- Alumnus of the kitchens of Michelin Star chef Rick Bayless & protegé of culinary historian Diana Kennedy, chef Shaw Lash, together with her partner Tarek Islam, are bringing Lila to Dubai
- Lila Wood-fired Taqueria uses traditional Mexican culinary techniques to grind the perfect corn masa for exceptional tortillas
- 30-minute delivery service available to Dubai’s most celebrated public beaches
- Lila features an open kitchen, a sidewalk terrace, and a walk-up taco window, open late on weekends
Dubai. 5 December, 2022. Authentic Mexican street-food is coming to Dubai with Lila Wood-fired Taqueria. Located in Jumeriah on Jumeriah Beach Road, the original restaurant will open the 3rd week in December, bringing to Dubai residents and tourists inspired Mexican flavours previously unavailable in the region.
Lila will be the first wood-fired taqueria in the Middle East to use traditional culinary techniques to grind heirloom Mexican corn into masa for tortillas. The kitchen will fashion delicious tacos such as spit-roasted lamb tacos “al pastor,” and chipotle-honey glazed grilled shrimp. Lila’s street tacos will be complemented by other mouth-watering creations, including wood-grilled shareable entrees and Mexican classics, such as locally sourced whole grilled red snapper ´a la talla´, double cut grass-fed ribeye ‘carne asada’, all served with hand-pressed corn tortillas.
Headed by American chef Shaw Lash and inspired by traditional Mexican techniques, Lila’s celebrates grinding of fresh corn into masa that retains all the nutrients and benefits that are normally lost when using industrial processes to create tortillas. Lila will import, nixtamalize, and grind heirloom Mexican corn into masa to create perfect hand-pressed tortillas, which results in a distinguished flavour profile. “As a true lover and student of Mexico, I understand how deeply the cuisine is rooted in its connection to the original landrace varieties of corn – every great taco starts with a tortilla, and it must be made from fresh masa.” Commented Chef Lash.
Designed with an open floor plan that features an intimate dining area, an open kitchen, and a sidewalk terrace, Lila offers a casual dining experience with warm, homey vibes, together with complementary valet parking. For those who enjoy food on-the-go, Lila offers an all-day walk-up taco window. Lila will also feature a full-service coffee bar program, partnering with Raw Coffee Company, serving single origin beans and blends sourced from Chiapas, Mexico.
During weekends, beach goers will have tacos seamlessly delivered to their location within 30 minutes, ordering through a link from Lila’s Instagram account that connects users to “Lila at the Beach” delivery services. The restaurant will have an in-house delivery service to bring a curation of their classics to some of the most popular public beaches in Dubai: Kite Beach, Jumeirah Beach, Umm Suqueim Beach and Al Sufouh Beach
Lila was created by chef Shaw Lash and partner Tarek Islam. With more than 15 years of experience designing, launching and leading novel restaurant concepts, Chef Shaw’s passion and dedication to Mexican cuisine led her to collaborate with some of the most important representatives in the Mexican culinary world today, such as multi-awarded celebrity chef and restaurateur Rick Bayless with whom she served as a Development Chef for several years, and British food writer and primary English-language authority on Mexican cuisine Diana Kennedy.
Chef Shaw opened a variety of fast-casual Mexican concepts in both Chicago and New York before coming to the United Arab Emirates. In Dubai she will be working with an incredible team of professionals, including four Mexican Chefs who moved to Dubai to join Shaw and Tarek, and to ensure that Lila Wood-Fired Taqueria will become the most sought-after Mexican restaurant in the country.
