Situated smack dab in between the hustle and bustle of downtown Tucson and the burgeoning new growth of the easternmost part of town, lies a relatively new restaurant that is a beacon of gastronomical delight. While the heart of Tucson may lie downtown and on 4th Ave, La Frida is a testament to how good food can thrive outside of the usual cultural hub.
La Frida sits amidst a small industrial district but step inside and you will seemingly teleport directly to a lavish, bustling cantina in a cozy Mexican ciudad. Visitors are greeted by warm lights, dark wood, exposed brick, and a glorious mural of the namesake of the restaurant, Frida Kahlo.
Since opening, the door has barely been able to close as every table gets turned and re-seated within minutes. This business can be attributed to an abundance of word of mouth and the very evident passion behind the plate. “We don’t do any kind of advertising and don’t really do any social media yet, its all been word of mouth.” Owner Claudia Vindiola is an exceedingly hands-on owner who can be seen nightly running food from the kitchen and enthusiastically engaging with the clientele.
The focus of the restaurant is presentation and every aspect of the dining experience is doted on. Each plate would be at home in a most prestigious plating competition, where even the chips and salsa get a lovely treatment. “I feel like what sets me apart is really the creativity of it all.” Claudia says. “I was a [hair] stylist for 23 years so I have gotten to experience firsthand my creativity with my customers and clients. Sometimes people come in and they don’t even know what they want and I get to create beautiful artwork. I feel like I get to apply that very much to our plates and the presentation that we give to everyone.”
All of the plates on offer are edible art, and one that stands out has to be the cake which has taken our team by the heart and the tastebuds. Every dish is painstakingly made based on Claudia’s vision, and without a purely culinary background fusing that self-taught ethos with the other chefs’ need for scalability was a bit of a challenge. “We have four chefs in the back. I’m very particular and I usually like to do things in a very specific way. Sometimes it doesn’t really make sense to others. They’re very questionable on my perspective, but we’ve made a really good team and have been able to understand each other to bring some of my ideas and dreams to life.”
Inside the high-end Mexican dining aesthetic lurks a very welcome approachability that makes simple dishes sing and complex dishes operatic. The absolutely divine cocktail selection adds a full choir that calls on all who dine in to sing their praises. Claudia takes pride in the prep as well, seeing as she has made it a scratch kitchen. “So everything has been from scratch. Every day we would make [our food] just like I would make food at home. I used to make two cups of rice at home and now I make like a whole sack three times a day. Everything is made with a lot of love and care every single day.”
written & photographed by: isaac stockton
La frida | 7230 E 22nd St, Tucson