Casa Patrón: Make yourself at home with fine Mexican, Latin American cuisine

With the Jalisco Restaurant closed, the Roosevelt-Bryant neighborhood needed a new Mexican cafe — and one with a unique and classy look, a large and creative menu, a full bar and live mariachi nights is a bonus. Created by the same family that ran Jalisco, the superior Casa Patrón is both a pleasing all-ages dining room and a welcoming late-night spot.

The menu: There are many dinner choices, from hearty traditional Mexican dishes like enchiladas and fajitas ($10.50-$14.50), to specialties like the Puerto Rican stew Pollo Fricase ($13) and the Colombian steak dish Bistec a la Criolla ($14). Portions are large, and most entrees come with rice and either beans or plantains. Lunch specials (mostly Mexican) are a modest $7.50.

What to write home about: It's hard not to fill up on the complimentary warm, fresh tortilla chips, which are served with two savory salsas. But make room for an entree, like the very filling enchiladas (the chicken ranchero variety is good, and the Dungeness crab kind is extraordinary), or a tasty, gently spiced stewed dish (we liked the shrimp sautéed with cilantro, parsley, onions, green peppers and mushrooms, and served with rice and buttery-sweet plantains).

There are also creative first courses, including a very generous-sized spinach salad studded with fresh beets, strawberries, blueberries and almonds, and a tortilla soup, with shreds of chicken and cubed avocado, that's divine.

The setting: A compact but beautifully designed room with two levels of seating, an original white folkloric wall mural, and custom-wrought iron railings and chandelier. The seating is sleek and comfy, and the bar has a tall, attractively backlit arrangement of liquors and liqueurs.

Summing up: Casa Patrón is an inviting place for authentic Mexican and other Latin American cuisines, or for a late-night drink and snacks. A spinach salad big enough for two, a chicken enchilada platter and an order of Arroz con Camarones (rice with shrimp), plus tax, came to $37.84.

Misha Berson: mberson@seattletimes.com