Downtown Arlington is set to get an inventive new Spanish-inspired bar and restaurant with a distinct Texan flair. Called Cafe Americana, it’s a tapas-style cocktail bar with a fusion of flavors from Spain, Argentina, Peru, and the Caribbean.
It's slated to open in mid-March at 403 E. Main St., in a space formerly occupied by Urban Alchemy, a coffee and wine bar that morphed into an event space before closing in 2021.
Cafe Americana is from a collective of Dallas-area friends and chefs led by Mark Guatelara, whose extensive resume includes masterminding the now closed Filipino restaurant Ober Here, plus head chef positions at Live! by Loews Hotel in Arlington, Renaissance Dallas Hotel, and the Gaylord Texan.
While Guatelara will manage the culinary side, the drinks menu is from mixologist Gregory Genias, one of the owners of BootlegGreg Cocktail Co, a beverage consulting company in Florida.
The founding collective is made up of immigrants to the U.S. (the other founding chefs wanted to remain unnamed for now due to conflicts of interests), and Cafe Americana is meant as an homage to the U.S. while giving nods to their home countries of the Philippines, Barbados, the Dominican Republic, Morocco, and Jamaica — which explains the concept’s name.
“There’ll be a lot of familiarity when people look at the menu,” Guatelara says. “The menu items will just be presented differently.”
The difference is that the menu will focus on shareable plates and finger foods instead of individual entrees. Tapas include Peruvian chicken skewers, grilled padron peppers, mussels, and burrata salad.
There's also flaky empanadas, charcuterie, and paella, a Spanish rice dish.
Standout family-style plates include:
- A 12-ounce New York strip served with chimichurri
- Lomos Saltado: steak, cilantro rice, charred peppers, and potato strings
- Pineapple-glazed salmon: roasted beets, asparagus, cilantro pesto quinoa, spicy beet aioli
“It’s all shareable. We want to encourage people to try a bunch of things,” Guatelara says. “Don’t come here by yourself. We want you to have fun and bring your friends to share.”
On the drinks menu, there will be several specialty cocktails, plus three fruity punches on tap. Signature drinks include:
- Texas Oil Money: bourbon, homemade saccharum, and orange peel garnish on a big (ice) rock
- Mojito Tropical: exotic rum, watermelon, lime, brown sugar, and mint
- La Morena "The Brunette": vodka, vanilla bean and nutmeg-infused syrup, fresh espresso, and Mexican dark chocolate shavings — an espresso martini
- Americana Ranch Water: tequila, prickly pear, lime juice, and sparkling water
Although Cafe Americana does have a sizable menu, Guatelara says patrons should keep in mind that “it’s a bar/restaurant, not a restaurant/bar.”
The interior will have a suave, tropical atmosphere, with vibrant green walls and a collection of plants hanging throughout the space. Art pieces will incorporate cultural aspects from Barbados, the Dominican Republic, and Jamaica.
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Despite what may feel like a slick vibe, Guatelara wants Cafe Americana to feel welcoming and communal — tables along the walls have repurposed church pews as seats, and a cozy lounge called the Sugar Cane Room will be available to sip cocktails and hang out.
Cafe Americana presents a unique concept in downtown Arlington — the area is filled with coffee shops, fast-casual restaurants, and craft beer spots perfect for nearby UT-Arlington students, without many upscale options like Guatelara’s concept. Still, he’s confident that Cafe Americana will be well-received, and he hopes to tap into the clientele that frequents the upscale restaurants at Live! by Loews.
“This is a big roll of the dice, obviously,” Guatelara says. “But our concept is not in competition with any of the other restaurants here. We want to co-exist, we want to be an option here without taking the spotlight.”
