A new restaurant blending Mexican and Filipino cooking is getting ready to open its doors at 2162 Rockwell Ave. in downtown Cleveland, taking over a completely renovated space in the heart of Old Chinatown. Mestizo Kitchen and Café, owned by Jessie Mendoza and Armando Llamas, plans to serve Filipino classics, Mexican bakery favorites, and a fusion menu the owners are calling Mexipino.
Look for Mestizo Kitchen to open in the coming weeks, according to Cleveland Scene. Mendoza told the outlet the restaurant will showcase Filipino favorites, popular Mexican foods, and a blend of both cuisines, a fusion she described as the heart of the concept.
A Menu Built on Two Culinary Traditions
On the Filipino side, the menu is expected to include classics such as lechon kawali and a kamayan feast, a traditional hands-on dining experience. The report also notes that possible fusion dishes might include birria-stuffed lumpia served with a consommé dipping sauce, as well as chicken adobo-stuffed burritos, though those specific items have not been confirmed as finalized menu offerings.
Mornings will look different from the rest of the day. The restaurant will function as a neighborhood café, serving Mexican-style breads and pastries alongside Filipino cheese bread and coffee drinks, per the same report.
Why Old Chinatown
Mendoza explained the choice of location by pointing out that the Philippines is in Asia, and that the restaurant sits close to downtown Cleveland, a detail she shared with Cleveland Scene. The address places Mestizo Kitchen squarely within Old Chinatown, on the same Rockwell Avenue block that has seen a round of turnover in recent months.
That turnover includes the space itself. Mestizo Kitchen is replacing Sichuan Hot Pot, which had operated on Rockwell Avenue since opening in 2019 before closing this past spring. A staffer at the time attributed the closure to slow business, telling Cleveland Scene, “Business is slow.” The interior has been completely redone since that Chinese restaurant closed, according to the outlet's more recent reporting.
New Neighbors on the Block
Mestizo Kitchen won't be the only recent addition to the stretch. Spice Spring, a Cantonese dim sum and Szechuan restaurant, opened on March 5 at 2136 Rockwell Avenue, according to Cleveland.com. The restaurant occupies a historic building with an ornate dining room featuring massive chandeliers, gold accents, and space for more than 200 customers at a time, including private dining areas, the outlet reported.
Before Sichuan Hot Pot shut down, it had already been joined by newcomer Spice Spring on the very same block, Cleveland Scene noted in its coverage of the closure. With Mestizo Kitchen now moving into the old Sichuan Hot Pot footprint, the block is shaping up as a small hub of culinary change within Cleveland's historic Chinatown corridor.
