It has been three years since Viaje opened. And, admittedly, much has changed in all the ways a patron would wish a space to alter. It’s far more consistent. It’s far more refined: from its sauces and protein cooks to its tortillas and chips. This is Mexican food that could have initially passed as “resort-like,” but is in its pocket with attitude, finesse, and a Mexican culinary experience that no other Long Beach space offers.
The space? Pure vibes. The ship? Captained by general manager and all-around charismatic human Sergio Alvarez, directing a crew that is tight on their knowledge of the menu. (While also being an epicenter of knowledge on wines, particularly stellar Mexican wines—like a wondrous, 100% cab franc from Parvada in the great state of Coahuila.) Leading the kitchen is Chef Benny Flores, and for the stellar libations program—which has always been a star—you have Jason Espin and Ruben Martinez.
Yes, the flautas de barbacoa—on the menu since day one and a continual highlight since—remain on the menu. Braised short rib stuffed into wrapped’n’fried tortillas before they are dunked into a bowl of the meat’s consommé, which is reduced to a thick, bourdelaise-like texture. But they’ve been perfected, like much of the menu.
It’s a gem in the Shore. And worthy of repeat visits.
Viaje is everything you want from a Mexican restaurant that boldly tries to represent the country’s entirety.
Many Americans forget, given the sheer breadth of our own country, just how big Mexico also is. Spanning 31 states across two oceanfronts, mountains, deserts, tropics, urban sprawls, peninsulas, and plains. With it, the vastness of Mexican cuisine has only reached the most culinary-rich areas of the States—and even there, it is not fully represented. SoCal is inarguably the epicenter of Mexican cuisine stateside, where the nuances of everything from Oaxacan cuisine and the border sensibility of Baja brush up against the more ancient traditions of the Yucatán and the mariscos of Jalisco, Nayarit, and Sinaloa.
Viaje reflects that vastness in a way no other Long Beach Mexican restaurant does.
There’s Oaxaca repped with what is the city’s best Oaxacan mole. Sexily smooth, evoking everything from the much-loved, good-luck-finding-the-truly-proper-ingredients sauce that makes it famous. Smokey. Spicy. Earthy. Herbal. Creamy. Sweet. It is the closest thing stateside I’ve had to recreating the first time I had Chef Susana Trilling’s mole—and that is saying much, considering Thomas Keller himself gave up on creating his own and opted for Chef Susana’s instead.
There’s Nayarit showing out with the masterful Pescado Zarandeado. (Or what Sinaloa would say is theirs. Some in Jalisco, given its Vallarta origins, also claim it’s theirs. As with many Mexican foods and their origins and interpretations, there are arguments to be had.) It’s the best version to grace our shores since the now-shuttered Playa Amor served the wonder of a dish.
The eyes could not roll further for folks questioning the ‘Mexican-ness’ of Viaje.
Sergio notes—less often than before, but nonetheless—that many patrons flippantly dismiss their menu with one glance, continuing to peruse down 2nd Street because, well, there are no rice and bean combo plates. Those stereotypes about Mexican food are, at this point, seemingly unworthy to note in SoCal—but I bring them because a manager says they still very much exist.
And for those still unable to go beyond the taco stand or combo plate as their definition of Mexican food, Viaje will outright shatter that perception. Like the much-missed Guerrilla Tacos and Broken Spanish in L.A., Viaje proudly embraces its balancing act between tradition and newness.
Yes, there are the nuances in the space’s food that showcase it is an unquestionably Mexican joint: Its pickled red onion shamelessly dressed with habanero for its pescado zarandeado. Or its salsa verde—bright, slightly heated—giving off a sharpness that almost feels like they use the milpa breed of tomatillos over the good ol’ regular berries sold stateside. Or just the larger fact that their servers will entirely alter their cadence when they learn the table speaks Spanish.
But then there’s just an ownership of how versatile Mexican food can be. Where a tomato gazpacho-like bath can sit under fish for a ceviche that screams Mexican and screams contemporality. Or where garbanzo beans create a hummus-gone-refried beans for a lamb barbacoa shank, slathered in chile morita-doused sauce that is nothing short of Thank-the-Gods-It’s-Not-Beef-Again.
A deeper look at the food of Viaje in Long Beach.
A variety of highlights—though not remotely all of them—from Viaje’s latest menu. And don’t skip dessert: they offer a wondrous pan de elote served warm and a proper tres leches, meaning not soggy-to-the-point-of-crumbling and baked for individual servings.
Ceviche: wild red snapper | campari tomato | lime | onion | cilantro | serrano | avocado
Flautas de barbacoa: short rib | consome | crema | queso cotija | avocado emulsion
Tostada de atun: yellow fin tuna | guacamole | cilantro | onion | serrano
Pescado zarandeado: branzino | axiote | chile guajillo | guacamole
Arrachera: 10 oz black Angus skirt steak | onion | guacamole | tortillas
Barbacoa de cordero: lamb shank | garbanzo puree | chile morita | nopales | tortillas
Pan de Elote
Tres Leches
And do not forget the drinks at Viaje, which has long been home to one of the most stellar cocktail programs in the city.
Balanced. Nuanced. Playing with Mexican flavors beyond agave spirits. Simply one of the best.
Cenizo malvado: Nuestra Soledad Mezcal Reposado | green chile vodka | cilantro | lime | peach foam
Elotero de bola: Salvadores Elote Mezcal | Abasolo Mexican Whiskey | corn | almond | vanilla
Amor saturno: Roku Gin | Planetary Oftd Rum | port | passionfruit | mango | lime | vanilla
Hasta el cielo: El Silencio Espadín Mezcal | cantaloupe | aloe vera | basil | lemon
En la primavera: Divino Maguey Mezcal | Smith & Cross Jamaican Rum | Lillet Rosé | guava | gentian
Pocho: Mal Bien Mezcal | George Dickel Bourbon | pineapple | guanabana | lime | cane | angostura
Chac mool: Tequila Blanco | La Luna Ensamble Mezcal | chile pasilla | mole | angostura | demerara
Sunday Service: El Tesoro Blanco Tequila | Aperol | ginger | cucumber
Viaje is located 5224 E. 2nd St.
