New Berkeley Restaurant Anahuac Opens on Solano Avenue After Family's Decade-Long Journey

A new upscale Mexican restaurant has opened on Solano Avenue in Berkeley, representing the culmination of a family’s decade-long journey in Bay Area dining.

Anahuac opened at the end of January at 1501 Solano Avenue, according to owner Jose Rodriguez. The restaurant occupies the former Fonda location and marks the second establishment for the Rodriguez family, who also operate Talavera Cocina Mexicana nearby.

The restaurant’s origin story begins with Rodriguez’s mother, Maricela Pedroza, who moved to the Bay Area in the late 2000s to start a new life as a chef. Pedroza initially worked at La Mission on University Avenue before serving as general manager at Talavera Cocina Mexicana. After a decade at Talavera, she purchased the restaurant outright just before the pandemic, according to Rodriguez.

“She has her own house now, the whole American Dream, and it’s just crazy from where she came from,” Rodriguez said. Pedroza, the oldest of nine children, developed her culinary skills early. “When her parents went to work, she would always cook for everybody at home in Mexico,” Rodriguez explained. “Cooking has always been her passion, and it’s just super nice to see where she’s at now.”

The family operates both restaurants together, with Rodriguez and his sister Esmeralda managing the front of house at Anahuac while their mother oversees both kitchens.

Anahuac occupies a space with significant history on Solano Avenue. The location previously housed Fonda, which was part of the Krikorians’ restaurant group. The avenue has seen considerable turnover in recent years, with longtime establishments including Jimmy Bean’s, Paisan, Sea Salt, T-Rex and Lalime’s all closing their doors.

Rodriguez said the concept for Anahuac emerged from observations at Talavera. “But I understand people want to take their loved ones to a more upscale place,” he noted, explaining that the taqueria didn’t attract much traffic on special occasions like Mother’s Day. The family designed Anahuac as a more formal dining room with dishes made specifically for in-house consumption.

A Talavera customer alerted the family when Fonda’s space became available for a long-term lease. “Me and my mom would go eat at Fonda all the time and we would say, ‘One day we’ll have a place like this,’” Rodriguez recalled.

The restaurant features an entirely new menu, with only one dish carried over from Talavera. “The only thing we kept from Talavera was the mole poblano,” Rodriguez said.

The kitchen is led by chef Jorge Reyes from Guerrero, Mexico, who creates regular specials. Recent offerings have included octopus tacos on handmade yellow corn tortillas made by Rodriguez’s aunt, featuring calamari ink for black tortillas, coleslaw, octopus marinated with pastor adobo, and fried onions.

Menu items include pozole in red or green varieties for $24, served in large bowls with shredded cabbage, hominy, chopped onions and lime. The restaurant also offers chile verde pork slow-cooked in tomatillo sauce for $20 and various enchiladas.

The restaurant’s opening faced delays due to structural issues. While initially planned to open last September after refurbishments, the health department identified significant structural damage that required months of work to bring the space up to code before the recent opening.

Anahuac features table service, bar seating, music and murals created by Oakland artist San Enrique. One prominent mural depicts a snake-like creature with colorful feathery scales in pink, green, orange and blue.

The restaurant operates daily from 4-10 p.m., with Sunday hours until 9 p.m.