It's been about a year since Souvla opened its doors on Hayes Street. And today, April 1st, the popular Greek restaurant has announced that is has undergone a serious rebranding into a "smart-casual Mexican taqueria". Meet La Souvlaria, Hayes Valley's latest go-to for Mexican wraps, salads, and margaritas.
The restaurant announced the changes in a press release distributed this morning. Owner Charles Bililies has overseen the restaurant's redesign, and states "this is a business decision. Not a personal one. There’s simply more demand for Mexican. We’re excited to adapt what everyone loved about Souvla—to a cuisine that is even more widely-popular than Greek. Who doesn’t love tacos, chips and guac, and margaritas?”
Chef Tony Cervone supports the change. “It’s official. ¡Yo soy el jefe! Honestly, the techniques and flavor profiles are not that far from what I’ve trained for over a decade to cook... It’s a lot like Greek with a kick of jalapeño.”
Today's new menu items include taco or salad versions of American Homestead Pork Carnitas, Lamb Leg Adobo, and Roasted Sweet Potatoes with cumin crema, black beans, pepitos, cilantro, pickled red onion, and Mexican shredded cheese. (Here's La Souvlaria's new menu.)
As for the opening day festivities, a familiar face will be making an appearance around lunchtime. Johnny Appleseed, the donkey starring in San Francisco Ballet's production of Don Quixote, will attend the inaugural celebrations, though he'd like to be referred to as "Juan" for the duration of today. Keep an eye out for this four-legged celebrity during today's lunch hour, as well as live mariachi from 7pm-9pm.
La Souvlaria will be open from 11am to 10pm today for its new array of tacos, salads, nachos, and frozen yogurt, and if you'd like to check out the new menu, we recommend doing so today (hint, hint).
