Introducing El Santo Restaurant, Taqueria and Don Diablo, a tequila speakeasy. Both neighborhood staple and nightlife destination, El Santo is a lively addition to Calle Ocho as part of Little Havana’s ongoing revival.
El Santo Taqueria embodies the colorful revelry of Lucha Libre culture and the distinct pleasure of Mexican food in its ideal form.
El Santo Restaurant invites guests to worship at the altar of food and drink with a delectable menu of sharable plates featuring Asian, Peruvian and Latin influences. Walking through the massive wooden hacienda front doors into the dining room feels like stepping into an abandoned church that’s now been resurrected as a stylish ode to cocktails and lively dining. A lounge is outfitted with cushy leather-studded couches with an antique chapel piano serving as the DJ booth. The formal 80-seat dining room offers banquette seating beneath a grotto-like ceiling with draping vines and greenery. An intimate private dining room is ensconced within red velvet drapes. Guests can expect impromptu Mariachi’s, musical performers and lively entertainment throughout the evening.
Further inside is a covert door that leads to Don Diablo, a cavernous bar decked out in funky Day of the Dead-inspired decor that sets the vibe at this offbeat cantina with an elite collection of mezcal and tequila. With a DJ booth set behind a wooden coffin, wood beam ceiling covered in vines and cheeky murals depicting Día de los Muertos-style skeletons and skulls decorate this secretive Mexican roadhouse-style bar straddling the line between sinners and saints.