round out the offerings.
Openings in west and mid-valley
DJ’s Sports Bar and Grill, 34331 Date Palm Drive, Cathedral City
With the NBA and NHL playoffs in full swing and the MLB season starting to heat up, it feels like this new Cathedral City sports bar opened at just the right time. But while the plentiful TVs and pool tables will surely make those who frequent sports bars feel at home, the menu goes beyond their typical convention.
Sure, there are wings, burgers and appetizers like loaded fries and mozzarella sticks. But you’ll also find several options you won’t at most other local watering holes: street tacos, Korean BBQ chicken drumettes and a list of Mexican seafood specialties that includes charred octopus and agualiche (a raw seafood dish). The beer menu, which includes 60 draft beers and 30 bottled ones, is also nothing to sneeze at.
Volcanic Fusion Kitchen, Inside the food court at The Shops at Palm Desert mall
Anyone who has spent much time wandering among the Sbarro and pretzel stalls that make up the typical mall food court doesn't expect to find ribs or roasted chicken. But that’s what you’ll find at this unique new stand inside Palm Desert’s indoor mall.
The “fusion” in the restaurant’s name seems to be less a reference to dishes that blend multiple types of cuisine than to the sheer variety of items on the menu. There’s kebabs, salads, shrimp, an array of sandwiches and even a sautee consisting of a mix of chicken, steak and vegetables served with rice and fries on the side.
Openings in east valley
Gabino’s Creperie East, 82868 Miles Avenue, Indio
Tucked into the side of a stretch of businesses along the “curve” in Palm Canyon Drive in south Palm Springs, the crepes served out of the Gabino’s window might just have been that city’s best-kept secret. But the secret started to get out when the window was visited by Guy Fieri in a 2022 episode of his show “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.”
Now, Indio is getting in on the game with its own Gabino’s along the burgeoning restaurant row developing along its downtown Miles Avenue corridor. Unlike the Palm Springs space, this Gabino’s isn’t merely a window, but a restaurant with indoor dining space.
And don’t show up expecting Nutella and accented waiters in berets. These hulking, savory crepes have a decidedly American twist and come with toppings like Buffalo chicken and Philly steak that make us think of them more as sandwiches served on crepes than what you would find at la crêperie ordinaire.
Italica, 82867 Miles Avenue, Indio
While downtown Indio has been home to no shortage of restaurant openings in recent weeks, none exemplifies the degree to which the area is quickly evolving into a vibrant — and dare we say, hip — hotspot for all sorts of diners (and drinkers) quite like Italica.
The artsy black-and-white photos, old timey mirrors and unique light fixtures that decorate the moody, dimly lit interior combine to create the kind of strong vibe that you might expect to see somewhere like Palm Springs, or perhaps even LA or New York.Then there’s the food and drink offerings, which combine unique spins on a variety of cocktails with a roster of Italian dishes that includes both pastas and shareable tapas, including calamari, a daily crudo (sliced raw fish) and a dish consisting of meatballs served in cheese and sauce.
Other bites of news
It appears tapas are replacing Tracy Turco on the north side of downtown Palm Springs. One half of the high-profile space that housed the controversial former Palm Springs socialite and clothing designer’s short-lived Modernism Museum is being replaced by Alana Bar and Tapas. There does not yet seem to be any sign of a new tenant for the larger neighboring space.
A new sushi restaurant called Ponzu Sushi appears to be in the works for the space that formerly housed Stout Burgers and Beers at the base of the Rowan Hotel in downtown Palm Springs, according to a liquor license application notice affixed to the window.
A public notice posted in the window of Blaze Pizza in downtown Palm Springs states that new owners have purchased the fast-casual pizza spot. While a section for the business name on the sign is filled in with “TBD,” employees inside the restaurant said they have been told the new owners intend to keep Blaze in the space for now.
The owners of the existing K-Pop Pink Store inside The Shops at Palm Desert are getting into the restaurant game with K-Pop Foods Korean Street Foodz. An Instagram post explains that the new restaurant will be located at 35400 Date Palm Drive in Cathedral City, the former home of the whimsically named hot-dog joint Weenee Roadhouse.
Developer and designer Teddy Lee recently told The Desert Sun about multiple new bar projects he has in the works. One is a beer and wine garden planned for a city-owned building in downtown Coachella called The Roaster, which he said will showcase Mexican beer and wine and should be open in a couple of months. The other is a new rooftop bar in the former dentist space at 180 South Palm Canyon Drive in Palm Springs that he said should be done around the end of the year.
A man on the move
It would be hard to find someone with more going on in the Coachella Valley restaurant space than restaurateur and chef Jon Merchain. He announced in a series of videos posted to Instagram that he is closing Lay’Vince, the unique deli and grocery store concept he opened off Palm Canyon Drive last year. But he's far from done.
Merchain explains in the videos that he had never intended to operate the business there long-term but instead wanted to prove the viability of Lay’Vince, which he thinks is best suited for locations inside hotels. However, Merchain said he now has plans to reopen inside the existing Supreme Caffeine coffee shop in Indio. The original Lay’Vince space, meanwhile, will be replaced by a new deli run by a couple that he said he will unveil more information about in coming days.
At the same time, Merchain recently unveiled a new venture called Ray’s Trays that is operating out of the Fireside Lounge near Palm Springs International Airport. Similar to Lay’Vince, Ray’s Trays seems to serve different items on different days, with tacos, pasta and breakfast fare being some of the recent offerings. Merchain has been keeping his Instagram page, @merchaincatering, updated with announcements about the latest offerings.
Paul Albani-Burgio covers growth, development and business in the Coachella Valley. Follow him on Twitter at @albaniburgiop and email him at paul.albani-burgio@desertsun.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: 8 new restaurants in Palm Springs and the Coachella Valley
