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Burma Love was the first restaurant to land at Springline. On June 11, it debuted a new concept at the Menlo Park development, cementing itself as the final addition to a now full list of restaurant tenants.
“It’s funny because we were the first one, and now we are the last one,” said Humberto Galeano, bar director at Burma Food Group.
Located next to Barebottle Brewing, Alisios is a contemporary Mexican restaurant and bar from the team behind Burmese restaurants such as Burma Superstar, Burma Love, Teakwood and Kayah. Executive chef Carlos Villegas and sous chef Renee Gomez developed a menu that draws on flavors from Oaxaca and Baja, with many recipes from Villegas’ family.
“The birria is my grandmother’s recipe, and most of the stuff, like the salsa macha, is my mom’s recipe,” Villegas said. “I can only do so much without their knowledge, because their knowledge has been passed down for generations.”
The dry-aged prime flap steak (arrachera) with roasted cactus salsa, mezcal veal reduction, pickled onion petals and corn purée is one of executive chef Carlos Villegas’ favorite dishes at Alisios in Menlo Park ($41.75). Photo by Seeger Gray. 
Queso fundido with melted Oaxaca quesillo, squash blossom, grilled chorizo and huitlacoche at Alisios in Menlo Park ($17.75). Photo by Seeger Gray. 
Sweet corn tuile, buttery corn, popcorn cream, queso panela, chili oil and lime zest ($16.75) at Alisios in Menlo Park. Photo by Seeger Gray.
The Alisios space was originally planned to be Mírame, but the deal was terminated, said Burma Food Group founder Desmond Tan. About five months after the termination, Presidio Bay Ventures, which owns Springline, approached the Burma Food Group asking if it was interested in opening a Mexican restaurant in its place.
“We knew what the public might say about a Burmese food group opening a Mexican restaurant,” Tan said. “So we learned a lot about Mexico, Mexico culture and history, and wanted to make sure that the food is authentic.”
A server takes orders at the beginning of the friends and family dinner during the pre-opening friends and family dinner June 9 at Alisios in Menlo Park. Photo by Seeger Gray. 
People dine outdoors during the friends and family dinner during the pre-opening friends and family dinner June 9 at Alisios in Menlo Park. Photo by Seeger Gray.
Tan hired Villegas, who grew up in Tijuana, to spearhead Alisios’ menu. Villegas’ previous experience includes The Ritz-Carlton, Marriott Marquis, Palisades Hospitality Group and now-closed Lira under celebrity chef Tucker Ricchio.
“Growing up cooking with my grandma and my mom, they taught me everything that I know about Mexican cuisine,” Villegas said. “The stuff that I grew up with, I wanted to bring it over here.”
Some of Villegas’ favorite dishes on the menu are the smoked oyster, served on an edible shell made from squid ink and topped with warm poblano cream, Oaxaca cheese foam and citrus oil ($19.75 for three); a torchon of hamachi and shrimp served with three kinds of aguachile — squid ink, green serrano citrus and smoked red chili ($23.75); duck breast with black mole, corn ash and seasonal vegetables ($41.75); and dry-aged prime flap steak with roasted cactus salsa, mezcal veal reduction and corn puree ($41.75).
Villegas also created the dessert menu, noting that the sweet corn cake is his wife Andrea’s recipe. The cake is accompanied by huitlacoche and cinnamon whipped cream, corn crumble, lime meringue and piloncillo sugar caramel ($14.75).
Villegas’ favorite cocktail on the menu is the elote old fashioned, made from grilled corn-infused bourbon, corn liqueur and bitters ($18).
“The elote old fashioned is one of the best things I’ve tried,” he said. “Old fashioned is my drink, but the elote old-fashioned, I’m addicted to it. They’re gonna have to cut me off.”
Burma Food Group bar director Galeano, who grew up in Honduras, said creating Alisios’ bar program felt very natural, as Honduras and Mexico share a similar food culture.
“I’ve been in this position for about three years, and to make a menu for Burma Love, at the beginning was a little tricky,” he said. “Now when I come to Alisios, this is my comfort zone. I feel good mixing pineapple, passion fruit, tamarind, watermelon, so I incorporate all those flavors into the margaritas.”
Galeano said some of his favorite cocktails include the pineapple margarita, made with mezcal, pineapple, agave, lime, chili tincture, chile de arbol and a lava salt rim ($16, or $12 for the nonalcoholic version), and the Lassi & Agave, a Burmese- and Mexican-inspired clarified cocktail made with blanco tequila, cardamom gin, mango eau-de-vie, yogurt, coconut milk, lime and mango olio ($22).
In addition to cocktails, Alisios offers Mexican beer on tap, Mexican wines from Valle de Guadalupe and Parras Valley, and whiskey, tequila and mezcal flights, served alongside housemade ancho chili tuile. Nonalcoholic options include nonalcoholic margaritas, horchata, jamaica, Mexican Coke and Sprite, fresh-squeezed juices and cafe de olla.
The interior design of Alisios highlights different facets of Mexican culture, operations manager Punky Huynh noted. A mix of Mexican and Moroccan handmade tiles is a nod to the influence of the Moors in Spain and consequently Mexico. A bookshelf full of Mexican literature, medicinal guides and more represents how Mexico has impacted other parts of the world. A large mural showcases a girl celebrating her Quinceanera amid a backdrop of agave, cactus, corn, vanilla and a sun with the Mayan calendar. Tan said he snuck an homage to Burma in the mural with the way the girl is dancing.
“Look at her fingers. In Southeast Asia, they use their fingers to communicate when they dance,” he said.
Alisios is notably one of two debut concepts located at Springline alongside Bubbelah, with all other eateries already existing in San Francisco. Tan said that the Burma Food Group shares a similar goal with Presidio Bay Ventures: to “make Menlo Park vibrant.”
“This is not just a boring, sleepy town,” he said.
Alisios Mexican Cocina, 550E Oak Grove Ave., Menlo Park; 650-399-3799, Instagram: @alisiosrestaurant. Open Monday to Thursday from 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m., Friday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Saturday from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Happy hour is Monday to Friday from 3-6 p.m. Brunch is Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
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