Mexican and Japanese fusion restaurant Hermanito opened a location in Santa Monica on Aug. 1.
The Mexican-Japanese fusion restaurant and bar has come a long way since the March 2020 opening of the original location on Sawtelle, days before the world shut down. Five years later, Hermanito opened at the former Swingers location at 802 Broadway. Co-owner Stephanie Lin said she wanted to revive the neighborhood location and bring the community in.
“Years and years ago, that’s where in my 20s I would go there after a night out having fun, and go there to have a late night meal with friends,” she said. “That’s what we really wanted to do, was to have the restaurant be a local, neighborhood spot.”
Originally founded by co-owner Amal Flores, the restaurant brings together a tapestry of Los Angeles cultures by blending Mexican and Japanese cuisine.
“The whole genesis of it was because we opened Hermanito on Sawtelle and it’s a very Japanese neighborhood. So the concept was well received as two of the most popular cuisines in L.A. and the fusion just really enabled us to expand on our offering and also create new concepts,” she added. “It’s really nice to be able to walk in and see people with scallop hand rolls, and then with guac and chips on the table with some birria tacos with Japanese whiskey and Mexican tequila.”
Menu highlights include the charred octopus ensalada featuring an adobo marinade and Fresno chiles along with a sesame dressing and frisée. The pork katsu features a chorizo gravy accompanied by charred lemon, greens and a honey-chipotle lettuce. The restaurant also features a full-service bar with an array of Mexican tequilas, Japanese whiskeys, both Mexican and Japanese beers, and sake.
In addition to an expanded wine list, Hermanito added a raw bar to the Santa Monica location, featuring halibut and bluefin locally sourced from Four Star Seafood. Operating so close to the ocean, the addition made sense.
“Because we’re close to the ocean, and in the spirit of Santa Monica, we wanted to have a broader seafood offering,” Lin added. “We offer oysters and crab and just your standard raw bar fare, and then we put our twist on it. We have sauces that our chef has created to reflect both the Mexican and Japanese spirit.”
Featuring a bar, lounge, dining room and banquet area – the restaurant is equipped to serve any group, Lin said, with the goal of becoming a place where people can come in for any occasion and enjoy themselves. Lin also said that opening in Santa Monica has been much smoother, as opening days before the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown was about as challenging a way to open a restaurant as possible. She credits the perseverance of the restaurant’s leadership for how they’ve been able to remain open. But more than anything, she said, she hopes Hermanito in Santa Monica can become a beloved neighborhood hangout like the bar in “Cheers.”
“We just really want people to come in for a bit of joy and happiness and just to relax,” Lin said.
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By SAM MULICK