MANHATTAN — A new Mexican restaurant by chef Julian Medina is heating up Greenwich Village.
Toloache Thompson, located at 205 Thompson St. at Bleecker Street, opened last week with a fresh menu featuring yellowfin tuna ceviche, spicy lobster tacos and suckling pig carnitas with corn pudding.
The 3,000-square-foot, 90-seat space is Medina's third Toloache restaurant, named for a Mexican plant whose leaves are used in love potions. The two-floor eatery has an open kitchen, where diners can watch the chefs make three types of guacamole, and the walls are lined with Mexican lanterns and Talavera tiles.
"While eating your way through the contemporary Mexican menu, small reminders of the region will surround you," the restaurant said in a press release.
"The tantalizing aroma filling the air at Toloache will satiate one’s senses, preparing diners for a top-notch Mexican gastronomic fiesta."
When the restaurant opened on Dec. 16, it launched three new dishes: Tostada de Cangrejo, a ceviche made with crab meat and sea urchin ($15); Callos de Hacha, seared sea scallops with quinoa risotto and porcini mushrooms ($15); and Arrachera, with tender flap sirloin, masa dumplings and cactus ($28).
The new menu items are also now available at Toloache's two other locations, Toloache 50 in Midtown and Toloache 82 on the Upper East Side. Medina owns the more casual Toloache Taqueria on Maiden Lane in the Financial District, as well.
Alongside the spicy dishes, Toloache Thompson offers more than 100 types of tequila, plus margaritas and other cocktails. Desserts by pastry chef Roberto Villamil include churros that diners can dip in melted chocolate and carrot cake served with "zesty jalapeno lime cream."
Toloache Thompson, 205 Thompson St., is open Monday to Thursday from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 5 p.m. to midnight. Lunch and brunch are coming soon.
