La Unica

It’s difficult to categorize La Unica. Although it appears to be primarily a restaurant, the bartenders are churning out an unusually high number of cocktails. Most of the people sitting at the bar are waiting to be seated at a table. The menu is varied and defies being placed into any particular cuisine.

On the menu, there’s a section for seafood and shellfish, a selection of about 20 appetizers, ranging from grilled cauliflower to sautéed “gusanos” (larvae), steaks grilled on a Josper grill/oven, huge fish platters, meant to be shared, and, of course, a variety of tacos.

The restaurant is elaborately decorated with lots of expensive materials, ceramic tile, white-washed paneling and trim, and mirrored ceilings. All tastefully done. Young and friendly waiters and waitresses attend to the patrons’ needs.

Within minutes of being seated, a basket of corn tortilla chips and a variety of salsas, in attractive black lava-rock bowls, were placed on the table.

The guacamole appetizer and the pork tacos were very good. The tacos all had special fancy or clever names. The pork tacos I ordered were the Tacos Lechón Nayarit (a state in Mexico on the west coast). The fancy names didn’t seem to improve the taste of the pork. It was good but could have used a little boost in flavor.

La Unica is a pretty good restaurant. Nice ambiance. Great place to watch the trendy crowd come and go. Prices were about what you’d expect for this style of restaurant in this location. Maybe a bit on the expensive side. Based on the ambiance, food and service, I’d come back. I’d like to see how they handle the seafood and steaks. We’re giving our rating for this visit. The high creativity rating is based primarily on the variety of items in the menu. But the jury’s still out.