With Komali, celebrated chef and owner Abraham Salum turns away from the creative Modern dishes that earned him a strong local following and heads back to his Mexican roots…sort of, anyway. His namesake restaurant, Salum, continues on. Both venues share a common wall, and passage from kitchen to kitchen is easy, allowing the chef to maintain the old while building the new.

Komali focuses on home-style Mexican dishes: handmade tortillas, handmade queso fresco, strings of dried chiles, subtle meats (no fiery chile sauces), fresh seafood, mole drawn from family recipes. He relates the cooking back to his own mother, only with a more sophisticated presentation. The inspiration spans the regions of Mexico, a welcome change from upmarket, capital-centric restaurants like Javier’s or the uniquely defined fusion that made the former Ciudad such a popular destination.

The room at Komali belies all this, extending in clean, modern lines from the hearth, offering a series of specialty cocktails created by well-known mixologist Leann Berry—all bathed by a remarkable glow. Still, the heart and soul of this restaurant is Salum’s virtuoso cooking. In this case, he opts for simple ideas coaxed upmarket by deceptive, intriguing flavors.