Mundo

• Cuisine(s): Fusion, New American, Nuevo Latino
  Price: $$$
  Payment Types: All Major Credit Cards
• Features: Smoking, Patio/Sidewalk Dining, Takeout
  Serving: Dinner, Lunch
  Reservations: Accepted
• Parking: Garage, Valet

Description

Under the creative direction of national award-winning homeboy chef Norman Van Aken, Mundo is not just a clone of decade-old Norman's (also in the Gables) but an entirely new concept. Though the expansive space is elegant enough (and quiet enough) for an impressive business dinner, Mundo is less like a formal restaurant than like a brasserie or tapas bar; the atmosphere is convivial, and the heavily Hispanic-influenced global dishes are predominantly "small plates" meant for sharing. Creative Japanese/Spanish fusion items like sushi nuevo and espárragos en tempura, both served with New Catalan foams substituted for standard soy dipping sauces, are outstanding. But so are wood oven pizzas and rotis, spicy diced steak tartare with bracing tomato bruschetta, and an impossibly juicy, succulent maple-cured pork chop with stuffed sweet potato rolls. For those without time for a sit-down lunch, or for cooking, there's a limited but excellent Mercado with prepared entrées, salads, and pastries to take out.