Los Arcos Mexican Restaurant opens on Watson Road in Clifton Heights

The new Mexican restaurant is a westward expansion for Atlanta-based restaurateurs Miguel and Irene Ruiz—and an opportunity to add St. Louisans to the family business.

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Los Arcos Mexican Restaurant Bar & Grill unites two landmarks, two states and two families. One landmark is the Gateway Arch, in St. Louis, the city where Maria Ruiz and her family live. The other is the famous arched aqueduct of Morelia, Michoacán, the Mexican state where she and her brother Miguel Ruiz grew up. The newly opened South City restaurant combines a wealth of history, geography, and family relationships into a powerful dining experience. Here’s what to know before you go.

The Team

The Ruiz siblings had long wanted to work together in the restaurant business. The only catch: Maria Ruiz was living in Missouri with her family, and Miguel Ruiz was living in Georgia with his. Their solution: Start a new restaurant here, modeled after Miguel and Irene Ruiz’s two successful Atlanta-area restaurants, the original Los Arcos Mexican Restaurant Bar & Grill and Café Cancún Bar & Grill.

Family members dived in for the opportunity to contribute to the St. Louis–based Los Arcos location, which opened in late March at 3073 Watson (the former Brazie's space). For Maria Ruiz and her daughters, Kenia Morales and Jesi Moore, their restaurant-industry education started with the eight-month buildout of the former Brazie’s location. They’re now learning the ropes of running both the front and back of the house from an experienced team that includes Miguel Ruiz’s daughter Jazmin. Completing the family picture are Maria Ruiz’s husband, Jose Morales, and their son, David Morales, both of whom help at the restaurant from time to time.

Even though Miguel Ruiz is busy with the two original restaurants, he frequently travels to St. Louis to ensure a smooth startup at Los Arcos. “I’ve been putting a lot of miles on my American Express card,” he says with a laugh. He leveraged his 15 years of industry experience in everything from the complete renovation of the kitchen to extensive recipe testing for the menu. Meanwhile, his wife, Irene Ruiz, heads the staff that keeps things running smoothly at the two Georgia operations.

The Menu

Los Arcos features flavors from across Mexico and popular Americanized favorites, such as the Tex-Mex burrito. Because the Ruiz siblings are from Michoacán, “we have dishes that we love,” Miguel Ruiz says. “The molcajete (pictured below) is the dish that reminds me of home the most.” It’s an eye-catching medley of grilled steak, chicken, shrimp, and chorizo cooked with onions, cactus, green sauce, and mozzarella cheese, served in a lava rock bowl with rice or beans and tortillas.

The pineapple fajita (pictured below) is another visual stunner. “We use fresh pineapple that’s cut to order,” Miguel Ruiz says. It’s then filled with chicken, shrimp, vegetables, and mozzarella. “Everything we make is cooked when it’s ordered. The only dishes we prepare before the restaurant opens for the day are the rice and the beans,” he says.

The Fajitas Los Arcos (see lead image)—a decadent treat of chicken, shrimp, steak, pork, and chorizo plus caramelized onions and bell peppers—is a signature dish. But even the guacamole (pictured at right), with its hearty chunks of avocado, tomato, onion and cilantro, is elevated from standard Mexican fare.

To ensure the quality and flavor of dishes match the standards at the original Los Arcos location, Miguel Ruiz is experimenting with local suppliers—and occasionally bringing in ingredients that he hasn’t yet been able to source in the smaller St. Louis market. He and other staff from Georgia are training the St. Louis team on the recipes and cooking techniques.

“We’ve been working on these recipes for a very long time,” Miguel Ruiz says. “I know our customers in St. Louis will love the food and the margaritas.” Speaking of cocktails, he added several new specialty cocktails to the St. Louis menu—including La Bombera and Piña pa’ la Niña—which use fresh ingredients with updated flavors that his daughter and nieces assure him will appeal to them and their peers.

The Atmosphere

Miguel Ruiz also deferred to the second generation on interior décor during the buildout. “I did a lot of things based on Kenia’s advice,” he says, “and it looks beautiful.” Even the bathrooms received scrutiny, right down to the installation of large mirrors to make sure everyone looks their best when snapping selfies—and tagging Los Arcos, of course. “People say it looks like a totally different restaurant.”

Customers who had dined at Brazie’s will still recognize the iconic brick exterior, a landmark along Watson Road in South City. Miguel Ruiz has come to love it, too. “I thank God we found this space,” he says. “I love this neighborhood. The customers I’ve met have all been lovely people.”

The walls, banquettes, and tile flooring all draw from the same palette of earth tones, a pleasant backdrop for the colorful Mexican souvenirs on the walls. During the renovations, craftsmen constructed a replica Gateway Arch out of wood, and the Ruizes have gradually been covering it with tiny mirrors—so many, in fact, that Miguel Ruiz says they’ve bought out the supply at craft stores across the metro area. He’s adding mirrors to his packing list for his next trip from Atlanta to St. Louis. He’s determined to put the finishing touches on everything before handing the reins to the Missouri side of the family for day-to-day operations.

Los Arcos Mexican Restaurant

3073 Watson Road, St Louis, Missouri 63139

314-256-1295

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Mon - Thu: 11 a.m. - 9 p.m., Fri - Sat: 11 a.m. - 10 p.m., Sun: 12 - 9 p.m.

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